S/O: How much do you love to cook meals for your family?

[DawnM]

Just curious after reading the cooking thread.

 

I count cooking as actual prepping, not throwing in a frozen pizza.

[DawnM]

I cook, as in really prep a meal, about 3-4 nights per week.  The other nights are leftovers, frozen pizza, sandwiches, or fend for yourself nights.

[EKS]

I chose other.  I enjoy it at times, but much less than I did maybe 15 years ago.  Mostly it's just a chore to get through.  I cook maybe 5 nights per week.

[Guest]

I hate cooking and do it (every day) only to feed them as healthily* as I can possibly manage. Strictly utility toward what I see as a moral function. My parents never gave a thought to what to feed us to be healthy, and shocker! We weren't healthy.

 

*Handily, "as healthily as possible" includes lots of raw veggies and the kids learned early on how to get that for themselves.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Your choices are a bit skewed, I think.  I don't mind it but I still only cook 4 nights because we have leftovers and it would be silly and wrong to waste food.  

[teachermom2834]

I used to really enjoy cooking but not so much anymore. The challenges of cooking for a family of six, time crunch, budget limitations, and picky eaters have zapped the joy from it. I still cook a few times a week, other times it is something really easy that is not really cooking or fend for yourself nights. Rarely do we get takeout or fast food but we do eat less healthy convenience foods pretty regularly. I don't feel great about that but I am tired.

[SKL]

I don't like cooking, but I do it when it makes sense in the big picture, which is less than 3x per week.  :)

 

My sister used to come many Sundays and cook a nice traditional meal for us, but now her circumstances have changed and I don't foresee that happening.  I should probably start forcing myself to do it once in a while, if only to teach my kids how it's done.  Hmm, I learned "traditional meals" when I was 12, so there's no hurry ....

[Amira]

I couldn't quite pick the first choice, but I'd say most days I enjoy it and quite often I love it. It really helps that I don't make dinner about once a week when I don't feel like it.  I don't plan it or warn anyone, I just don't do it. Some days I just make something quick and easy because I don't feel like doing all the necessary things to make something that takes more effort.  But I still like cooking a lot.

 

The real trouble is, the people living at this house just don't appreciate my efforts. :)

[Tsuga]

I love cooking big meals but with a large family and other priorities at this time in our lives, I don't get to. We cook 2 - 3 meals per week from scratch--like, our own broth, everything. 3-4 meals are from somewhat prepared foods like ravioli, frozen veggies, etc. And then there are leftovers.

 

I love playing music, too. I don't get to do that every day.

 

Skiing is my favorite thing, but I don't have the money or time to do that every weekend.

 

We love going to the beach but guess what?

 

So I disagree with how you've phrased this. I really, really enjoy cooking and eating homemade meals. That does not mean that I can do it daily. I mean, I could, but I also truly love sport, community, education, music, and getting my kids the enrichment activities they deserve. That doesn't mean I love cooking any less. It just means that right now, it's not going to happen that often. :)

[AimeeM]

I used to enjoy it. These days it just seems like one more thing I need to do. 

Part of it may be that my husband is naturally a far better cook than I am, so watching him simply pull amazing gourmet meals out of his butt (okay, out of the fridge/pantry) can be annoying, lol. I'm a "must-have-a-recipe" kind of cook :P

 

I enjoy baking. I don't have time to do it these days, but I used to really enjoy it.

[Carrie12345]

I don't really enjoy it much at all, but I am addicted to the results. :-)

Last night was lasagna with homemade noodles and sauce (well, the crushed tomatoes were from a can, not fresh.)  Did not enjoy the work at all.  LOVED the meal!

[73349]

I enjoy more invoved recipes (like the stuffed tomatoes the other night, or chicken soup) more than the daily cooking (which is often out of Desperation Dinners or the like). DH's not-so-predictable work schedule has me doing real cooking less than I'd like.

[Amy in NH]

DH & I split the cooking pretty evenly.  I don't love doing it anymore, but I do like the cost & nutrition.

[regentrude]

I did not find a good option.

 

I love to cook if I have a lot of time, can try out yummy things, and we have time to savor a more elaborate meal. So, for holidays and weekends and special dinners I truly love cooking.

 

I do not love cooking the daily warm meal in my lunch break: I have a picky eater which limits my options and makes the repertoire repetetive, I have little time which means it has to be a quick meal, and we have to eat quickly and then  be on our way. I like it OK, but it gets a bit boring. But I like it better than eating out.

 

I do find enjoyment and a sense of satisfaction in feeding my family well; so even if the act of cooking the daily  weekday meal is not exciting, I am pleased when I serve a homecooked meal.

 

I do love baking and don't do it often enough.

 

[Loowit]

I enjoy cooking when I can have fun with it and not have to worry about picky eaters and food allergies.  We eat at home most nights, but cooking the same meals over and over gets boring.  When I try to switch things up a bit my family is less than trilled.  I try to find one night a month that I can do something new, with the promise that if people don't like it they can have something else.  I do however love to bake and my family tends to love whatever foods I bake; cookies, pies, breads, ...  But I don't have time to do that very often.

[Lady Marmalade]

LOVE!

 

Cooking is my love language.

 

I cook dinner seven days a week when I can.  When I am busy, I will make planned leftovers- like a large lasagna to eat over two days, or a big batch of taco fixings that we can eat again on a busy night.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Depends on the day.  Sometimes I love it and sometimes it is a chore. 

 

 

[RKWAcademy]

I love to cook but the drudgery of cooking day in and day out for the kids has quashed that love.  I'd like to make two meals per week.  I'd make them with flourish, and they'd be wonderful.  But then I wouldn't cook or prepare at all the rest of the week. 

[SeaConquest]

My husband does the everyday cooking. I enjoy cooking for Passover, Thanksgiving, Rosh Hashanah, etc., but would hate cooking every meal.

[mommymilkies]

It depends. Usually I love it, but we had a lot of allergies to deal with and I was paleo for awhile and it TOTALLY killed my lifelong love of cooking.  I'm finally getting out of that funk now that we're just eating whole foods. 

[Pam in CT]

I also didn't find an option that fit well.

 

I put a full dinner, with a main course, a vegetable, a salad and (usually) a starch, six nights a week.  Perhaps 3 nights a week, I do some variation for our one vegetarian as well (the other nights she eats a leftover from a prior night, or just eats our side dishes -- I've gotten good at throwing in bits of protein into our vegetables and salads).

 

BUT, if the definition of "cooking" is "prepping a full meal out of all new ingredients," then I'm only "cooking" maybe 2-3 nights a week, because my routine is All About rolling one night's leftovers into a subsequent meal (Day 1: tacos; Day 2: leftover meat rolled into chili; Day 4: stuffed baked potatoes with fixings including the last of the chili.  And so on).

 

Also,

I couldn't quite pick the first choice, but I'd say most days I enjoy it and quite often I love it. It really helps that I don't make dinner about once a week when I don't feel like it. 

this.

 

We go out, or get take-out, just about every Sunday.  It can be a nice restaurant, the local diner, good take-out Indian, or bad picked-up pizza, I don't much care, but knowing I have that one night that I don't have to do it goes a long way towards mitigating the Cinderella complex, lol.

 

[Spryte]

Once in a while I enjoy it. But mostly I'm grateful that DH enjoys it. :)

[Pink and Green Mom]

I don't mind the cooking.  It is the cleaning up part I cannot stand.  And while no one will accuse me of being a clean fanatic, the men and boys in my family just do not clean the pots and pans well enough, or load the dishwasher properly (meaning, once it has run and dried half the dishes are still dirty). 

[happi duck]

I especially love cooking *with* someone else. Dd and I make a great team!

[JustEm]

I hate cooking but do it because it is healthier and more affordable than eating out frequently or buying prepared meals

[Arcadia]

Its the prep work I find tiring so I buy pre-sliced or diced onions, diced garlics, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, broccoli florets, diced meat for cooking stir-fry dishes. I buy the pasta sauce and curry paste that my family likes.

I don't find it as tiring to cut carrots or mushrooms into chunks or to shred cooked chicken.

[Valley Girl]

I used to enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. I don't enjoy cooking for my family much anymore because of the pickiness, reluctance to leave activities to come to the table so the food can be eaten hot, and the all-too-frequent "I'm not really hungry" comments. It has become one more chore that is done of necessity.

[happypamama]

I voted that I don't really love it, and it's necessary, and I don't mind too much.

 

I used to like cooking. It has become a lot less fun in recent years. I still enjoy trying new things, but budget and dietary constraints make it really, really hard. It gets very monotonous. But at the same time, I'm a halfway decent cook, and things usually taste pretty decently. My children are pretty non-picky and will often love the meals I make, or at least they generally will eat some portion of the meal. DH isn't too picky either and will generally eat whatever I make (smart man not to complain about food that someone else is preparing!). It does get tiresome, though, making two or three hot meals every day (we don't do cereal or muffins for breakfast very often, although the kids often make their own lunches), while trying to make them nutritious, tasty, and frugal, without taking forever to make.

[Desert Strawberry]

I enjoy cooking for myself.

Not so much for my family. They are a lot of work and worry ;)

I cook at least one meal every day.

[cintinative]

I don't know how to describe how I feel about cooking. I like to cook generally, except when I am super tired.  As a homeschooler, that does happen.  Also like the prior poster I get tired of making the same things. So sometimes I try a bunch of new recipes. I am not sure if it is just me but only about 10% of the new recipes I try get added to our repertoire as "keepers."  Also we do have the budget issues that Happypamama mentioned and my son has Celiac disease so we have dietary workarounds to account for. So sometimes I just get discouraged. I would love to make steak on the grill but we cannot afford it. In general the only beef we can afford is ground chuck or very occasionally pot roast.  I am learning to appreciate what I can make and try to not be "bored" with the recipes I have to make. All in all I do have a lot that we like, but somehow I just still long for new stuff.   

[ajfries]

I get a lot of joy when the people I love enjoy the food I make (and say so).

 

I get a lot of heartache when they complain about what I've made. I don't mind if they choose not to partake, but the whining and complaining sucks the life out of me. Politely refuse, forfeit dessert, and enjoy the company of your family.

[mellifera33]

I like to cook for people who like to eat. My dh is the pickiest adult that I know, and the only flavors he likes are "extremely salty" and "extremely sweet." I hate cooking now. 

[marbel]

I did not find a good option.

 

I love to cook if I have a lot of time, can try out yummy things, and we have time to savor a more elaborate meal. So, for holidays and weekends and special dinners I truly love cooking.

 

I do not love cooking the daily warm meal in my lunch break: I have a picky eater which limits my options and makes the repertoire repetetive, I have little time which means it has to be a quick meal, and we have to eat quickly and then  be on our way. I like it OK, but it gets a bit boring. But I like it better than eating out.

 

I do find enjoyment and a sense of satisfaction in feeding my family well; so even if the act of cooking the daily  weekday meal is not exciting, I am pleased when I serve a homecooked meal.

 

I do love baking and don't do it often enough.

 

This is pretty much me, though we have our warm meal in the evening.

 

The worst part for me is thinking of what to eat.  My family doesn't like a ton of repetition except for a few things.  Some variation on tacos/burritos/quesadillas a weekly standard.   And we have other favorites but people tire of things easily so I can't make most things too often. 

 

Cool weather is easier because soups and stews give me more choices.  

 

In the past I've made lists of foods we like but then someone's taste will change in some way, and then it's all shot.   But it may be time to do that again now that the weather is changing.

[DawnM]

Your choices are a bit skewed, I think.  I don't mind it but I still only cook 4 nights because we have leftovers and it would be silly and wrong to waste food.  

 

 

Only so many boxes.....

[HRAAB]

I voted I don't enjoy it but it had to be done, and that makes me sad. I used to love preparing meals. The whole shebang: planning, shopping, prepping, cooking, trying new recipes and experimenting, seeing an attractive table. Now it is just get something healthy on the table, and I find myself more frequently calling for a do it yourself night. It helps that my youngest are able to cook. I don't like feeling this way, but it seems to be where I'm at.

[Bluegoat]

I like cooking generally, and we eat almost all meals at home.  I don't cook supper every night because we have leftovers some nights.  I tend to do pretty simple things for lunches - a cold plate, noodles with veg and cheese, boiled eggs.

 

With suppers, I do go through periods when I am more or less enthusiastic or feeling creative or inspired.  My kids will eat most things now, which is helpful.  I don't tend to be a complicated cook - my sister for example does a lot of things like Thai or other exotic stuff.  I like that, but I try and cook pretty economically, so I stick to a few different types of cuisines, generally, so I don't need to keep around too many different basic ingredients.  In winter I do a lot of British and Scandinavian, which translates well to our available local things, and in summer I'll tend more toward Mexican, or Mediterranean/North African.  Indian is common year round for a change.  I like to read cook-books, but I can't seem to follow a recipe to the letter  to save my life.

 

It looks for us like this school year, at least the first half, is going to have much busier evenings than I like, so I will be relying on the slow cooker a lot.

 

I do actually like to eat out, and there are half a dozen places I'd like to try, but I can't afford it more than occasionally.

[Bluegoat]

I also would say that I make an effort to remind myself that people don't actually need to have a huge amount of variation in their food, even if houskeeping magazines tend to suggest that is the case.  I find it easier when I get into a routine of foods to some extent, it really speeds things up.

[HS Mom in NC]

Don't really love it.  Don't mind too much.

[BooksandBoys]

I don't enjoy cooking, but due to food allergies/sensitivities and budgetary restrictions, I cook all but approximately 3 meals a month. Those three meals are the one that my husband cooks, the once a month street taco takeout treat we enjoy, and the once a month Costco hot dog bribery I use to get my children through the Costco trip without killing me. During ski season, we do eat frozen pizza a couple of times a month, but I still have to do quite a bit of prep work to make the scratch pizza for the family members with food allergies.

 

I have recently returned to freezer cooking (mostly freezing crock pot meals raw), and this helps me stay sane because I can get by with just prepping the starch and veggie.

[KungFuPanda]

I love it when I love it, but it goes in spurts around here. Some weeks we're all gourmet and some weeks it's just survival and dread.

[Spy Car]

Don't hate me, but I love making healthful meals for my family. I find cooking relaxing and a creative outlet.

 

I'm fortunate to have adventurous eaters who appreciate good food.

 

Bill

[LibraryLover]

I enjoy cooking for the most part. Sometimes I love it. My kids cook sometimes, as does Dh. Dh almost exclusively makes breakfast for us.

 

I'm working now, and it's a tiring job. By the time I get home I'm pretty much only good for the most simple meals. Grill fish, make a salad , cut up tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cucumbers. A quick sauté of greens. Nothing elaborate. (It's also still hot as heck here, so there is very little of turning on of the oven! ) We eat out , or pick up prepared food about twice a week. we make pretty good choices there. We're lucky to live in a foodie area, with lots of community gardens, farmer markets, and we have a few plants in pots on our patio. Figs, avocados, tomatoes, herbs, lemon tree, lettuces, chard etc. I try to make sure the family gets plenty of veggies (Korean place gets an extra prop for that!) even with delivery or pickup.

 

With school and work, we're not usually home together for lunch, except on weekends. We bring simple sack lunches mostly.

[Farrar]

Totally depends on my mood. But I only really cook 3-4 nights a week. The other nights I do prep (spaghetti and jarred sauce and salad or that sort of thing) or eat leftovers or the kids have a cooking night. But sometimes I really love it.

[Guest]

My kids are picky eaters. DH is a foodie who works too late to cook. I'm not a great cook (I only recently realized this). Ergo, no one is ever happy with what I make. Cooking is one more damn thing I have to do that no one will notice or appreciate.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yeah probably the biggest bummer is dealing with the fact we are all picky eaters here.  It's hard to come up with something that works for everyone.  Annoying as all get out. 

 

[No More Perfect]

I used to love cooking. Now? I hate it with a passion. Still, it needs to be done so I cook at least 5 times a week.

[Pawz4me]

I voted that I don't really love it but it has to be done and I don't mind it too much.

 

But that's kind of simplistic.

 

I think mostly I'm just tired of it.  When you're 52 and have been cooking most of your life . . . . it does get kind of old.

 

It's the deciding what to cook and grocery shopping that I mind a lot more than the actual task of cooking.

 

I shoot for cooking three really good dinners a week with enough for one night of leftovers.  The fifth night is something easy (BLTs, quesadillas or something like that).  Weekends I let DH take us out. ;)

[lailasmum]

I enjoy cooking but I dislike dealing with the couple of fussy eaters in my family who have an ever changing range of things they like one week and not the next. I cook nearly every day. It's fairly rare for us to eat out or buy take away.

[kewb]

As I said in the other thread. I live with a bunch of ingrates who have sucked all the joy out of cooking.

I don't like mushrooms. I see a mushroom. Everything tastes like mushrooms.

Ugh, celery. I hate celery.

Why are there peppers in it. I hate peppers.

Beets?!

I only like baby spinach in a salad. Don't cook it in stuff.

I am not in the mood for that, so I take a yogurt.

I grabbed a sandwich while I was out.

Pasta again?

Yay, pasta.

The onions are chopped too big.

I don't like chicken. I only like chicken this way.

Why can't we just order in?

 

So many more gems through the years. I gave up. I cook what I want and if you don't like it go make yourself something.

 

Forage night has evolved to forage half of the week.

[SemiSweet]

I voted that I usually enjoy it. Dh helps with the prep and the kids do the clean up, I meal plan and then prepare. I cook 5-6 nights a week, and never do breakfast or lunch though I'm trying to start doing them a couple times a week. We'll see how that goes. I do enjoy it more when I have a kitchen I like. I hate the kitchen in our current house, it's cramped and hard to maneuver. We are moving soon and I have no intention having a tiny kitchen again.