Do you enjoy cooking or consider it a chore?

[Mrs. Readsalot]

I wish I could enjoy cooking more. I always feel like I am having to think ahead about what to fix, make sure I have everything I need, make sure the weather will cooperate(if grilling) well you know the list goes on... I no longer have much joy in cooking. I hope I don't sound like I am whining, but the fact that I don't enjoy cooking just kinda caught up with me today.

Karen

[amy g.]

I like it, and enjoy it, but I only cook when I want to. If the kitchen is dirty, and I am tired, I just have everyone fix their own supper.

 

If I felt like I had to cook night after night, I would probably stop enjoying it.

[sixpence1978]

I wasn't quite sure how to answer.

 

I love cooking for other people. Especially if I know that are going to tell me how yummy it is. :001_smile:

 

For my own family, not so much. It's become common place. I don't get thanks or compliments and we don't have the extra $$$ for me to make fancier meals in order to receive those thanks I desire.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I like it when I have lots of time and am not pressed or stressed. But often the daily cooking can be a chore.

[Wyndie]

I'm a big NON fan of cooking. With my kids multiple severe food allergies there is on chance of going out to eat so we have to cook every single meal and snack. I really don't like doing it at all and it definately falls in the "chore" category.

 

It does help take the stress out of it when I plan a menu. We have a rotating menu that I post on the cupboards and that way the grocery shopping is easier and I have my meals planned so I can go on auto-pilot. That does help me spend less time in the kitchen but I totally commisserate with you.

[Stacia]

I hate cooking. When dh & I got married, all our friends figured we would starve because neither of us knew how to cook.

 

I held out longer... and now dh is the cook! :thumbup1:

 

:lol:

[Lostinabook]

I picked "yep, it's a chore" but I loved to cook before I HAD to come up with food every day of the week. Also, I think I'd probably still like it if I weren't homeschooling. I'm not together enough to cook really well & school well too.

[Ferdie]

I had a hard time answering your poll. For me cooking healthy meals for my family is my job. Like any job there are days I love it and days that it is really challenging. Overall, I think the care and keeping of a family of 5 is a lot of work.

 

When I need a break, I use one of the meal planning services for a few months. They cost about $1 a week for a weekly menu, recipes and a grocery list. Currently, I am using e-mealz.com. It saves me several hours a week between menu planning, making out a grocery list and trying to figure out what we are eating every night. Plus I love the variety. My family enjoys the food and the recipes are so easy to prepare - under 20 minutes. In the past I have also used savingdinner.com and sixoclockscramble.com. They are great resources for when you get burned out or are really busy.

Edited May 27, 2009 by Ferdie

[Denisemomof4]

CHORE, CHORE, CHORE. I used to LOVE to cook and would cook elaborate meals. NOW IT'S A CHORE AND NOT FUN AT ALL.

 

I have so much on my plate, I just view it as ANOTHER thing I have to do.

:blush:

[Mrs. Readsalot]

I had a hard time answering your poll. For me cooking healthy meals for my family is my job. Like any job there are days I love it and days that it is really challenging. Overall, I think the care and keeping of a family of 5 is a lot of work.

 

When I need a break, I use one of the meal planning services for a few months. They cost about $1 a week for a weekly menu, recipes and a grocery list. Currently, I am using e-mealz.com. It saves me several hours a week between menu planning, making out a grocery list and trying to figure out what we are eating every night. Plus I love the variety. My family enjoys the food and the recipes are so easy to prepare - under 20 minutes. In the past I have also used savingdinner.com and sixoclockscramble.com.

Now that people are answering the poll I realize I didn't enough choices. It's my first poll so I guess it is a live and learn situation. The sites you mentioned for menu planning sound very interesting. Do you find you spend more on groceries when you are using them? I usually shop the specials and prepare simple meals that don't require a lot of ingredients. Basically these are generally my old standbys....checken on the grill, hamburgers, roast chicken, stir fry, pasta and sauce, etc.

Karen

[Gretchen in NJ]

I love to cook. I just don't like to clean up after myself.:tongue_smilie: I used to like to go out, but I like to know what is in the food that I am eating. Are they using butter or butter flavored oil? :001_huh:

 

I look at it as a gift of love to my family. I am cooking something that tastes good and it is good for them.

[Tiffani]

I LOVE to cook!! BUT, it was a bigger chore than it is now at one time. My solution? I buy for the month, we eat pretty much the same thing every week (give or take a few things) and therefore I don't have to think about it. Everybody knows what we're having all day long b/c it's posted on the frig.

 

I know this sounds boring to some, but w/ 4 (5 including dh) hungry men in my house I don't have time to run to the store on a whim and pick-up food. I know their favorite meals so I cook them and they (usually) do't complain. It's completely changed my stress level! No more planning and planning each week. No more shopping each week. AND no more trying new dishes only to have everyone turn their noses up!

 

So yes, I love to cook!! (And I do....3 meals + snacks, every day!)

[Orthodox6]

LOVE cooking ! I always have joked with dh that it is easy to buy inexpensive, nice-looking clothing -- (I dislike sewing.) -- , and that he is much better off that I am a good cook.

 

I read cookbooks for fun, marking recipes that are good targets for preparing "as stand", or which I can alter into something I like better. I also invent recipes, using whatever is on hand in the house.

 

I remember being four years old, sitting in the kitchen (on a blue vinyl-covered step stool which now stands in my own house), reading aloud to my mother. I would read cookbooks to her, of all queer enjoyments ! Many years later, when I began homeschooling, I realized that cookbooks are excellent "early readers" because the sentences are, for the most part, short and uncomplicated, with repetitive vocabulary.

[Ferdie]

Now that people are answering the poll I realize I didn't enough choices. It's my first poll so I guess it is a live and learn situation. The sites you mentioned for menu planning sound very interesting. Do you find you spend more on groceries when you are using them? I usually shop the specials and prepare simple meals that don't require a lot of ingredients. Basically these are generally my old standbys....checken on the grill, hamburgers, roast chicken, stir fry, pasta and sauce, etc.

Karen

 

I think you did a great job on your first poll!!

 

To answer your question. I am spending less on groceries with e-mealz.com because you can specify the grocery store. The owners of the site then plan the menus around the store specials each week. I am currently using the low-fat Walmart plan. The other savings is that we never eat out any more. We used to eat out at least once a week when I was too tired to cook or couldn't deal with making the same old thing again. We have been using e-mealz.com for 2 months and have only eaten out once on Mother's Day.

 

For the other two plans I mentioned, (savingdinner, and sixoclockscramble), I spent more on groceries than normal, which is why I stopped using them.

[alegnab]

When I was a teen, I loved home-ec in school. I loved cooking in class. I begged my mom to teach me to cook, but she wouldn't do it. She didn't want me in the way. The only thing she would let me do was sift flour for her when she made a cake -- and that was only because she hated sifting. Well, I did learn to make cheese toast, grilled cheese sandwiches, and Kraft mac & cheese, and I could heat a can of soup and cook a frozen pot pie or TV dinner, but that's about all (we kids were typically on our own for lunches on weekends and during the summer). So, I never became good at cooking, and I'm not a natural at it. I too often overcook food. The family joke is that ds#1 loves some foods burnt (especially grilled cheese sandwiches) because he has eaten them that way so often.

 

I married an extremely picky eater (he likes hardly any foods other than meats and desserts), and I now have four picky children. There are very few meals that all the family likes. So, cooking is nothing but drudgery, and clean-up is worse (my mom made me wash & dry all the dishes that my family of six used for five years straight with no help from anyone else, while other family members got to enjoy themselves by doing things like watching TV; it wasn't too bad the five years prior to that when my sister and I did dishes together and played word games to entertain ourselves). I would be absolutely overjoyed to have a live-in maid to do the cooking and cleaning.

 

For a couple of years, my widower dad and bachelor younger brother used to come for supper once per week. I typically fixed approximately three times the amount of food I normally fixed for dh, dc & myself. I can't say I enjoyed it, but it sure was nice to see two people eat anything and everything I fixed and lots of it and to hear their compliments and thanks. They would even eat the extremely healthy foods that I would fix for myself -- the same foods that dh and dc would make faces at and bad comments about (without even tasting them). My brother and I had to eat the food my mom fixed, so we learned to eat a lot of things. Dh's mom told me she was a short-order cook, although dh's dad and only sibling would eat everything without complaint. Wanna guess why dh is still an extremely picky eater?

[gardening momma]

I like it, and enjoy it, but I only cook when I want to.

:iagree: I almost always have something that's easy to do when I don't want to cook a meal...frozen pizza, pizza rolls, sandwiches, ramen noodles, etc... Sometimes I'll make something for the kids, like ramen noodles or spaghetti-o's, and dh will take the opportunity to make something that he likes--he will either open a can of hash (looks like cat food to me), or stew, or cereal, or he'll cook fish. And then I make myself something I like. Those are nice nights off.

[TeacherZee]

I like cooking for others. I don't like cooking for just me. And sometimes I have no idea what to cook, in those cases I am happy to cook if someone else comes up whit the idea. :D

[Audrey]

I wish I could enjoy cooking more. I always feel like I am having to think ahead about what to fix, make sure I have everything I need, make sure the weather will cooperate(if grilling) well you know the list goes on... I no longer have much joy in cooking. I hope I don't sound like I am whining, but the fact that I don't enjoy cooking just kinda caught up with me today.

Karen

 

 

I do enjoy cooking. I also enjoy planning meals. The thing that makes me grumble about cooking sometimes is when I get a litany of complaints:

 

"Oh I didn't want that for supper/lunch."

"Can I have mine with no ______?"

"Can I have mine with extra _____ but no ____?"

"Are we having _____ again?"

"Why don't we get _____? Soandso gets _____."

"I'm not hungry."

"Now I'm hungry." (usually said after having ignored a perfectly good meal).

"I just want ____."

"You know I don't like ____. I don't care if (other person in family) likes it. Guess I'll just pick it out. pout pout pout"

 

 

Not all of this whining comes from my kid either. :glare: Some days, I just throw up my hands and tell 'em to shut up and eat it or hire themselves a short order cook. When dh does cook a meal, I am always very grateful. If he gets whining, it doesn't come from me!

Edited May 27, 2009 by Audrey

[Ibbygirl]

I didn't know what to answer for the poll. I cook EVERYDAY and I wash the dishes by hand afterwards so I spend a lot of time each day in the kitchen. On days when I feel inspired and I have time, I enjoy cooking. On days when I'm pressed for time, it feels more like something I "have to do". On days when I'm sick. I HATE having to cook. And no matter what day it is, I HATE doing the dishes. hehe Mostly cooking is just something that I do without even thinking about it. But I do really enjoy trying out a new recipe (provided the recipe came out good) or cooking a really nice meal for someone. :)

[KidsHappen]

I also had a hard time chosing as I hate cooking and I frequently do take out. I can cook but shhh!, it's a secret. I have a family full of picky eaters with the full variety of only meat and bread eaters, only vegetarians, only raw food eaters, just plain picky eaters and everything in between. It is almost impossible to make one meal and make everyone happy. We have just recently fell into a good rhythm though. The oldest teen is the raw fooder so she feeds herself. The other two teens in the household are the vegetarians and they cook their own food. The 12 and 9 year olds are vegetarians with a very little meat thrown in for the youngest. My hubby is the meat & bread only eater so the middle two get their foods from the two teens and dad. And for the most part, I just don't eat. Ok, I pick a little here and there. Now I do like to make desserts and I never have to throw any away.

[elise1mds]

LOVE cooking ! I always have joked with dh that it is easy to buy inexpensive, nice-looking clothing -- (I dislike sewing.) -- , and that he is much better off that I am a good cook.

 

:iagree: :lol:

 

I can't even sew on a button, much as my mom, MIL, and husband are ashamed that I can't. Not that DH sews, but he does actually have the ability. I can cross-stitch, but my buttons seem to magically fall off. I guess I can't tie knots right or something.

 

But I digress. I love to cook! I only have a family of 4, which helps, and my kids will eat almost anything, which helps even more. Today at the farmer's market my daughter insisted on asparagus and broccoli. I love to experiment and have tons and tons of cookbooks, and I can't say that we have the same thing very often, though we definitely do have favorites.

 

I love to bake, too... which is probably why I weigh what I do. There is a flip side to it all, I suppose.

 

Good poll!

[melissel]

I LOVE to cook! I don't have time to be creative with it anymore, and I'm so sad about it. But yes, like the others said, when I'm under a lot of stress/pressure and the kids are under my feet, it can easily become a chore.

 

My other problem is that I like to cook so much, I inevitably gain weight when I'm cooking more at home because I can always cook just what I'm in the mood for, just how I like it. My friend and I were discussing that not too long ago, because they had cut back on eating out and she had noticed the same problem.

 

In general, though, I love to cook.

[myfunnybunch]

I checked the first three choices. I do enjoy cooking. I don't enjoy having to cook. And we would probably survive on takeout if it was not so expensive.

 

Cat

[sagira]

I love cooking. I love combining the practical with the creative, and get to eat it too as a result! Did I mention I love to eat as well? :) I love coming up with new recipes, and now that we participate in an organic produce co-op, I enjoy it all over again because you can't pick some of the veggies/fruits in advance. We're eating healthier as a result, and I'm concocting delicious meals for my family. Dh is enjoying the foods, and the joy of watching ds shoveling:

 

-kale

-collard greens

-ratatouille (vegetable stew with eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and peppers)

 

into his mouth is indescribable. Aaaahhh.. (what? No icon for bliss??)

 

I also enjoy baking, where I follow a formula (stick to the recipe) more instead of deviate from the recipe doing my own thing as I do in cooking. I like both. I used to say that baking is therapeutic.

 

Now I despise cleaning. Especially organizing. My house is an absolute mess. I'm not exaggerating.

[gardening momma]

I checked the first three choices. I do enjoy cooking. I don't enjoy having to cook. And we would probably survive on takeout if it was not so expensive.

 

Cat

I didn't notice it was a multiple choice poll, or I would have pick more than one option too. I like to cook, but it can become a chore, that's why we have easy meals too. And I'd love to eat out a lot more than we do!

[Ibbygirl]

I love to cook. But 3 meals a day 7 days a week can wear on even the most enthusiastic cook. There are days where I loathe it with every fiber of my being. I think that is why so many people like to go out to eat. It is so nice to have someone else deal with it sometimes.

 

 

That is exactly how I feel. I cook so often and then there are so many dishes all the time I love it when we go out to eat and I dont' have to get up constantly to get more juice, more food etc. The waiter waits on me and I don't have to do anything. :) hehe We only go out rarely though unfortunately because it costs so much. :(

[Impish]

I started to post that I used to enjoy cooking until I was injured...that everything was from scratch, bread, rolls, pasta, etc...and that cooking was an unenjoyable chore now.

 

Then I got thinking about what I'd typed...and why cooking was such a chore now...and what I could do to change that. I can't change the pain, but I can go back to meal planning again. I can start saving for a food processor so chopping and grating etc CAN be done (right now I either have to beg for someone else to do it, or try and find recipes that I can avoid that sort of thing, because I simply cannot manage it)...I can reclaim this, cooking for my family, and enjoying aspects of it again.

 

I wonder if I can convince my dh to knead bread for me in the evenings?

 

Thanks for posting this thread! It made me really rethink some things, in a whole new way! :D

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I like to cook....except when I don't.

 

I cook dinner just about every day. Sometimes I get tired of it. But I can't afford to do otherwise, and I wan't us to eat as healthy as I know how to manage.

 

I'm not a fancy gourmet cook, just plain old-fashioned food. I love to make things that taste good, if my kids don't like it they are out of luck. :-)

[elegantlion]

Hate, loathe, despise cooking. I have food allergies, ds is picky, and dh is a much better cook than me. I wish I liked cooking, but it's simply too many processes for a meal that lasts all of 15 minutes.

 

I don't want to meal plan, what fun is it to know what you're going to eat for dinner in four days? I like adventure and let's face it, as a homeschooling mom sometimes my biggest adventure of the day is whether we can get through math without a meltdown.

 

My boys were out of town for 4 days recently and I never turned on the stove or oven. I could survive on clif bars, water, coffee, and popsicles.

 

We ate out a lot before ds was born and I worked full time.

[Desert Rat]

I used to love cooking, until sports began to dominate our evenings. Don't get me wrong, I love the activities and enjoy spending time with other moms, my kids getting exercise and getting out of the house. But.....it means we eat before or after. After would mean 8pm most nights. That's a no-go so I opt for 4:30 dinners. My dh isn't home so I wrap up whatever and bring it with us for him to eat there. It stinks. My dh likes his home cooked meals so I really do try. He doesn't ask for much else so I really like to be accomodating with this. Usually though, dinner for the boys and I ends up being quesadillas, mac-n-cheese, hot dogs, sandwiches, easy stuff.

Plus, in the summer time, I hate heating up my house!

[gardening momma]

I wonder if I can convince my dh to knead bread for me in the evenings?

 

What about a good stand mixer? That's what I use when I make bread (which isn't very often).

[mazakaal]

I wasn't quite sure how to answer.

 

I love cooking for other people. Especially if I know that are going to tell me how yummy it is. :001_smile:

 

For my own family, not so much. It's become common place. I don't get thanks or compliments and we don't have the extra $$$ for me to make fancier meals in order to receive those thanks I desire.

 

:iagree: With 4 dc who have very different tastes, I feel like I can never make a meal that everyone will like. One child's favorite meal is hated by someone else. I can never win.

 

So, though I do enjoy cooking if I have the time, energy, and money for nice food, it has become a real chore to cook for my family.

[elw_miller]

Depends on the day. I dislike cooking when I'm in a rut, tired, or have a too-busy day.

 

I typically enjoy cooking. I love to bake bread, make things from scratch, try new recipes, try to make homemade ethnic food (I love Indian food).

 

Then we had kids...picky kids. I still like making most of our meals, but I get frustrated that my kids are so picky and turn their noses up at things I liked as a kid. My eldest (dd4) is getting better at trying things, but I haven't made Indian food in awhile because neither kiddo wants to eat all those evil veggies or legumes.

 

So, I feel like I get in a rut too often. This is boring and demoralizing. When I get like that we go out to eat, eat leftovers for a few days and then I'm back to mostly enjoying cooking again.

 

Thankfully, everyone loves my homemade breads and other baked goodies. :)

[Erin's Mom]

In general I really like to cook. Every now and again I need a break from it as we need a break from anything we do.

Since my husband is a great cook he will fix some fish or grill something that will last a few days. I think he cooks more when I begin to cook the same thing to much or to many soups and sandwiches(even though they are make from scratch).

Then with this break my creative juices get to flowing again and cooking becomes fun again. :001_smile:

[Sophia]

It's a chore because it doesn't come naturally to me.

For instance. my 13 y.o. dd will take a bite of something and say "now this would be really good if we added *this* spice or cooked it *this* way...":001_huh:

Over 20 years of cooking and I still don't think like that!

If I don't have a recipe (preferably with pictures) I'm toast.:tongue_smilie:

[Impish]

What about a good stand mixer? That's what I use when I make bread (which isn't very often).

Something else to save up for, lol! I need a food processor more. Chopping veggies, grating cheese is almost an every day need, and having to constantly bug someone else to do it is maddening.

[iamom]

If I have the time (and with a new baby, I don't!) I like to cook. I don't enjoy meal planning and grocery shopping. If someone would do those things for me, I'd be happier about cooking.

[Nestof3]

If I had fewer other things to do, I'd probably enjoy it much more. There are times I enjoy it, but with everything else, it becomes one more thing to do.

 

I also get tired of making things everyone will like. There are also things I don't make because I'm the only one who likes them, and I can eat much more simply that the adult men in my house.

[Tami]

I used to think I hated cooking, but I discovered that I actually hate trying to decide what to make with the ingredients I have on hand.

 

I do enjoy cooking, as long as the menu planning and grocery shopping list is generated for me. I use products for that. :001_smile: My hubby and I often cook together, so it is a relaxing activity. I simply look at my menu to see what we are having and know that all the ingredients are safely in my kitchen!

 

Lately, I have been using fresh herbs from an potted herb garden a friend gave me, and I love the fresh herbs in my cooking!

[Hathersage]

If I don't have a recipe (preferably with pictures) I'm toast.:tongue_smilie:

 

Oh They have recipes complete with lots of pictures on the cooking for engineers site!

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/

 

 

I need recipes, and a helper. lol. even with a recipe I get fuddled-brained and can't remember the order of anything, and the recipe is right in front of me...lol

[wildflower]

if I don't have to.

There are nights where I'll ask DH 'what are we doing for dinner, he picks up the phone. If I didn't have DH to come to the rescue some nights it would very much be a chore. I find I run out of ideas.

I do love my crock pot and the book 'fresh from the vegetarian slow-cooker'. Everything is delicious in that book!

DD1 loves to cook with me & we are blessed to have plenty of loving friends who love to be fed! We do a lot of big lunches and have lots to eat off of for the week.

RObyn

[nova mama]

I like to cook, but everyday around this time I groan, wondering what I will make for dinner (DH wants to go out tonight. Yay!) I'm a little limited by DH's (milk and wheat) and DD4's allergies (milk). Fish is out for everyone (except me, but I'm not cooking fish for myself only). There are very few *interesting* meals that I can make for all 5 of us. DH cooks for himself a lot, and I often have what he's made for himself. But for the kids it's usually rice or pasta, chicken, and vegetables (broccoli, roasted carrots, or whatever veggie mix I have in the freezer).

[Liza Q]

Love cooking, hate cleaning up!

[amiechoke]

I'm with the people who love to cook, but don't love *having* to cook.

 

Because I'm a nerd, I enjoy cooking for the mad scientist aspect of it. And then explaining to my 6YO exactly how those yeast bubbles got there. ("Mama!? They're BURPING?")

 

See, now, if public school had offered me a science curriculum that was worth a hoot, maybe I could have gotten all of this out of my system years ago but NOOOOOO, now my kids get to eat the result of 16 years worth of repressed chemistry experimentation....

 

Okay, I'm done now.

[Mothersweets]

I hate cooking. hate it hate it hate it.

 

What is even worse is that now my 4yo has Type 1 diabetes and I have to think about cooking even more. ugh

 

On a brighter note, I do like to bake cookies. :)

[Paintedlady]

I answered that I enjoy cooking very much, and I do, BUT, I'd enjoy it even more if I didn't have to do it every single day. But even so, cooking for people equals love to me. When I love you, I cook for you. :001_smile:

Edited May 28, 2009 by Paintedlady

[Spy Car]

I love to cook. And my wife has become a wonderful cook. Either way, we are eating well. Healthful, delicious, and wildly varied meals.

 

Oh yes!

 

Bill

[Rosie_0801]

I don't particularly like cooking, but not being able to cook is worse. I'm looking forward to boy baby being interested in occupying himself with something other than me. Dh isn't a bad cook, but he's not as good as me :P ;) I have a recipe collecting gene so when I'm cooking, we have some interesting stuff. Curried chicken and banana soup was an unexpected success. The peanut soup was not an unexpected failure. Still, you've got to try these things, huh?

 

Rosie

 

Edit: Ibbygirl, I killed the worms already. Overfed them, I think... :(

Edited May 28, 2009 by Rosie_0801

[Ibbygirl]

I don't particularly like cooking, but not being able to cook is worse. I'm looking forward to boy baby being interested in occupying himself with something other than me.

 

Rosie

 

 

Awww. He loves his mama!! :) Enjoy it while you can. They grow up so fast!! And besides, you can always just grab some worms from the backyard for him. ;) :D hehe

[LaxMom]

I love to cook. With the exception of the past few weeks, I generally cook three meals a day. (My kids have been on a cereal kick, so I haven't been making a hot breakfast) If it's not cooked, I made the ingredients - if lunch is hummus and veggies on pita, I've made the hummus and pita.

 

There are a number of quick things in my arsenal for when we have a time crunch. I make pasta and veggies in a garlic cream sauce a couple times a month. That takes about as long as it takes to boil the noodles, and it's versatile so I throw in whatever veggies I have from our CSA pickup or, in the winter, from the freezer. A couple of weeks ago, we had fresh peas, this week, spinach.

 

I also make a big crock pot of beans - generally black or pinto - about once a week or fortnightly, and a big batch of tortillas. Bean burritos and salad are supper once or twice, lunches, etc. We have lots of salads in the summer, too...

 

I've often said I could eat some combination of soup, salad and bread for the rest of my life and never get board - with the eating or the cooking.

 

(And, sagira, my house is a disaster, too. Sigh.)