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Post by revirdsuba99 on Nov 8, 2022 17:06:33 GMT
I cook for me. Nothing beyond simple. Chicken in batches too warm up as wanted. Bacon, egg+ for breakfast or oatmeal. Defrost a hamburger once in a while. Baked potato. Light salad.. Well this morning I cooked a package, over a pound, of chicken tenders. Will separate and freeze for later..
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milocat
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,570
Location: 55 degrees north in Alberta, Canada
Mar 18, 2015 4:10:31 GMT
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Post by milocat on Nov 8, 2022 17:08:16 GMT
A relative of mine doesn't cook and neither does her DH. They order in, go out, eat leftovers from that. Have things like cheese, crackers, hummus, cereal. They can cook some basic things but they rarely do. I cook every meal from scratch, the only part I don't like is figuring out what to cook every single night.
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peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,891
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Nov 8, 2022 17:13:08 GMT
A relative of mine doesn't cook and neither does her DH. They order in, go out, eat leftovers from that. Have things like cheese, crackers, hummus, cereal. They can cook some basic things but they rarely do. I cook every meal from scratch, the only part I don't like is figuring out what to cook every single night. Me too and right there with you on the meal planning. I don't mind cooking but coming up with something every night is insane making. The best thing I've done is use the Paprika app. I can easily move recipes onto a calendar and make grocery lists etc... but I still have to sit down and just do it!
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Post by Merge on Nov 8, 2022 17:30:11 GMT
A relative of mine doesn't cook and neither does her DH. They order in, go out, eat leftovers from that. Have things like cheese, crackers, hummus, cereal. They can cook some basic things but they rarely do. I cook every meal from scratch, the only part I don't like is figuring out what to cook every single night. I meal plan every week and shop for the plan. There's always a leftover night on the plan and an order in/go out night. The other five nights I cook. But I have to have a plan so that when I'm tired at the end of the day, I don't have to think beyond assembling ingredients and getting started. If something comes up and we don't end up using all the meals in the plan, the unused ones get bumped to the beginning of the following week. I plan based around what proteins or other special ingredients I have that might need to be used, and I usually go to NYT cooking or ATK for inspiration for 1-2 meals. The others will be standards like tacos or a soup/chili that we like. Now that I'm only working part time I could be less rigid with planning and stuff, but I've been doing this all my married life and don't see a reason to stop now.
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Post by mbanda on Nov 8, 2022 17:32:08 GMT
I rarely "cook". I do a lot of heating things up in the air fryer, stove or microwave. My husband makes breakfast every day (eggs & bacon), for lunch I usually have a sandwich and dinner will be something I heat up. I went on a cooking kick a few years back but my son is so picky he wouldn't eat it. Also, my husband changes up what he eats based on what diet he might be on at the moment. Right now he is doing carnivore diet so all he basically eats is meat and he makes that himself. If he makes steaks I may have one but he makes no sides so I would have to heat up something to go with it.
If I do actually cook something I try to make enough that I can have leftovers the next day. I made chili this weekend and have been eating it for the last 2 days.
I just don't really enjoy cooking and I really hate cleaning up afterwards so I tend to minimize my time in the kitchen as much as I can.
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Post by gar on Nov 8, 2022 17:36:57 GMT
I cook every meal from scratch, the only part I don't like is figuring out what to cook every single night. Me too so I do the week's plan on a Sunday eve and shop for it on Monday. It changed things in a great way - not having to stand in front of the fridge/freezer every day trying to feel inspired is such a relief
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,983
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Nov 8, 2022 17:37:06 GMT
I don't know anyone irl that doesn't cook at all. I do know people who don't make anything from scratch.
I am a decent cook and I don't hate cooking, but a lot of times I rather do something else and I HATE cleanup.
..but add in my two 14-year-olds' schedules and my DH not at home many evenings due to his job, we either pick something up, order in (occasionally...trying to nip this one in the bud) or make simple meals (pasta, salad, tacos, hamburgers, loaded baked potato, simple stirfry, charcuterie type meals) 90% of the time. We are running/traveling to practices, workouts, games, away tournaments--- almost every night/weekend for 75%+ of the year.
And I work full-time as a teacher. The summer is a little better, but then it is two to three meals a day I have to provide and we are still running a lot....so I probably cook a "real"(recipe type/multi-ingredient with a couple sides type meal) maybe two or three times a week in the summer. Maybe two or three times a month during the rest of the year.
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Post by peasapie on Nov 8, 2022 18:03:30 GMT
My friend refers to cooking as "assembling" dinner. She buys ready-made things and puts them together for a meal. She could cook, but chooses not to do the from-scratch method of food preparation.
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,983
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Nov 8, 2022 18:27:38 GMT
After reading all the responses, when my kids were younger, during lockdown, etc...we used to still pick up quick things, eat out, and order in but it was A LOT less. When it was just DH and me (for many years as we had kids later), we ate out A LOT but I did cook multiple times a week. I imagine after my kids leave, I will cook more again and the two of us will go out to dinner more...right now, we are in survival mode .
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Post by refugeepea on Nov 8, 2022 19:02:35 GMT
I'd love to say I don't cook. Having kids with food issues and a picky husband sucks the joy out of cooking. So it's a lot of bland meals.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Nov 8, 2022 19:17:27 GMT
this thread explains to me why there were so many cookbooks at the library's used book sale when I went last weekend... they had three rows of tables, and two rows were COVERED with cookbooks, with more in boxes underneath the tables. lol.
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Post by Jockscrap on Nov 8, 2022 19:22:18 GMT
My husband doesn't cook. Before we retired, our job responsibilities were about equal, I did more kid stuff/shuffling, I did the financial stuff, made every meal (that we didn't go out for), but he did cut the grass and take out the trash... Can you see my vent... DD and I went out of town once for two weeks and he had me buy him a dozen frozen lasagnas! He uses the microwave for canned soup, leftovers and the toaster over for frozen waffles. That's about it! We have lived in this house for 30+ years and he has never once turned on the cooktop. I could have written this post except my DH doesn’t eat lasagne. Right down to the 30+ years! However, he has retired young and the deal was he had to share the tasks I’ve been doing for all these years. It’s a work in progress as he literally had no ability at all. He’s having to learn the most basic things like preparing an onion or bell pepper. He can now use a George Forman grill to cook salmon (served with couscous out of a packet and veg), boil rice and spaghetti and heat up a pre-made meal to have with it (like chilli I’ve made, portioned up and frozen). This is a big deal for him and me! He’s an engineer so instructions are taken very literally. He can’t wing it at all so if the instructionsare to cook something for 25 mins at 200C, he can’t look at it and think that needs a few minutes longer. We are working on that! Until this year, he could truly say he doesn’t cook.
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Post by Jockscrap on Nov 8, 2022 19:24:30 GMT
I cook every meal from scratch, the only part I don't like is figuring out what to cook every single night. Me too so I do the week's plan on a Sunday eve and shop for it on Monday. It changed things in a great way - not having to stand in front of the fridge/freezer every day trying to feel inspired is such a relief Similar here - meal plan and shop on a Monday normally and then a small top up on a Friday. Planning what to have is definitely the biggest chore.
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Post by Jockscrap on Nov 8, 2022 19:28:41 GMT
I wonder if eating out is very much cheaper in the US. Eating out or buying food in is a bit of treat for us and I can’t really think of anyone who would have a takeaway or dine out in the evening more than once a week or so.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Nov 8, 2022 19:38:07 GMT
I wonder if eating out is very much cheaper in the US. Eating out or buying food in is a bit of treat for us and I can’t really think of anyone who would have a takeaway or dine out in the evening more than once a week or so. we sometimes end up tossing things that sit in the refrigerator that I bought with the best of intentions to meal plan, but they went bad before I got around to using them... cucumbers that turn to liquid, tomatoes that went moldy, etc. So there's a waste / cost associated with my good intentions. sigh. I believe restaurant portion sizes are a LOT larger in the US, overall, so going out to eat means plenty of leftovers for us which helps offset that cost.
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Post by Merge on Nov 8, 2022 19:52:38 GMT
I wonder if eating out is very much cheaper in the US. Eating out or buying food in is a bit of treat for us and I can’t really think of anyone who would have a takeaway or dine out in the evening more than once a week or so. It’s very expensive here, too. We are comfortable financially but eating out as often as others say they do would take a major chunk out of our budget. I’m often flabbergasted when people say they eat out almost every meal. My college aged daughters don’t really like to cook for themselves, but I’ve finally got them convinced that even pre-prepared or frozen meals from the grocery are much cheaper than takeout or delivery.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,379
Location: PNW
Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Nov 8, 2022 20:02:59 GMT
I wonder if eating out is very much cheaper in the US. Eating out or buying food in is a bit of treat for us and I can’t really think of anyone who would have a takeaway or dine out in the evening more than once a week or so. It’s very expensive here, too. We are comfortable financially but eating out as often as others say they do would take a major chunk out of our budget. I’m often flabbergasted when people say they eat out almost every meal. My college aged daughters don’t really like to cook for themselves, but I’ve finally got them convinced that even pre-prepared or frozen meals from the grocery are much cheaper than takeout or delivery. I spend $250 a week on groceries for a family of six and three guinea pigs and cook the majority of our meals. We went out for pizza the other day and it was $86 for an appetizer and two pizzas (before tip) and no drinks. We did bring home some pizza afterwards but $90 to $100 is typical for us to eat out, which is why we rarely do it. Every night? We couldn't afford it.
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Post by gar on Nov 8, 2022 20:13:34 GMT
I wonder if eating out is very much cheaper in the US. Eating out or buying food in is a bit of treat for us and I can’t really think of anyone who would have a takeaway or dine out in the evening more than once a week or so. It’s very expensive here, too. We are comfortable financially but eating out as often as others say they do would take a major chunk out of our budget. I’m often flabbergasted when people say they eat out almost every meal. Not to mention that take away food in particular will be higher in salt, sugar artificial additives etc….so pretty unhealthy in that sort of quantities!
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Post by birukitty on Nov 8, 2022 20:29:59 GMT
I had the kind of mother who was a great cook, cooked homemade meals every night, but never taught her children how to cook-she was very impatient and just wanted to get the job done. When I grew up and left home I taught myself how to cook, first from a cookbook, cans and prepackaged foods, and over the past 12 years more and more from scratch. 8 years ago when I switched to a whole foods, plant based diet it was easier to cook every meal completely from scratch (almost-I still buy pasta, canned spaghetti sauce, canned beans, things like that). In these past 8 years I cook our meals every night that we eat together. If we "do our own thing" as we call it I'll have something simple like a can of soup and a sandwich.
We haven't had a working oven for the last 5 years. It broke but our gas range is still working. We want to replace it but something else always seems to come up-this year it was first the washer and then the dish washer that needed to be replaced. We refuse to use credit to buy anything-if we don't have the cash we don't buy it. I make do with what I have-a toaster oven, and so far it's been fine. Since we we aren't eating meat I haven't really missed the oven that much, but I sure will be happy when we get a new gas range. We make cornbread in that toaster oven for when I make my chili.
I don't enjoy cooking. In fact it is my least favorite chore. Well, I guess I'd rather do it than vacuum. I do meal plan every two weeks. I write down what meals I'm going to make and then the ingredients I need for those meals before I do the grocery shopping for that two weeks. It helps me to keep the costs down. Then every night I look at my list of meals and decide what I feel like making for dinner. My family doesn't seem to care although usually I'll ask them what they feel like between a couple of choices. What I do enjoy is the results of my cooking, and I'm sorry if that sounds like I'm bragging, I'm not trying to. But there is nothing like the taste of a bowl of homemade soup to sit down to on a cold night compared to canned soup.
Eating out or getting take out every night is extremely expensive but there are folks who do it. My parents did when my Mom had to get surgery on her spine a couple of years ago. My father is still working full time (at 82) so they could afford it but he didn't like what it was doing to their budget so he took over the cooking even though he was working over 60 hours a week-and it turned out he was great at it. He's still doing the cooking at their house even though she has long recovered and he's still working full time. They recently started getting one of those meal kits that delivers the ingredients to your house and you make the meals. They do eat meat, unlike us and he said it's saved him a lot of time (he no longer has to do the grocery shopping or meal plan).
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Post by myshelly on Nov 8, 2022 20:35:42 GMT
I wonder if eating out is very much cheaper in the US. Eating out or buying food in is a bit of treat for us and I can’t really think of anyone who would have a takeaway or dine out in the evening more than once a week or so. If you literally spend $0 on groceries and put all that money toward takeout, it’s doable. We have plenty of fast food places with dollar menus/budget meals if you needed to. Grocery stores have hot bars/prepared food sections where you can get premade sandwiches, sushi, etc. Costco food court is super cheap. A Dominos pizza is $5.99, so very cheap to get one for everyone in the house. A Chipotle burrito is less than $10. A Subway or Jimmy John’s sandwich is less than $10. My dad literally keeps zero food in his house. He eats out every single meal.
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milocat
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,570
Location: 55 degrees north in Alberta, Canada
Mar 18, 2015 4:10:31 GMT
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Post by milocat on Nov 8, 2022 20:41:43 GMT
this thread explains to me why there were so many cookbooks at the library's used book sale when I went last weekend... they had three rows of tables, and two rows were COVERED with cookbooks, with more in boxes underneath the tables. lol. Those are pandemic bought cookbooks. When restaurants were closed and stopping at the store every day wasn't the norm. I remember a few weeks, a month, into it people on this board saying they were sick of cooking already.
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craftykitten
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,304
Jun 26, 2014 7:39:32 GMT
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Post by craftykitten on Nov 8, 2022 20:49:33 GMT
I don’t cook, DH does it all.
My takeaway options would be fish and chips, pizzas, Chinese or Indian. No sushi round here. Oh, and McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC. I’m craving a salad just writing all that down.
Supermarkets do prepared foods and we have loads of sandwich shops, but they’re all geared to lunchtime. The sandwich shops all close by 4pm.
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Post by gar on Nov 8, 2022 20:52:14 GMT
I wonder if eating out is very much cheaper in the US. Eating out or buying food in is a bit of treat for us and I can’t really think of anyone who would have a takeaway or dine out in the evening more than once a week or so. If you literally spend $0 on groceries and put all that money toward takeout, it’s doable. We have plenty of fast food places with dollar menus/budget meals if you needed to. Grocery stores have hot bars/prepared food sections where you can get premade sandwiches, sushi, etc. Costco food court is super cheap. A Dominos pizza is $5.99, so very cheap to get one for everyone in the house. A Chipotle burrito is less than $10. A Subway or Jimmy John’s sandwich is less than $10. My dad literally keeps zero food in his house. He eats out every single meal. Are you disciplined enough not to have snacks? What do you do for breakfast?
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Post by myshelly on Nov 8, 2022 21:02:06 GMT
If you literally spend $0 on groceries and put all that money toward takeout, it’s doable. We have plenty of fast food places with dollar menus/budget meals if you needed to. Grocery stores have hot bars/prepared food sections where you can get premade sandwiches, sushi, etc. Costco food court is super cheap. A Dominos pizza is $5.99, so very cheap to get one for everyone in the house. A Chipotle burrito is less than $10. A Subway or Jimmy John’s sandwich is less than $10. My dad literally keeps zero food in his house. He eats out every single meal. Are you disciplined enough not to have snacks? What do you do for breakfast? We usually have a protein shake for breakfast every day. Not ones we make, the kind you just buy. We buy giant cases of them at Costco and keep whole shelves of them in the pantry. We aren’t big snackers. I do keep food in my house because I just don’t think it’s practical not to with kids. To be clear, I have said multiple times in this thread that I DO cook, at least what I consider cooking, because I have kids at home, but as soon as I don’t I will no longer cook at all.
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Post by Lexica on Nov 8, 2022 21:41:07 GMT
If I make a baked potato for dinner then “I made dinner”. If I pick up a baked potato at Outback or McAllister’s then “I don’t cook”. I always said when my daughter left home I wouldn’t cook. But there are some things I make that I love that I can’t get out, so I still cook. But nothing like when she’s home. I don’t care much what I eat, but I do want it to be healthy. Eating every meal out is probably not going to be the healthiest. I also don’t love takeout other than pizza. By the time you get it home or get it delivered, it’s just not the same. I don’t love eating in restaurants either. I have other things I want to do with my time. I honestly would just rather not have to eat. I am so with you here! i do enjoy cooking, but honestly, if I never had to eat, I would be very happy. Every time I feed my dog his specialty dehydrated dog food that has meat, vegetables, and blueberries in it I think to myself - why can't someone do this for people? All I have to do is add some warm broth or rehydrated powdered goat's milk to his dehydrated cubes and serve. I would happily just heat up the optimal diet for a person and eat it every day. Or better yet, someone create a pill that satisfies all the nutrients and calories required to be a specific healthy weight. Think of the number of health problems that would be avoided if we could easily obtain what our body needs instead of being tempted by unhealthy things and overeating. I typically make a lot of soups. They freeze well and are easy to make, especially if you are making a large batch and use the Cuisinart for all the chopping required. I never get tired of soups and I make sure to always pack them full of various vegetables. I do like salads too, but the ingredients don't seem to last that long in my refrigerator without the lettuce wilting. Maybe my refrigerator is set too cold?
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Post by ~summer~ on Nov 8, 2022 21:50:00 GMT
I used to cook a lot - including a lot of fairly fancy/involved meals.
This year I have an empty nest and am shocked at how little I cook.
On a typical day the only thing I really “cook” are scrambled eggs in the morning with my avocado toast.
Lunch I buy some sort of salad (today was kale with salmon) Dinner I either go out - or I just snack on some cheese and nuts or something.
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Post by Merge on Nov 8, 2022 21:59:38 GMT
If I make a baked potato for dinner then “I made dinner”. If I pick up a baked potato at Outback or McAllister’s then “I don’t cook”. I always said when my daughter left home I wouldn’t cook. But there are some things I make that I love that I can’t get out, so I still cook. But nothing like when she’s home. I don’t care much what I eat, but I do want it to be healthy. Eating every meal out is probably not going to be the healthiest. I also don’t love takeout other than pizza. By the time you get it home or get it delivered, it’s just not the same. I don’t love eating in restaurants either. I have other things I want to do with my time. I honestly would just rather not have to eat. I am so with you here! i do enjoy cooking, but honestly, if I never had to eat, I would be very happy. Every time I feed my dog his specialty dehydrated dog food that has meat, vegetables, and blueberries in it I think to myself - why can't someone do this for people? All I have to do is add some warm broth or rehydrated powdered goat's milk to his dehydrated cubes and serve. I would happily just heat up the optimal diet for a person and eat it every day. Or better yet, someone create a pill that satisfies all the nutrients and calories required to be a specific healthy weight. Think of the number of health problems that would be avoided if we could easily obtain what our body needs instead of being tempted by unhealthy things and overeating. I typically make a lot of soups. They freeze well and are easy to make, especially if you are making a large batch and use the Cuisinart for all the chopping required. I never get tired of soups and I make sure to always pack them full of various vegetables. I do like salads too, but the ingredients don't seem to last that long in my refrigerator without the lettuce wilting. Maybe my refrigerator is set too cold? Humans eat food for more than sustenance, though. It fulfills other needs as well. That’s not a human failing; it’s part of our hardwiring. There are social and emotional components to everyone’s relationship with food - even a healthy relationship. I’d speculate that it’s part of what makes us human.
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Post by bc2ca on Nov 8, 2022 22:00:56 GMT
Not to mention that take away food in particular will be higher in salt, sugar artificial additives etc….so pretty unhealthy in that sort of quantities! FWIW, most of the people I know that don't cook are eating very well. They are not getting fried fast food take-away. I stayed with DD(25) for 6 weeks when she moved and really can't remember if we cooked at all. We made plenty of Greek salads and crudite plates, but didn't cook. Tractor Foods is one of her favorites and we found the serving is enough for a couple meals. DH would be looking for something more, but it is plenty for my appetite. The Chopped Leaf is another favorite. Prices are in the CDN$8-$15 range.
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Post by Merge on Nov 8, 2022 22:04:46 GMT
It’s very expensive here, too. We are comfortable financially but eating out as often as others say they do would take a major chunk out of our budget. I’m often flabbergasted when people say they eat out almost every meal. Not to mention that take away food in particular will be higher in salt, sugar artificial additives etc….so pretty unhealthy in that sort of quantities! Yes. And restaurant food that is actually good for you tends to be even more expensive than the stuff that has all the excess fat and sodium.
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Post by ~summer~ on Nov 8, 2022 22:06:35 GMT
I’ll echo that when I eat out (lunch at least - dinner is a different story…) it’s usually more healthy than what I would make at home. For example today I had the kale salad and added salmon - from True Food Kitchen (for peas that are local to one lol) - their kale salad is one of my absolute favorites - the only negative is that after tip and tax it was like $30 for my salad a treat for sure.
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