How often do you cook?

kelly136

I'm not a very good cook and don't really enjoy it that much so I'm rarely motivated to cook meals since it's just me and my 2 year old son. We eat mostly sandwiches, random snack foods, frozen vegetables, pizza, McDonalds, or go out to eat somewhere cheap. It's not really a time issue since I know I could do easy make-ahead freezer meals or prep ingredients to keep in the fridge- I just hate cooking for us since we both have such unpredictable appetites and the leftovers almost always get thrown away. We both get enough nutrition, so I'm not too worried about it.  Just wondering how often you guys cook full meals at home.

MinnesotaMomma91

I like cooking so i cook every night. But i stress this i LOVE cooking. I spend a lot of time looking for new recipes to try, i like cooking.

I find a lot on pinterest, and you could probably find something that you could make enough for a day or two and not have waste.

MaggieF516

Haha....you sound just like me!!  I have a two year old and I never cook and we eat a lot of the same stuff.  I also HATE cooking.  I'm not going to spend an hour slaving away in the kitchen so my son can eat 2 bites LOL. He likes basic kids stuff and it is a challenge to even get him to eat that.  We also don't get home until 7 pm during the week, so there isn't much time to make anything extensive.  Plus when I buy ingredients for home cooked meals, half of it isn't used and gets thrown out anyway.  It's hard to buy for only 2 people.  I don't feel guilty about not cooking as I know he gets the nutrition that he needs.  Cooking would just be one more stress I don't need as a single mom LOL.

20thirteen

I love love LOOOOOOVE cooking. Some recipes I can't cook unless there is someone at home to watch DD, but for the most part I cook nightly. We have a recipe thread, some easy stuff that is (from what I remember) kid friendly it's a sticky thread at the top.

brinaroze1

I'm living with my parents and would like to cook more often. Sometimes my work schedule is a pain, and I'll work late like three days straight. Then my manager changes things up and the latest I work is like 6 pm. (I work retail.) So, I don't really cook that much these days.

My problem with that is, my mom watches my daughter while I work and she's just fine feeding DD what I think is junk. Ramen, canned soup, Lean Cuisine spaghetti, chips and sugar cereal. In the beginning, it really ticked me off. When DD ate baby food, she consumed mostly vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. Now, DD is a total carb fiend and won't eat like she did when she was younger. Any ideas how I ca get her to eat like she used to? Or should I start a new thread?

MinnesotaMomma91

@Brinaroze1 try a variety of fruits and veggies and proteins. Itll also help when you get out on your own.

Is it possible for you to take your mom shopping to show her what you want your dd to eat?

How old is your dd, all kids go through a picky age.

ST3WD

Add me to the love to cook team. I feel like Emril when people eat my food.

When I lived with my immediate family before we had to split up, my sister and I took turns cooking almost every night. We kept some frozen stuff, had some pre-made crock pot meals or heat and serve sides for busy days, would experiment on the weekend... 

The suggestion of basic proteins that go in several dishes (i.e. ground meat you brown when you get home from the store for 3 separate nights including meatloaf, tacos, and casserole) is what helped us the most. When our mom taught us how to shop/budget, we'd pick the meats on sale and plan our meals around that. 

Currently, I live with people who are too busy/lazy to cook, and it's all I can do to not barf when I smell the garbage disposal, so I eat a lot of fortified cereal, bagged salad, sandwiches, fruits/veggies, etc. We probably go out to eat at least 3 times a week, but I sub salads for fries whenever I can. I feel a lot less healthy by eating out so much, but it's the their lifestyle, not the one I was raised on. 

In my own place, I hope to cook almost every night, but we'll see if that feeling changes when I'm single parenting my new LO.

20thirteen

ST3WD said:

In my own place, I hope to cook almost every night, but we'll see if that feeling changes when I'm single parenting my new LO.

I always, ALWAYS cooked while she napped in the beginning.  Because for the first couple weeks, its like all they do, eat, sleep, shit. Don't listen to the pricks that say "sleep when the baby sleeps" because then you will get NOTHING done.  People said that to me all the time.  And it was like:

"do I clean when the baby cleans or cook when the baby cooks?  Oh, baby doesn't cook or clean? Oh, ok, then.  I guess I'll do all that while the BABY IS FUCKING SLEEPING."

MinnesotaMomma91

20thirteen said:

ST3WD said:

In my own place, I hope to cook almost every night, but we'll see if that feeling changes when I'm single parenting my new LO.

I always, ALWAYS cooked while she napped in the beginning.  Because for the first couple weeks, its like all they do, eat, sleep, shit. Don't listen to the pricks that say "sleep when the baby sleeps" because then you will get NOTHING done.  People said that to me all the time.  And it was like:

"do I clean when the baby cleans or cook when the baby cooks?  Oh, baby doesn't cook or clean? Oh, ok, then.  I guess I'll do all that while the BABY IS FUCKING SLEEPING."

I nannied my two nephews with a newborn and part of nannying was cooking supper. I either strapped b onto my chest in my baby wearing wrap or i put him in the bouncer to sleep. My older nephew was in love with b so he would just sit there and talk to him and if b fussed my nephew would pat his tummy and b would calm down.

Cooking is harder now when b wants to climb in the oven. I often go find my dad or sister and say hold b for five minutes while i get food in/out of the oven. I do a lot of crock pot and stove top cooking now

ST3WD

MinnesotaMomma91 said:

ST3WD said:

In my own place, I hope to cook almost every night, but we'll see if that feeling changes when I'm single parenting my new LO.

I always, ALWAYS cooked while she napped in the beginning.  Because for the first couple weeks, its like all they do, eat, sleep, shit. Don't listen to the pricks that say "sleep when the baby sleeps" because then you will get NOTHING done.  People said that to me all the time.  And it was like:

"do I clean when the baby cleans or cook when the baby cooks?  Oh, baby doesn't cook or clean? Oh, ok, then.  I guess I'll do all that while the BABY IS FUCKING SLEEPING."

I nannied my two nephews with a newborn and part of nannying was cooking supper. I either strapped b onto my chest in my baby wearing wrap or i put him in the bouncer to sleep. My older nephew was in love with b so he would just sit there and talk to him and if b fussed my nephew would pat his tummy and b would calm down. Cooking is harder now when b wants to climb in the oven. I often go find my dad or sister and say hold b for five minutes while i get food in/out of the oven. I do a lot of crock pot and stove top cooking now

YESSSSSS, to both of you. 

@20thirteen My little brother was born when I was 11, so I vividly remember the newborn-kindergarten phases of cooking. I know I wasn't parenting, but a lot of the times it was my sis and me tag teaming or one of us on our own with him depending on after school activities/work schedules. 

Everyone would fuss at my mom to go take a nap and she'd look at them like they were nuts. "I've gotten 6 hours total. Now I want coffee and clean laundry." Haha. 

@MinnesotaMomma91 I remember 2 was one of the most frustrating phases to handle alone. They don't want to help so you can't "give them a job." They're too big for bouncers, pac n' plays, excer-scaucers, etc. They can't be trusted to be alone and watch tv for the 2.7 minutes it'll take for you to just do the task...

 They just want to explore and kill themselves. 

On a good day? I could distract him by having him check on the pet food bowls or "helping" to set the table. On a bad day... Well, he got strapped into a highchair while screaming/throwing a tantrum until I was done or he passed out. 

brinaroze1

MinnesotaMomma91 said:

@Brinaroze1 try a variety of fruits and veggies and proteins. Itll also help when you get out on your own. Is it possible for you to take your mom shopping to show her what you want your dd to eat? How old is your dd, all kids go through a picky age.

I never responded to this, because my tablet computer and this site DO NOT get along.

Anyway...
I really think my daughter is just going through a picky phase. She turns two January 10th. She has always been in about the 5th percentile for weight and height, so she's naturally small. I think her appetite is consistent with her size and growth rate, but my mom worries. We both have had busy schedules, but my mom's is starting to slow down these days. I've been searching for recipes for things like muffins that I can "sneak" veggies into, like zucchini and carrots. I think it'll get better with time.

Thanks for the advice!