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

[LibraryLover]

Yeah. Pretty lucky we don't have too much pick pick, and no new ones. I have one kid who won't eat any sort of salad dressing whatsoever. I put hers aside before tossing. That's easy. One 'hates' fish, except when she doesn't. I try to serve fish on her least stressful days. But everyone eats raw veggies and salads. I stick to the basics. Stir fry is always welcome. Without mushrooms for one. ;)

[freesia]

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.

Pretty much this. Add a dh with allergies that make interesting cooking too complicated or impossible and take out the part about convince foods, which we also can't do. Cooking is no fun anymore. At least dh cooks twice a week.

[Guest]

"I *#^#%# hate it" wasn't an option, but if it was I would have chosen it in a heartbeat.

 

I do it, and I detest it. I'm an excellent cook, but doing it three or four times a day for years on end has sucked the joy right out of it for me.

[EKS]

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.

I was counting having leftovers as cooking...

[TKDmom]

I have never liked to prepare meals. Especially if there's a deadline. Like DH gets home at 6pm and has to be somewhere else by 6:30. I do cook dinner most nights, with occasional leftover nights and less often, nights that we actually plan to eat out.

 

I always liked baking. My ds shares the love of baking and would make cookies or muffins or brownies everyday, but there's only so much of that we can do. ;) I think the stress-level of making a healthy dinner is what gets me. My kids have mostly learned to stay out of the kitchen just before dinner if they want to avoid being snapped at.

[BarbecueMom]

I love cooking. I hate eating. I would gladly cook a nice meal for my family every night, then take a magic pill full of nutrients and calories so I don't have to actually eat.

[Guest]

I used to love it more. Now it is more difficult because of foods to be avoided and coordination of schedules. It feels like a chore most of the time now.

 

If it is an unhurried day and I had ample time to slect, buy, and prepare the food I want to make, then I love it. Those days are rather few now. But I do make homemade dinners almost every night.

[DawnM]

I love cooking. I hate eating. I would gladly cook a nice meal for my family every night, then take a magic pill full of nutrients and calories so I don't have to actually eat.

 

 

I will try to still like you.

[Guest]

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.

Yeah, this is pretty much me, too.

 

I chose the "depends on my mood" option, because that is the closest choice, but really it is more like, "depends on the schedule and what else is going on."

[BarbecueMom]

I will try to still like you.

It's my shoddy digestive system. The recent dental work isn't helping. Food just hates me. Only cheesecake is really worth the agony anymore.

[DawnM]

It's my shoddy digestive system. The recent dental work isn't helping. Food just hates me. Only cheesecake is really worth the agony anymore.

 

 

Do you take any probiotics?   I have had a lot of issues and taking Align has really helped.  

[momacacia]

I enjoy cooking if there is no one else in the house, ie no kids. If they're here, I'm not in a quiet kitchen and feel like I should be doing something with them (school, play, reading) instead of something for them. However , I really do *need* to cook for our family most days/meals because I find healthy, unprocessed food impacts me and at least one of my children profoundly for the better.

 

I'm not one of those people who nurtures with food though. Kind of wish I were...would make cooking as much as I should easier. I nurture people with books, ideas and networking. If we had a few celebratory meals a year and lived on Ensure the rest of the time, I'd be more than happy. ;)

[DawnM]

I have large russet potatoes in the oven right now.  We have chicken, cheese, sour cream, salsa, and butter as toppings.  Side salad that DH made yesterday and made extra for today.

 

 

[displace]

Cooking is a lot of effort for me, for only myself most times. I will do it for holidays because I feel I have to and have recipes I enjoy.

[MarinesWife]

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.

 

Same here.

 

I used to really enjoy cooking but there are just many other WAY more enjoyable things to do now.  I just do it because it needs to be done.  I try to cook double recipes so there are lots of leftovers.  :)

[mom2att]

Many times I have wished for that Willy Wonka meal pill that would give us all the nutrition without the cooking and shopping.

 

 It's about eating to live, not living to eat.

 

This. Totally. You know that part on Wall-E where the people are all floating around in space and the ad comes on that says "It's lunch . . . in a cup!" and they all drink their meal like a milkshake? I would so go for that!

 

And I admire people like Bill who love to cook healthy meals for their family. I just love to do . . . other things. Anything, really, besides cooking. Laundry, anyone?

 

 

[medawyn]

I voted that I enjoy cooking most days and live it some, which is true most of the time. I'm in the throes of morning sickness now, though, so it's more like "why do these $!?$& people need to eat multiple times a day, and why can't they do it for themselves?" Fortunately, there is an end in sight, and I hope that I will be back to normal by Christmas cookie season. Until them, bleegh.

[Bluegoat]

I did used to get quite depressed about cooking when my kids were picky.  I changed my policy - except for a few items that were allergies or well-established dislikes, I no longer accommodated picky eating.  It made the whole thing a lot less stressful - still annoying if people didn't eat, but less work.;

[The Girls' Mom]

I feel like I need a disclaimer...lol.

 

I voted that I don't like it and I don't do it daily.  

 

I love to cook.  However, after 23 years of cooking nearly every night for my family, and dealing with food intolerances, I'm sick to death of THINKING about food.  I hate the decision making and planning. 

 

I am now back in school full time and working part time.  My oldest child goes to college full time and also works part-time.  My "babies" are 15.  I finally decided I was done with doing ALL the food prep.  The girls each make a meal one night a week.  I declared Thursdays an automatic "fend for yourself" day.  That got me down to cooking 3 nights a week.  Sometimes, that cooking involves warming up a pack of hot dogs..lol.  

I miss not eating at the table every night too.  But, our lives right now just aren't conducive to it.  They never be conducive to it again.

[tiddles]

I despise cooking - it's a big fat drag that I dread daily. DH won't/can't cook. DD so picky I don't know how she is even alive. If I could get away with doing cheese and crackers with a few grapes for "greens", I would..lol

[Joker]

I hate it. I used to love it but then I lost my taste and smell and what I have now is no fun. Most things taste and smell bad. If they don't taste/smell bad, they don't taste/smell at all. There's nothing that I could say actually tastes good anymore. So, it's often really hard to derive any satisfaction from spending time cooking something that tastes and smells horrible to me. I often spend time cooking food I can't even eat because it's so bad to me and that's no fun either. The only good part is that I know I'm feeding my family something usually better than eating out and dh does the dishes.

[Seasider]

I like to cook, BUT...

 

I need a sabbatical. No joke. If I could take a few months off (after 20+ years you'd think I'd earned it, aye?), I would probably enjoy it again.

 

A sabbatical and graduating the picky eaters. Yeah, that would make the job fun again.

[LucyStoner]

I'm a good cook. I enjoy cooking. I probably enjoy cooking more than average.

 

I don't enjoy the work generated by all cooking jobs. For instance, cleaning out the fan basket on the range vent hood? Not my idea of a fun past-time. Nor are the more regular daily grind of dishes. My sons and husband help with the kitchen clean up but still there are days we eat sandwiches off of napkins because I am just not going to generate a mess that night.

[Ausmumof3]

I bounce around. Sometimes I really enjoy making a good meal and other times I can't be bothered so we have a lot of grilled meat and salad.

 

I quite like the challenge of figuring out how to use unusual ingredients, or use up what we have, but I hate the open endedness of menu planning and shopping with every option in the supermarket available.

 

Last week I did one of the menus with all the recipes and a shopping list and I really liked it: I think it's planning and shopping that I hate most.

[abcmommy]

My kids have killed my love of cooking.

 

I still enjoy it but nightly seems like a drag any more.

[Cottonwood]

I really enjoy it.  I'm a from-scratch cook..which I started doing when DD was young and developed a wheat allergy.  Since then I have really come a long way and now I write recipes and create new meals on my own.  I bake a lot as well.  NOw I make nearly everything we eat.  Bread, condiments, etc etc etc. To lessen the drudgery of doing it daily, I often over cook on purpose and freeze pans of food, or pots of soup.  I make 4-5 loaves of bread and freeze a few.

 

Ironically, my mom is...well, lets just say anything kitchen related is absolutely not her gift.... and she didn't teach me how to cook as a young girl at all.  Maybe rice dishes or baked chicken.  That's it.  I cooked my first meal once DH and I were dating and it was grilled cheese and tomato soup! lol  Now, I actually teach people hot to cook, methods, fermentation, flavor pairings, bulk storage, etc.  A couple friends bring their daughters and all of us have a 'kitchen' day and I teach them all sorts of helpful things.

 

All that...and DH cooks as much or more as me..and better!  I really hope our kids are learning something!

[Rosie_0801]

I cook breakfast pretty much every day, that being the meal that determines whether dd can think long enough to do school.

 

After that, well, we'll see how the mood strikes. If I can get her to cook lunch, all the better. :D She's a veggie shaslik pro!

[foxbridgeacademy]

I rarely enjoy cooking, takes too long to cook the things I'm willing to feed my family (whole food/from scratch).  Those kinds of meals are probably 3-4 nights a week then we have another 1-2 of "quick" meals like tacos or spaghetti. and another 1-2 nights of "fend for yourself" (eat leftovers or frozen pizza, as long as I don't have to do anything). I boarder on the verge of really disliking cooking but I do it anyway. :banghead:

[No More Perfect]

My husband will volunteer to "cook" and that usually means breakfast food or food bought with the debit card (pizza, tacos, etc). I'm grateful for his pitching in but I wish when it was my night off it meant "real" meals. I'll be a big baby and admit that I miss being a kid and having a mom to make GOOD meals for me. I'd give a lot to have someone cook for ME the way I cook for others!

[marbel]

I came across this article today - cooking for a family or group with varied tastes:  When Dinner Proves Divisive: One Strategy, Many Dishes.

[Guest]

My husband will volunteer to "cook" and that usually means breakfast food or food bought with the debit card (pizza, tacos, etc). I'm grateful for his pitching in but I wish when it was my night off it meant "real" meals. I'll be a big baby and admit that I miss being a kid and having a mom to make GOOD meals for me. I'd give a lot to have someone cook for ME the way I cook for others!

On the rare occasion my DH cooks, he uses every. dish. we. own. Then, because he cooked, I have to clean.

[lea_lpz]

I voted other because generally I cook most nights and enjoy it. I'm in my first trimester with twins and it's been very hot the last week, so I haven't been cooking much if anything. In most seasons though it's enjoyable.

 

I try to protect our evening meals and family time, and so that means we don't have activities every afternoon or late in the evenings.

[DawnM]

On the rare occasion my DH cooks, he uses every. dish. we. own. Then, because he cooked, I have to clean.

 

 

That is exactly what my 17 year old just complained about!  He had to do dishes and said, "Dad uses ALL the dishes when he makes dinner, why can't he just use a few?"

[lea_lpz]

I guess I am blessed. My dh cooked the first 6 months after I had a baby and is big on using the least amount of pots and pans, utensils possible. And he's a better cool than me. And with me on my first trimester with twins, he's pretty evenly doing the cooking.

 

To my credit I taught him how to cook. Before we had kids and when we only had one I made it a point to have him help me in the kitchen every evening with dinner. When we got our first place, he couldn't boil an egg. But he's since surpassed me!

[Matryoshka]

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.

This.

[zoobie]

In a vacuum, I LOVE cooking and baking. The shopping with 4 kids, cooking with 4 kids, and cleaning up after tends to suck the joy right out of it many days.

[Tsuga]

Relevant to the topic. Tonight I wanted good food. I had one kid with an EC activity, I worked eight hours, and of course the commute to work and back and then to the activity and back from the bus.

 

So we had grilled fish and corn and a salad of just one green with some oil on it. Easy, whole, no fuss.

 

I did not particularly enjoy "cooking" it. It was healthy. It was home-made. It was tasty. It was incredibly easy and fast. It was also expensive, at least the salmon, though we live in WA so not too bad in season. (We buy frozen off season.) It looked nice on the table. I put it on nice platters and we all sat down and the adults had wine and the kids had ice water.

 

Not everyone ate it. There was whole-wheat bread on the side. My picky eater had a bit of corn, a serving of salmon, and a piece of toast. She tasted the salad and decided it was not for her. DSD1 had corn and toast. Whatever. I'm so over it.

 

So I feel like... yeah, I like to cook. What does that look like in a household of six with two working parents? Not exactly what you'd imagine but we are well-nourished.

 

 

[waa510]

I don't thoroughly enjoy it most of the time. I often try out new recipes to help break up the monotony a bit and vary our diet at the same time. I also try to challenge myself to make healthier, cheaper meals that the kids will eat so I'm always researching recipes or ideas on pinterest or in library cookbooks. Treating it like a game, almost, has made it less like drudgery. I'm not a very good cook though! I was raised in a fast food/frozen pizza type of household so I never learned how to do much beyond operating a toaster and boiling water for pasta. I think if you come into cooking with skills or confidence in place it's a little less stressful. My goal is to get good enough at cooking to actually enjoy it all the time! 

[dollhouse]

I chose "depend on my mood," because I actually love cooking, I just don't love having to do it every night, especially when at least one child will refuse to eat some portion. That sucks away some of the joy, for sure!

[DawnM]

I typically go for easy to make foods.  

 

Last night was baked potato night (with chicken for protein and a side salad)

 

Tonight is bagel pizzas.  I need to use up my bagels and I have mini pepperonis.  Side salad.

 

If it takes longer to prep than 20 min. I prob. won't do it.

[elegantlion]

I will enjoy cooking once the replicator is invented. 

 

I cooked more when I was married. I enjoy cooking more now that I'm not married, read into what you will. :coolgleamA:

 

 Ds and I are picky eaters and tend to eat smaller meals. I cook about 2-3 times a week, leaning more toward 2 with us both in school. Most nights we worship at the altar of the toaster oven who gives us frozen pizza or taquitos. 

 

I've lost some sense of taste, like the physical sense, so food isn't a source of joy. Ds has a very nuanced sense of taste, he's a decent cook. 

[regentrude]

So we had grilled fish and corn and a salad of just one green with some oil on it. Easy, whole, no fuss.

..

 

So I feel like... yeah, I like to cook. What does that look like in a household of six with two working parents? Not exactly what you'd imagine but we are well-nourished.

 

That seems like a perfectly normal, healthy, and tasty meal to me. 

[marbel]

<snip>

 

So we had grilled fish and corn and a salad of just one green with some oil on it. Easy, whole, no fuss.

 

I did not particularly enjoy "cooking" it. It was healthy. It was home-made. It was tasty. It was incredibly easy and fast. It was also expensive, at least the salmon, though we live in WA so not too bad in season. (We buy frozen off season.) It looked nice on the table. I put it on nice platters and we all sat down and the adults had wine and the kids had ice water.

 

Not everyone ate it. There was whole-wheat bread on the side. My picky eater had a bit of corn, a serving of salmon, and a piece of toast. She tasted the salad and decided it was not for her. DSD1 had corn and toast. Whatever. I'm so over it.

 

So I feel like... yeah, I like to cook. What does that look like in a household of six with two working parents? Not exactly what you'd imagine but we are well-nourished.

 

 

That seems like a perfectly normal, healthy, and tasty meal to me. 

 

Yeah, that sounds like a great dinner to me too.

[creekland]

I detest cooking and always have even as a youngster with grandmas who wanted me to help make cookies.

 

I love the taste of the finished product - and for many meals - the healthy aspect of them.

 

In my "money is no object" world I'd have a well-paid private chef who would use my recipes sometimes and surprise me at other times.

 

But for tonight?  With tons to grade and having to learn a bit in depth about plants?  And hubby out in the field doing his engineering work?  We've already discussed the probability of Subway for supper in the two minutes we saw each other before I left for school.  (I wake him up right before I leave.)  That could change pending our whims when we get home.  Regardless, neither of us will want to cook.  It will be a treat not having to.

[FriedClams]

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

This is our house as well. Kids will eat pretty much anything and are more adventurous than me. I LOVE to bake, but I'm working on cooking more. I recently read Dinner: A Love Story and was inspired. :-)

[Miss Mousie]

Yay, I got to vote "other"!  I don't think I've had that chance before. 

 

I still enjoy cooking, but it's probably because I don't have to do it every day, much less 3 times (and never have).  Generally, I am responsible for breakfast, DH is responsible for dinner, and DS makes his own lunch (generally not cooked).  We do almost all of our cooking for the week on weekends.  The past 2 weekends, I wanted to make food in addition to breakfast, so I did, but DH still cooked other dinners, too.

 

I really feel for all of you who have to cook all the time and for picky/ungrateful eaters.  :( 

 

[ksr5377]

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.

This is what my family is turning in to.  When it was just DH and I, I didn't mind cooking for him.  We both enjoyed making up new recipes. I wasn't the greatest cook when we were first married but learned quite a bit the first few years.  Now, there's always a child (or 2 or 3) who just won't eat what I make.  Even though they know not to complain and throw a fit, it's just depressing to spend an hour on a meal only to have 2 out of 5 people eat it.  They all seem to have such different tastes.  I can't wait until they can all cook one meal a week.  Also, I find that I don't enjoy eating food that I cook myself.  I think there's something about the labor that goes in. I have spent the last hour with the food, I don't want to look at it anymore. 

Oh, and I'm sure being responsible for getting breakfast/lunch/dinner for a family of 6 for years on end has also taken away the little bit I enjoyed as well.  If I could just make the 2 meals that make everyone happy each week and forget about the other days, that would work for me.