A home for their hearts Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Cooking has never been my favorite activity. I get no enjoyment out of it what so ever. I never had a huge repertoire of recipes to begin. Everything I know how to make is getting very old and I'm tired of eating it. I'm also tired of feeding picky children. I have a couple of complain about everything I make. Need less to say meal time at my house it becoming quite a chore. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Do you have a crock pot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tita Gidge Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I delegate. Your two oldest definitely can take a meal, and many 9 year olds are also capable. I tell you what, it won't be fancy meals but it won't take long for them to realize the time, prep and energy that go into cooking for a family. When they're on the receiving end of the complaints and pickiness, they'll come to appreciate what you've been dealing with and hopefully change their own tunes. It takes maturation and experience for them to realize what they're doing (to you), and to grow out of it. Or to at least be less annoying about it. One may not help being a picky eater, but one can learn to not complain about what is being served. One may not enjoy cooking, but one can learn to appreciate that others may not enjoy it either - and again, can learn not to complain about what is being served. One may also learn that when one is willing to take charge of a meal, one has more power over ensuring the meal meets his or her picky preferences. And when one is less willing to take charge of a meal, one comes to realize he has less power over ensuring the meal accommodates his pickiness. It's not a punishment. But you CAN turn it into an exercise, an experience, a shared responsibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Both of mine can make lunch, youngest can make 5 simple dinner meals, oldest can cook a lot of dinner meals. If they complain, they cook!! I also have a lot of food allergies, so I cannot cook every single meal or I would be cooking all day long. My food is expensive, not that yummy, and hard to cook, so I cook my own separate meals and they make their own lunches often and dinner occasionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I would make the kids start helping twelve and thirteen are old enough to make a meal and the nine year old is old enough to help out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 BLTs - I make the bacon all at once because I truly hate making bacon. I always get burned or splattered. I'm sure I'm just doing it wrong. Lol. That bacon lasts through a few meals. While I have nothing to add to the wise advice already offered, I do feel compelled to point out my astonishment and admiration at the bolded. How do you accomplish that? I have trouble getting bacon to last long enough to make it to the start of one meal. Do you have to hide the leftovers in a container marked "mealworms"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 You are not alone: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/477424-i-hate-to-cook/ My advice is in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 a sister in law has pizza night where everyone either gets a personal sized pizza crust (or tortilla or pita round) and then everyone gets to put whatever they want on their personal pizza......sandwich night-my son has had many "dinners" of PBJ sandwiches.....love the crockpot...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 While I have nothing to add to the wise advice already offered, I do feel compelled to point out my astonishment and admiration at the bolded. How do you accomplish that? I have trouble getting bacon to last long enough to make it to the start of one meal. Do you have to hide the leftovers in a container marked "mealworms"? I will have to agree. I did once attempt to make a large amount of bacon in a smug attempt at meal prep simplification and I ate all the bacon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I also don't enjoy cooking. Not even a little. My 16 year old cooks often, and in my house if you cook you don't have to clean, so she doesn't usually mind. Plus, she sort of cleans as she goes (I rarely do that) so I don't mind doing the kitchen after her! We also often just fend for ourselves for dinner, and always do for the other meals. I make sure there are plenty of suitable options to suit everyone's tastes and people can make their own. Funny story, and my Facebook status right now: DD10: Mom, do you know what I had for dinner last night? Me: No DD10: Of course not, because you didn't feed me. Me: Whatever, kid. You know how to feed yourself. DD10: Yeah. It's a good thing. Ok, I get the hint. Roast is in the crock pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 :lol: I make their sandwiches and hide the rest in the fridge. I also only have one teen boy and a dh who can never find anything in the fridge. ;) Because they "Man Look" for it. If a male tells me he looked for something, and can't find it, and wants my help, I tell himif I find it, I will hurt him, badly. Because males don't look...they Man Look, which means they stand in a location where they once saw the item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittyKat Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Marry a guy who likes to cook :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I do not recommend this; however, I can affirm that I have a friend who raised her family using only two dinner meal menus. She alternated days. I would have gone rabid mad, had I been one of her children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Honestly, I think being home all the time and eating 3 meals a day at home makes it more difficult. Many women who work and have kids in school are cooking far less than we homeschoolers do. Don't feel bad that you don't like it. I have this love/hate relationship with cooking. I love to try a new recipe if I'm in the mood, but there are days that I don't want to cook anything. Those days end up having the family cook or at least fend for themselves. I think keeping meals simple is key to not being burned out. Whole wheat pitas and tortillas have become my best friends. Pitas can make great pizzas as well as be filled with all kinds of salads and sandwich stuff. Tortillas make quick quesadillas, wraps or roll-up sandwiches, and make a new favorite of my family, a banana rolled up in one with peanut butter and honey. I try to get creative with the wraps and quesadillas so that I feel like I'm at least giving them interesting food. Sauteing some onion, peppers, and bacon bits together is quick and makes a great topping for any sandwich. I do use some convenience foods from time to time if they are on sale. It makes my life easier, so I figure it won't be all bad if it's once in a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 Marry a guy who likes to cook :laugh: I did! At least he used to. He workds long hours so can't cook very much any more. My dh is a better cook than I am which is part of my battle. I find myself not wanting to even try new things because he can be critical/picky when it comes to how food is prepared. There's been many times when I do cook that he comes home and eats something else, and this doesn't have to do my cooking being bad it isn't, he is just that picky. This just adds to my displeasure of cooking. Why do something when my family either doesn't want to eat what I make or complains about it? My dd13 isn't very picky and she rarely complains, my ds12 is very picky but he never complains and eats what is put in front of him, my dd9 is my biggest problem, almost every meal he has a comment about what is being served, my dd5 has started to get pickier these last couple of months, then my little guy pretty much eats anything. My ds9 is my biggest problem and the one who makes me want to run for the hills when it's feeding time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artichoke Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Cooking has never been my favorite activity. I get no enjoyment out of it what so ever. I never had a huge repertoire of recipes to begin. Everything I know how to make is getting very old and I'm tired of eating it. I'm also tired of feeding picky children. I have a couple of complain about everything I make. Need less to say meal time at my house it becoming quite a chore. Any ideas? For me, learning to actually cook was the answer. I had no skills in the kitchen so preparing meals took forever and messed up just about every dish in the place. Once I decided to learn how to do things like chop an onion, make a stir-fry, "clean as I go", and learn about food in general I spent less time in the kitchen. The burden of cooking became less so I enjoyed it more which led to wanting to know more and so on. I also had a paradigm shift that dinner didn't have to be a "meat and three" with bread on the side which is how I grew up. That alone made cooking less of a chore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 I go to Let's Dish and assemble meals there :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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