Cooking For One
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Now all my gorgeous children have flown the nest - I’m finding that I am getting lazy with cooking. To begin with i would batch cook and freeze in individual portions. But I have found as time has gone on I’m not really bothering to cook properly as its just me. I am disabled so cooking can be a bit of a challenge - but I’m happy with soup or cereals or toast etc. I’m not really missing the proper meals - I dont crave any of the meals I used to cook either. Is anyone else out there the same - or is it just me being a lazy git ?
Each to their own I think. I always cook 'properly' because I don't want to miss out on essential nutrients the body gets from healthy homemade food
After my mum died my dad started having set meals for differant days that are simple to cook. Obviously my mum did the cooking
No I don't think that. And agree it seems like a lot of effort if you are on your own . If you make sure you have a good variety of food , getting some veg, protein etc can't think it does any harm. A good sandwich or things on toast can be more nourishing than a lot of cooked meals..
Thank you for your answers - this is a subject that one size cant fit everyone really. If I do fancy a proper meal I phone my kids to see what they are cooking and go to whoever is cooking something I want lol
suevernon1968 You have got lovely children to help you out. If I am cooking for myself only, then it is either frozen or chilled meals from Aldi or Iceland down the road from me. This evening (after 6pm) I went into Aldi and brought a £3.49 Gastro Cottage Pie. It was worth the price compared to Marks & Spencer's who sells the "same" meal for at least £5.00.
You are not a lazy git , l dont cook for myself ever, unless scrambled egg in the ping machine is classed as cooking!!, l generally have toast, tin of soup or a sandwich...now I am definitely a lazy git
Pinkspirit thats exactly the sort of food I do ! I do like shreddies and I really like the apparently old fashioned Fray Bentos pies - the steak one. I’m also quite content with instant mash lol.
We don’t have children but work. Only ever the 2 of us. We mostly eat instant oven ready food (not the healthiest but convenient). Pasta, pizza, burgers, jacket potatoes. Occasionally stir fries. Always one proper cooked meal at the weekend though.
JLouM i remember when I worked full time with quite young kids - my slow cooker was my saviour!
I am the same so we're both lazy gits lol. It is an effort to eat healthily when in this mode and no one else to feed. Yesterday I was good and made a pot of mushroom soup and a chicken stew with masses of veg, so healthy eating for a couple of days.
Lynibis ooh get you lol. Sometimes one of my kids will ask me to make a particular dish cos they say mine tastes better than theirs - so I don’t mind doing that. But the main things they ask for is coffee cake and banoffee pie
suevernon1968 by making a huge pot of thick soup I know that everything in it is healthy, lots of veg, garlic, chilli, herbs etc and it is a staple. Never takes more than 30 minutes. I have for 2 days but freeze excess or give to my gd who is short of cooking time since my gt. Grandson was born. Potato and Leek is a fave and not expensive as some of the potatoes can be made as jacket spuds in air fryer topped with beans, tuna or cheese.
I'm like you, all the kids have their own homes and eat at theirs. however I am so lucky to have my other half cooking for me otherwise I would be happy with soup or toast. He's my carer as well so I think he feels a duty to make sure I eat properly and am washed and clean.
I'm the same as you, I used to batch cook, but now I just can't be bothered. I think I've basically lived on chicken strips and chips for the past year.
Being disabled it can take too much time and effort to cook which abled bodies don’t understand. You could try buying more frozen veg or ready prepared veg such as bags of stir fry veg to knock up a decent meal.
Tell me about it!! Glad I’m not the only one hate cooking for myself lol don’t know what to eat each day for lunch and dinner
It’s either sandwiches sometimes just toasted bread with butter and canned soup or spaghetti hoops
Get sick of eating the same foods
I still have family to cook for but my mother is usually cooking for one and has problems with sauces in jars as these are made for meals for 2-4 and have to used up within a couple of days. Companies need to make these sauces available in smaller jars.
eyeballkerry Is it possible to split it into different containers and freeze some of it?
hky I have heard this before but it only says on the jars to refrigerate and no mention of freezing. But thanks anyway.
eyeballkerry I guess so, but since freezing may add water/moisture to the sauce - supposedly compromising the taste etc, they likely wouldn't mention it - I've never come across one that has.
I'd say the only way to know is to test it - but if your mother is elderly or has a poor immune/digestive system then better not. My house simply doesn't have enough freezer space to test.
hky Being that my mum is elderly, 85, but still thinks she is young, probably not a good idea. She does batch cook a lot but then gets mixed up and defrosts a chilli instead of bolognaise. Chilli and spaghettI or Bolognaise with rice. She said she has labelled them so not sure what’s going on.
eyeballkerry Maybe she's just moving too fast/automatically so forgets to pay attention to the labels. My dad isn't quite as old but even from a long time ago he can be inattentive and buy e.g chilli beans instead of normal beans because it says 'beans' and it's right next to it.
Hopefully, she's healthy . If she is getting a little forgetful, she could try taking omega 3 supplements if she hasn't. It's definitely effective for brain health and even eye health, amongst other benefits .
Its so interesting to read others people’s ideas - but also so sad to read that other people struggle like i do !
That’s not lazy at all, that’s a choice made on personal preference. You’d rather do something else with your time than cook and that’s fine. You said yourself you cooked for many years so if you’re happy not doing it for a bit that’s great.
your not lazy i do same as you. If i want a full on meal i will cook one if i don't i won't.
momhobnob666 on another chat on here there was a discussion about salt and vinegar on your shark and chips - i dont want shark but now I have a bit of a hankering for proper chippy chips lol
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