Another 'honestly' poll....how many nights of the week do you cook dinner?

[momofkhm]

Had to go for other. :) Dinner is cooked at home 5 or 6 nights a week. Every other week, we go to a friend's house that why it's 5 or 6. But who cooks? My middle child loves to cook. There will be days that she wonders downstairs at 4/4:30 and says "Can I cook?" There will be days that I ask her to cook. There will be days that she gets started on dinner while I'm still reading. So between the 2 of us, 5-6 nights a week. Me only? It varies with how often she cooks.

[justamouse]

7-my family deserves nothing less?

 

Well, that's one way to look at it, but then there's the 7-do you know how much it would cost us to eat out? :001_smile:

[Jane in NC]

I said six because my husband usually cooks (or grills) Sunday dinner. We have an occasional dinner out too but it seems that we prefer to go our for lunch over dinner--maybe once a week.

 

This has changed through the years. It amazes me that sports or sport practice often led to fast food or some grab and go (and hopefully more healthful) version of it. One of my friends told me that her pediatrician cracked down on parents who were toting kids to practices every night of the week with bags of McDonalds food falling out of the van doors at the soccer fields or swimming pool. Admittedly we traveled with homemade sandwiches in the car back in those days but unfortunately Quiznos sandwiches were also part of the regular diet back then.

 

A lot of home cooked food does not require a great deal of hands on time but occasional tending. Since I am home I can fit bread baking, soup making, bean soaking/cooking, etc. into the program. I love cooking though! And baking.

[KnitWit]

My three oldest kids each cook one night, Friday night is Dad's Homemade Pizza night and that leaves me 3 nights. I'll take it! :)

[TammyinTN]

I cook 5 nights and we get pizza one night and dinner out one night.

[Mrs Mungo]

I voted 5 because they other two will usually be leftovers or an older kid will cook.

 

eta: I usually cook breakfast and lunch too. But, I think I should clarify it is not *at all* unusual for at least some of us to eat out once a week.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Mrs Mungo

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I cook often. We eat multiple times each day, so i cook more than i think i do. Dinners are repeating- chicken francaise, marsala, roasted, gf baked ziti wanna-be (usually do not have gf ziti, so i use what we have), gf pizza, homemade gf nuggets, homemade taco salad, etc. almost always with broccoli cooked to a nasty mush on the side (this mush somehow became well liked).

 

For breakfast and lunch we do left overs, gf sandwiches, lots of eggs, and once in a while ddcreates an edible experiment.

 

The only time we eat out is when my father visits. Instead of eatig out or take out, i cheat with the gf pizza.

[Dmmetler]

Very few nights a week-I do my main meal for DD and my lunch, and DH ends up eating his for dinner. DD has a sandwich or something light before going to the studio and gym (as do I) and a snack after. On weekends, we actually get to eat as a family. I'll be glad when we get to June and dance classes move to during the day because the kids in school are out for the summer-we get to do a lot of family meals-although they're still usually sandwiches and salads because it's too hot to cook!

[mytwomonkeys]

i would say 4 or 5 nights on average. wednesday night we have small group & the kids always eat pizza there. the other nights i either cook or we have leftovers. we rarely eat out for supper, but sometimes we will eat out for lunch after church.

[besroma]

I pretty much cook all three meals every day. If someone really wants to, we may eat out once a month (breakfast or a dinner).

 

:iagree: This

[ocelotmom]

I'm an "other", because I'm not sure if the emphasis here is on homecooked meals or on who is cooking.

 

We have homecooked meals from scratch at least 20 meals a week (some combination of us eats out about once every week or two). However, there are three adults who share in the cooking, so I'm personally cooking 3-4 nights a week.

[Blueridge]

I voted 5, but sometimes it's 4 or 6. The girls 'rob the larder' on Saturday nights, and most Sunday evenings they snack at their youth group meeting. Every other Friday I make pizza from scratch, the other Friday's we get Papa John's. :)

[Tarreymere]

I resent the '7 - my family deserves nothing less!'.

 

I do cook seven nights a week, but I sure wish I didn't HAVE to and I'm not some creepy Stepford wife who thinks that cooking every darn dinner is something great.

 

I just get stuck with it. Dh is very careful with money and cooking at home is one of the ways we keep our budget under control. I have had an adult daughter move back in with me (probably another 'troll-like' story) recently and she has taken us out three times in the last two months (in lieu of giving us a little cash for bills, or doing a few dishes) but that is not typical.

[Ellie]

When my dc were growing up, I cooked seven nights a week, but I voted 6 just because :D.

 

Now that it's just Mr. Ellie and me, I don't cook every night. We out on weekends; on Wednesdays he leaves directly from work and goes to church; one Tuesday a month he has a meeting that includes dinner. Sometimes I'm gone on a week-night, and Mr. Ellie is responsible to feed himself.

[KS_]

I generally cook 5 nights a week and let dh help out on the weekends, so it's never pot pies in the oven meals, although it may be scouring the frig for leftovers on the weekends.

[momma aimee]

And by 'cook' I don't necessarily mean a hot meal, just one that you've spent time preparing, and that is reasonably nutritious, as opposed to throwing some party pies in the oven!

 

Me...lately it's probably an average of 4 nights a week (sometimes 3, sometimes 5!). My girls are 15-19, so they can get themselves something. Even if I don't make a 'proper' meal, I usually throw some steak in the frying pan for Dh, and whip up a quick salad. I don't know why, but I still feel this is not 'making a decent meal'. I guess because I know that I'm feeling very lazy, and I'm only doing it for him because it wouldn't be right not to. The girls don't care - though they probably would if they had to get their own every night of the week.

 

how much more 'proper' can you get :001_smile: THAT is cooking for me --

[happyhomemaker]

6 for me. Friday nights a pizza and movie nights here. I'm about to start making the pizza myself though so I guess it will soon be 7 :D

[Embassy]

About 7 - maybe an average of 6.5. Sometimes dh cooks and on special occasions we get pizza or go out to eat. We would love going out to eat more often.

[kalanamak]

I said other. I spend an afternoon every weekend cooking sauces, soups, stews, grains, pasta, bread, etc ahead, box up my first three lunches of the week, and make sure the salad stuff is washed and ready. The rest of the week is reheating, although I do often cook something else on Wed night to make a little variation.

 

After work and homeschool on weeknights, I am TOO tired to make a meal from scratch.

[luvnlattes]

I shoot for 7 but rarely make it. I voted 5 because that's more realistic. There's usually one or two nights a week where I get thrown. Something comes up or I get sidetracked and then need to head out of the house and haven't gotten dinner squared away. Those nights might be order a pizza, hit the drive-thru, or scrounge something out of the cupboard.

[Tammyla]

I feel like I'm cooking all day...every day. These people expect to eat three meals a day...every single day.:tongue_smilie:

 

Joking aside, I cook dinner pretty much every night due to diet restrictions. Ds would have pizza 7 nights a week if he could.

 

If we eat out, it's usually lunch.

[mommymilkies]

7-We have crazy food allergies (wheat, peanuts, cashews, kiwi, etc.) that make eating out very difficult in our little rural town. But you can bet your bippy we eat out if we go to a big city with decent restaurant choices. I will say that once a week at least we tend to eat mostly just lunchmeat cuts, cheese, fingerfood type things because we are at a ballgame/practice.

[Impish]

Honestly, *someone* around here cooks 6-7 days a wk for supper.

 

It varies btwn me, Wolf, and Diva.

 

B/c I cannot predict or control flare ups, I really can't answer the poll in regards to how often *I* cook.

 

But, in the interest of honesty, I can say that I never make a meal w/out help. I simply physically cannot. For example, I need someone else to put a pot of water on the stove, and take it out, or put a dish in the oven and take it out, grate cheese, chop stuff, etc.

 

Oh, and I should add that I often make a meal for the family, and end up eating odd things for myself, since I cannot have gluten. ie they had pierogie lasagna last night, and I had an apple and cheese.

 

On a good note, Diva can cook better than most ppl I met at college :lol:

[Mergath]

I cook a good dinner six nights a week. Friday nights are our family movie night, and we'll normally get something fun like pizza or sushi.

[SwallowTail]

I answered 7, but am not sure if that was okay, b/c it includes the nights my dh cooks, as we take turns. We also do make things that allow for leftovers, so some nights, we may not cook a new meal, but will eat nutritious, home-cooked leftovers.

 

We probably go out for a quick dinner at Moe's maybe 1-2 times/month.

[abacus2]

About 4.

Sunday: Sometimes at MILs, but I usually am cooking supper lately.

Monday: I go shopping; DH handles dinner.

Tuesday: Usually cook.

Wednesday: Dinner at church.

Thursday: Every other week at my mom's.

Friday: Cook or eat out.

Saturday: Cook or eat out. (Eating out is sometimes neither day and very rarely both.)

[MeghanL]

My husband cooks 6 nights a week (so I chose other) and we go out to dinner just the two of us once a week..so while I cook 0 times, we still have healthy food on a nightly basis.

[kitten18]

I voted 7 but that includes a couple days of leftovers. I would say I cook a fresh meal about 5 nights/week.

 

I don't really love to cook every day, but DH and I eat low-carb and DD is GF so it's just easier to eat at home.

[Ferdie]

I answered 6 because we eat leftovers on Wed. and go out to eat after church on Sat. I cook lunches on Sat. and Sun. so figured that counted as an extra meal.

[Wendi]

I cook usually 5-6 nights a week. Thursday is "Tacos and Electronics Night" for dh and ds; they go out to Taco Bell (which I hate!), then dh teaches ds about electronics (a passion they share). So I stay home, watch something they don't like, and eat whatever (last week, I had a quesadilla and edamame). We may eat out once a week, usually on the weekend. The rest of the time, I cook dinner. I had gotten into a rut for awhile of using a lot of frozen stuff from Trader Joe's, and not cooking from scratch as much. But for the last several months, I have been back into the swing of cooking, trying new recipes, etc. I love Asian food (mostly Japanese, Chinese, and Korean). The weekend before last, I made miso soup, gyudon, and kitsune udon (not all at the same meal!). Then the family asked for something non-Asian, so for the rest of the week, I made baked potato soup, chicken quesadillas, etc.

 

Last night, we had bulkogi (dh grilled it), steamed rice, and roasted broccoli and garlic. Why didn't anyone tell me sooner about roasting veggies? Green beans are also delicious roasted!

 

I have been getting lots of new recipes from a new cookbook (Steamy Kitchen), http://www.steamykitchen.com, http://www.rasamalaysia.com, and my friends via Pinterest, plus my Cooking Light magazines.

 

Wendi

[~Tara~]

I'd say I average 4 or 5. I'm counting our Sunday lunch, big meal at church, as the dinner meal for that day.

 

Some weeks it's 3 dinners. Too much running around, later park day, busy outside, time got away from us....so I declare Fend For Yourself then ship the boys to wrestling.

 

Other weeks I feel all Betty Crocker and am on my game with meal planning and prep.

 

I never cook meals on Saturday...that's our big 'whatever' day. And as I mentioned, Sunday is lunch at church for which I always prepare something. Everyone fends for themselves in the evening.

[PollyOR]

The kitchen and I are NOT friends! :lol: My girls cooked every night during spring break (I was juicing) and it was heavenly.

 

Breakfast and lunch is a fend for yourself affair around here.

 

I cook supper(5-6) because my husband expects it. When I was single I lived off of cold cereal and top ramen.

[Audrey]

I cook at home about half the time. The other half, we eat out. We're foodies and we like adventure! And dinner is usually where DH and I reconnect. That's often easier to do when I'm not working too. :001_smile:

 

 

Dh and I reconnect over dinner, too, but it's in the kitchen with him helping cook and prep and such. We have some of our best talks and make-out sessions there. :D

[WistfulRidge]

I cook 3 meals a day, 7 days a week with one regular exception (every other week we meet up with some friends for lunch).

 

Finances and food quality play a part in the why, but the reality is that I simply really enjoy cooking and baking. It soothes me :D

[Audrey]

Honestly, *someone* around here cooks 6-7 days a wk for supper.

 

It varies btwn me, Wolf, and Diva.

 

B/c I cannot predict or control flare ups, I really can't answer the poll in regards to how often *I* cook.

 

But, in the interest of honesty, I can say that I never make a meal w/out help. I simply physically cannot. For example, I need someone else to put a pot of water on the stove, and take it out, or put a dish in the oven and take it out, grate cheese, chop stuff, etc.

 

Oh, and I should add that I often make a meal for the family, and end up eating odd things for myself, since I cannot have gluten. ie they had pierogie lasagna last night, and I had an apple and cheese.

 

On a good note, Diva can cook better than most ppl I met at college :lol:

 

Off topic, but could you post your perogie lasagna recipe. Please? I've got a potluck coming up this weekend and I've never heard of this. It sounds like just the neat new thing I'd like to try!

[LibraryLover]

I'm sorry you saw it as a bait....I absolutely didn't mean it like that. I think it's wonderful when anyone does do what I aspire to do. I'd love nothing more than having the energy/motivation to cook a nice meal for my family 7 times a week. And, I really DO think they deserve that - and so do I! But, for me, life (read laziness, really!) gets in the way. It was just a tongue in cheek comment, but I'm sorry that you felt affronted by it.:)

 

I completely agree with your comments about cosiness, and the great feeling of dinner cooking while you go about your day! That's exactly how I feel! I love feeling like I'm providing these good meals, but it happens less often that I'd like!

 

 

LOL Maybe I was feeling defensive, being a cheapskate. I'm cool, you're cool. It's good.

[Scarlett]

Dh and I reconnect over dinner, too, but it's in the kitchen with him helping cook and prep and such. We have some of our best talks and make-out sessions there. :D

 

Hey, dh and I do this too! We will find ourselves standing in the kitchen talking for hours! Then we're like, 'why don't we sit down!'

[Shellydon]

6. We go out to eat one night a week. Honestly, I never thought that anyone did anything less than cook each night. What else would you eat if you didn't make dinner?

[Remudamom]

We have huge breakfast, leftovers or something easy for lunch. Bigger supper. On Tuesdays we order pizza. Sundays we eat out then they have to fend for themselves that night.

[JRmommy]

I recently started making freezer meals, and it has been one of the best decisions I've made regarding meal preparation and planning. I usually prep one day and cook the next. I make enough for 3 or 4 weeks. It has saved of money and time. I use onceamonthmom.com, passionatehomemaking.com, heavenlyhomemakers.com, and allrecipes.com for meal ideas and inspiration.

[cjbeach]

6 usually. We are very busy with our extracurriculars but I'm anti fast food and too cheap to pay for 3 kids to go out to a restaurant and not eat it, lol.

But i have to admit I enjoyed cooking a lot more when I didn't have to cook.

Having a menu plan and ingredients on hand is a tremendous help. I want to do more freezer cooking for last minute meals though.

[REv1053]

Honestly? 7 nights a week.

I am too frugal to eat out regularly at all. I dont care for prepared foods.

I like to cook and I dont mind forcing my family to eat it. ;)

[ssavings]

I voted 7. We have allergies/sensitivities, so prepared foods and eating out are not really an option... And leftovers rarely survive lunches...

[Guest]

I voted 7, though sometimes it is leftovers, but leftovers are because I baked a chicken or made meatloaf or something similar. Even when it's leftovers, I am usually still making something to go along with it or turning the leftovers into something different.

[Rosie_0801]

Hubby usually cooks on the weekends, so I cook anywhere up to five nights. There is a strong correlation between people letting me sleep and me cooking anything that could be described appetising.

 

Rosie

[QuirkyKidAcademy]

At least five, during most of the year. I don't cook on Sunday night and usually there is a reason for just sandwiches another night.

 

During baseball season, between practice and games and my board member duties, I'm doing good to get 3 home cooked meals on the table. Is it July yet????

[3Blessings]

My family gets meals .. . but my wonderful dh is the one who provides them. He cooks, I clean. I'm ok with that. So is he. God bless him!

[lauriep]

I said 2, but my husband cooks also (I didn't count the meals he prepares). :001_smile:

[Runningmom80]

We cook all of our meals, but that is because we are vegan, and my ds has multiple food allergies.

 

 

I hate cooking, and wouldn't do it if I didn't have to. :)

[Elinor Everywhere]

I had to vote "other" because I don't cook - my dh does all our cooking. And he cooks a full meal about 5-6 times a week, which includes a protein (meat or fish), a vegetable, and a salad.

 

In my defense, when he is out of town (which is often) I magically transform into the Queen of Crock Pots, and I cook about 2-3 times during his absence. This is anywhere from 4 days to 2 weeks.

 

I'm quite proud of myself these days...it only took 21 years of marriage. :lol: