I HATE cooking for my family

amother

Bronze

Tue, Jul 26 2016, 11:09 pm

I'm so burned out. I've always hated cooking, but lately I hate it even more....dinner for the kids, dinner for DH who refuses to even go into the kitchen (this won't change - it's been an uphill battle). Shabbos and Sundays are torture. I do simple items but STILL hate it. We can't really afford takeout save for the occasional pizza. Please help. I feel like a catering company and hate hate hate cooking all the time!!!! And no one in my family likes sandwiches so I'm stuck.

Maya

Tue, Jul 26 2016, 11:27 pm

I like to cook, but I got burnt up from the daily dinners too.

I started cooking for two or three nights at a time and reheating the leftovers. My kids are very picky so I make something they like and they eat it two or three nights in a row.

Can you do something like breakfast for dinner one night? Eggs, toast, cereal etc. That's easy and can be nutritional if done right.

Sunday is Shabbos leftovers or barbecue; I refuse to cook on Sundays.

The ideal would be to prepare once a week for the entire week. For example, grill chicken breast and/or cook ground meat once a week and prepare them differently for different nights. Have cut up vegetables in the fridge ready to be roasted, or eaten raw in a salad. Cooked rice and quinoa will keep well, and you can use them with the prepared meat/poultry. Have fruit cut up ready for dessert.

moramom

Tue, Jul 26 2016, 11:30 pm

Yikes that must be so hard cuz so much of a mothers day is spent preparing meals!
Would it help u to prepare two meals at once this way u only have to cook 2×a week?
Also if y r creative and bring ur creativity into cooking this can help
Like serve food ina fun way that gives u a good satisfactory feeling
Or add a fun twist to meals ex dairy meals with milkshakes,whatever makes u happy type

amother

Powderblue

Tue, Jul 26 2016, 11:32 pm

So dont! If they dont like sandwiches and simple fare...then too bad! Noone will starve themself! As a mother you have a responsibility to teach your kids to eat whats served. Otherwise you end up with threads like ...husbsnd is extremely picky eater!

ora_43

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 6:09 am

I second what Maya and amother-powderblue said.

And also - maybe there are some kitchen things you can invest in to make life a little easier. Do you have a food processor? If you make rice, a rice maker can be very helpful. Having nice knives and a large frying pan (so that you can fry everything at once + spend less time in front of the stove) can also help. Things like that.

Oh, and a big enough freezer + tupperware so you can make, say, a huge pot of soup and then freeze enough for future meals - also helpful, if possible.

And also, teaching your kids to cook might help. You didn't say how old they are, but even kids who are 5-6 can microwave a potato or stir batter, and kids ages 7-10 can already chop vegetables or make simple things like pancake batter or cookies. (If cooking is your least favorite job, you could try trading with them for their chores. My kids would always be willing to cook instead of cleaning their bedroom.)

It takes a lot of effort in the short run (teaching them how to do things instead of just doing it yourself) IME it's really worth it. Maybe it won't be relevant for you for a while, but worth keeping in mind. (And if it's not relevant, because your kids all age 4 and under - keep in mind that little kids have no expectations of "normal" meals. You could feed them applesauce and fried eggs for dinner. Or bananas and tuna salad.)

ora_43

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 7:49 am

I forgot my favorite tip for hated chores - do as much of it as possible after the kids are asleep, and find something entertaining to watch/listen to while doing it.

Cooking is a little harder to do at night than, say, folding laundry, but you could do things like chopping up all vegetables and measuring spices for a soup so that the next day you can just dump it into boiling water, or get chicken soaking in sauce so that the next day you just stick it in the oven.

HonesttoGod

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 10:15 am

Do it once a month.
Choose one day a month that you will buy a huge amount of chicken, meat, fish etc. Then cook it. All.

For the fish you can make a dressing/marinade and stick it in a bag and freeze. Defrost in a pan in the oven with the marinade already on.
You can prepare schnitzel and then fry it or bake it straight from the freezer it is so quick.

Basically meal plan. Then all you have to do is remove the food from the freezer, heat it up and make a quick side dish (salad, pasta, couscous, etc) it cuts your prep/cooking time in half and makes life as a chef for a family so much easier.

amother

Silver

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 10:54 am

I am not a fan of being the "cook" in the family either. I want everyone to eat healthy food though. We have a pretty fixed solid unchanging weekly menu, and here is what it is:

Sunday: rice in the rice cooker and stir fry chicken with vegetables, or Shabbos leftovers. Sometimes we go out on a date and give the kids leftovers or scrambled eggs before we go.

Monday: Shabbos chicken and potato kugel

Tuesday: macaroni and cheese

Wednesday: chicken cutlets and baked potatoes

Thursday: pizza

Friday: I think of something creative for Shabbos and the kids either eat Shabbos food in the afternoon or peanut butter sandwiches.

I have on hand all week apples, plums, bananas, fruit cups, peppers, yogurt, cereal, milk, bread, American cheese etc. I am out of the house but I have frum babysitters who either do or do not give the kids these things during the day (in the summer the camps have breakfast and lunch).

I am sorry that you can't do takeout because that helps a lot with my fussy husband and son. However a key is to not get emotionally frazzled. In my house if you don't the food then you go hungry (or eat chips and ices I guess). I am not letting my self worth depend on someone else's arbitrary idea of what is good food and what isn't.

I also just bought an excellent book by Dr and Mrs Sears that explains healthy eating to kids. My kids really liked it and they are trying to eat better.

amother

Bronze

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 11:19 am

HonesttoGod wrote:

Hmmm. Maybe I'll try this for 2-week increments.

Raisin

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 5:10 pm

I think having a meat day, a chicken day, a pasta/milchigs day, a fish day etc works well. That way you know what proteins to stock up on but there is some variety.

Also if you make soup or sides make a lot so it can be for other nights. Plain rice served with meatballs on monday can be egg fried rice to go with chicken on tuesday or wednesday.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 5:22 pm

I hear you! I love to cook when I am in the mood, and I have the energy. Those days are few and far between. I also despise washing dishes, and I get NO help.

I eat like a bird, and can snack on a bit of protein and veggies here and there, and be fine. Because of my meds, I rarely have an appetite, and only eat when my blood sugar gets low.

DD is a super picky eater, and things she will and won't eat change on a daily notice with no warning. She wants me to make something for her, usually after I've already cleaned up the kitchen and sat down with a book. Rolling Eyes

DH wants meat, potatoes, and more meat. It takes a lot of work to get him to try a new flavor, and I have to be very creative to get anyone in the house to eat a veggie. I hide a lot of things, and of course, that takes extra work. DH wants dinner on the table promptly after he comes home from davening.

Nobody ever eats the same thing, and rarely at the same time, so on Shabbos I have to prepare a half dozen types of food, so that everyone has what they'll eat.

It really takes all the joy out of making a good meal.

tichellady

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 5:33 pm

amother wrote:

Hmmm. Maybe I'll try this for 2-week increments.

Don't freeze the fish unless you know that your family is ok with eating frozen fish. We personally do not like eating fish that has been frozen ( and we are not picky eaters in general).Just putting it out there because I wouldn't want this to lead to food waste and more for aggravation you.

Simple1

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 5:36 pm

amother wrote:

You could step this up by using "real" foods, but keeping it very, very simple. I find it easier to skip recipes and to just put things in the pan and bake. Some examples:
Chicken (w/ bone or boneless) and any spice or botttled sauce - bake till done.
Same for fish
Any frozen vegetable, cooked with water and salt. (any added spice is a bonus.)
Pasta or rice as a side. Or if you're feeling really lazy - bread - whole wheat if you want to feel more nutritious.
Other ideas:
Salad - lettuce and tomato, or any combo of vegetables.
Frozen corn on the cob.
Baked (whole) sweet or white potatoes. Or cut them in half and toss with oil and salt.
Pasta and cheese

piegirl

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 6:13 pm

I like to do a combination of freezer meals and really easy meals. So I'll make 3-4 sauces and dump diff types of chicken in a bag with sauce. Let's say Chinese, sweet, spicy, and breaded. Then I'll take chicken breast, legs, wings and mix and match. I can add veggies into the bag too- carrots, celery, onion, peppers, whatever goes. That can make 12 meals. Then I portion out the rice for each meal. I take out the chicken the night before, at 3 I stick it in the oven, make another tray with the rice and oil, salt, hot water ( or French fries, hash browns, string beans) and stick that in the oven an hour later. By 5 everything is cooked.
If I forget to take out the chicken the night before, I make a quick soup ( lentil, tomato-rice, onion with onions I already have fried and frozen) and sometimes I have bread dough in the fridge and make rolls ( the kind of dough you can make and refrigerate for 2 weeks) or I'll make sandwiches in the sandwich maker.

So I just want to note that this is my ideal schedule. Right now I'm 4 months pregnant, and my family has literally been eating frozen pizza, sandwiches, and pasta for 4 months. Do what you can and that's all.

amother

Salmon

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 6:54 pm

There are a lot of videos on making freezer meals for the crockpot
They claim you can make 10 meals in about an hour.
You can freeze already made schnitzel.

When my son was 9 yrs old, I showed him how to make dinner and told him it is his obligation to make this dinner once a week for his wife.
I taught him to make shake n bake chicken, microwaved baked potatoes, canned corn, and a bag of classic salad with a bottle of dressing on the side.
Today, he's 25 and makes this dinner for his wife.

Also, where I live they sell rotisserie chicken that is cheaper than making chicken. Monday special 2 chickens for $12. This with some rice, frozen string beans roasted in the oven, bag of salad or cut up cucumber and tomato.

I think if you plan your meals it will not be so burdensome.
Hope this was helpful.

amother

Bronze

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 6:58 pm

amother wrote:

Thank you. You're quite a woman!

simcha2

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 7:05 pm

This link changed my life...

It is the recipes and shopping list for 31 crock pot dinners. After modifying for kashrut it makes 20 meals, (which is the whole month minus Friday and Shabbat!).

It takes me about 4 hours to prep the food. I do an on line shopping order so all the food is delivered at once.

No more weeknight cooking for the month other than rice/pasta/potato to accompany.

http://newleafwellness.biz/201.....hool/