Cooking an Evening Meal When You're Exhausted

McFilly

I don't know whether it's just me but when I get in from work in the evenings I am exhausted and the absolute last thing I want to do is to cook a meal. Me and my other half are always really hungry and tired at this point. Add in the fact that one of us is vegetarian and life just gets more complicated. Then add in adult children who also eat different things and due to their own commitments arrive at different times. I know the old ideas that everyone eats the same, with just one meal being cooked and everyone eating together are the ideal, but in reality in this day and age it is far from the case.

We are all tired at this point, all grumpy and I am getting more grumpy lately, being the one who does the cooking. I am finding myself turning more and more to ready meals and things that can be shoved in the oven and cooked within 20 minutes or less. It's far from ideal but I am not going to stand there in the evenings peeling and chopping and cooking from scratch.

I hope it's not just I who feel this way but the first part of the evening, which should really be a pleasure, having returned from work, is to me a total hell and I wondered how others coped and if they felt the same.

[Deleted User]

Try batch cooking things at the weekends, putting them in single portion containers, then whoever whats what can have what they want without you having to cook several different meals each day.

Millie2008_2

being the one who does the cooking

Does this need to be the case? If you have adult children, could you ask them each to be responsible for the cooking one night a week? Or could OH help, even just with the chopping and preparing bit?

And echo batch cooking And have you ever tried frozen veg? They save me time when I am in a rush

sparklewing

I batch cook every so often. Our freezer is full of little baggies of soup/stew/curry etc which just need chucked in the microwave and reheated when we're tired. We also always have eggs so there's always omelette to fall back on.

adelight

Batch cook, ask others to help, find easy recipes (loads of books around this, one pot dishes etc) or use a slow cooker. Takes less than five minutes in the morning to chuck roughly chopped unpeeled veggies, dried beans and some meat in the SC and that's all you have to do.

[Deleted User]

I also batch cook to make things easier. Also, when I meal plan I will make sure I have one or two easier recipies on the list each week. So next week I am making riboletta and a lasagne, but I will also do poached eggs on toast and a ploughmans so on those days when we can't be bothered with really complicated things we can cook the easier meals.

CH27

Another vote for batch cooking.

Do you have a slow cooker?

JayJay14

I've just started a new job which means I won't finish until 7pm on weekdays - UH doesn't get home until 7 anyway so I am going to have a similar problem next week. In my case it will have to be meal planning as also have a DS who works funny shifts. I have plenty of curry and chille in individual portions in the freezer and can always fall back on beans on toast, but I will mainly use things like pasta bakes, pizza (HM), pies - anything I can prep up in advance that OH can put in the oven when he gets in (last night it was corned beef and potato bake).

I think planning is the key and while some people don't like to know in advance what they are eating all week it will cut down on stress levels, though getting one of the others to help will do that even more.

Memory_Girl

Four "Adults" in the home so each person needs to be responsible for feeding the family two meals each per week (roughly)

So sit down and decide what those meals are going to be and who is responsible for making them according to schedules.

That way you are only cooking twice (and if you are the Roast Queen in the house you might get away with your turn being at the weekend.)

Used to have this in our house with everyone coming and going - but when brothers realised the faff it took putting separate meals on the table for everyone they soon put pressure on the others to chose and eat one thing, even if that one thing was veggie.

Even though I was out at work in the evenings I still had to take my turn (and eat leftovers when I got home). So I quickly learned to batch book and bang a lasagne, pasta bake, chilli, curry etc in the oven or slow cooker in the 20 minutes between school and leaving for work.

MUst have rubbed off -two of my brothers are now chef's LOL

MG

shebangs

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squeaky

Hi

Some threads that might be worth a browse since they are related to your problem...

Can you do OS and work full time too?

Help please...need to spend less time cooking after work!!

need help, work 12 hour shifts so family not eating well when im not there to cook...



And on a related note to help take the pressure off: Allocating housework amongst family - does this work for anyone?


HTH