Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cook first thing in the morning. It is a game changer. Cooking when people are hungry and tired is not pleasant. Also, having HANGRY people around is a recipe for conflict and dysfunction.

Your first 2-3 courses should be raw veggies/fruits, simple soups and probiotics like keffir/saurkraut/yogurt. They are quick to put together. Some don't even require cooking. It takes the edge out of hunger, provides essential nutrients, are easy to digest, have lots of fiber and fluids, has pre and probiotics to keep your good gut bacteria happy, and it gives you time to make/reheat entrees and sides etc. The best part is that your family can put these first two-three courses together.

For example, my kids will cut carrots, apples and cucumber sticks and eat it with hummus, then they will take greek yogurt and add berries, nuts and seeds in it and eat that. By that time - I can reheat something easy like spicy rosemary lemon chicken and serve with quinoa pilaf with nuts, sauteed onions and fresh microgreens.

Because they are eating veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds and probiotics - they are satisfied with the smaller quantities of carbs in the main meal. As for desserts? They hardly have cravings after a full meal.

humblebrag. But you didn’t even try to hide it. So I guess just a brag.

Huh? You don't know me IRL, so bragging will not gain anything.

Do you mean to say that you guys are incapable of basic adulting? Like you want someone else to make your meals and put it your mouth?

Anonymous wrote:Cook first thing in the morning. It is a game changer. Cooking when people are hungry and tired is not pleasant. Also, having HANGRY people around is a recipe for conflict and dysfunction.

Your first 2-3 courses should be raw veggies/fruits, simple soups and probiotics like keffir/saurkraut/yogurt. They are quick to put together. Some don't even require cooking. It takes the edge out of hunger, provides essential nutrients, are easy to digest, have lots of fiber and fluids, has pre and probiotics to keep your good gut bacteria happy, and it gives you time to make/reheat entrees and sides etc. The best part is that your family can put these first two-three courses together.

For example, my kids will cut carrots, apples and cucumber sticks and eat it with hummus, then they will take greek yogurt and add berries, nuts and seeds in it and eat that. By that time - I can reheat something easy like spicy rosemary lemon chicken and serve with quinoa pilaf with nuts, sauteed onions and fresh microgreens.

Because they are eating veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds and probiotics - they are satisfied with the smaller quantities of carbs in the main meal. As for desserts? They hardly have cravings after a full meal.

humblebrag. But you didn’t even try to hide it. So I guess just a brag.

Anonymous wrote:To make you feel a bit better, I have to deal with this not only for dinner. I am the only parent, working, and have 2 teenagers boys (MS and HS) who eats alot! And they won’t eat school meal, they demand real meal for their lunch box. So I juggle at 5.30 am to prepare, and do it again for dinner, and do it again for lunch time if there are no school.

Teenage boys are old enough to put together their own "real meal" for school lunch. My kids have been responsible for their school lunch packing since middle school. I may not like what they put together; but it beats the heck out of my having to pack their lunches every single day.

Cook first thing in the morning. It is a game changer. Cooking when people are hungry and tired is not pleasant. Also, having HANGRY people around is a recipe for conflict and dysfunction.

Your first 2-3 courses should be raw veggies/fruits, simple soups and probiotics like keffir/saurkraut/yogurt. They are quick to put together. Some don't even require cooking. It takes the edge out of hunger, provides essential nutrients, are easy to digest, have lots of fiber and fluids, has pre and probiotics to keep your good gut bacteria happy, and it gives you time to make/reheat entrees and sides etc. The best part is that your family can put these first two-three courses together.

For example, my kids will cut carrots, apples and cucumber sticks and eat it with hummus, then they will take greek yogurt and add berries, nuts and seeds in it and eat that. By that time - I can reheat something easy like spicy rosemary lemon chicken and serve with quinoa pilaf with nuts, sauteed onions and fresh microgreens.

Because they are eating veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds and probiotics - they are satisfied with the smaller quantities of carbs in the main meal. As for desserts? They hardly have cravings after a full meal.

I use tatung rice cookers (10 cup & 6 cup; not all rice cookers function the same) to boil pasta & vegan meatball sauce, potato salad ( cook potato & carrot), curry, stone soup, hard boiled eggs, warm up frozen bread (when we want softer bread instead of using oven), sweet potato, corn, pudding, cake etc. It saves time and when I get home it’s done cooking and ready to eat. I also use canned corn, canned bean, sauce, cheese, sour cream, kewpie mayo, lettuce, mashed avocado and tortilla to make a meal. Sometimes we have to eat frozen pizza or even instant noodle, then I’ll pair it with hard boiled eggs ( pre cooked and in refrigerator), banana, and spinach or cherry tomato to make it healthier.

To make you feel a bit better, I have to deal with this not only for dinner. I am the only parent, working, and have 2 teenagers boys (MS and HS) who eats alot! And they won’t eat school meal, they demand real meal for their lunch box. So I juggle at 5.30 am to prepare, and do it again for dinner, and do it again for lunch time if there are no school.

The worst is when your kids walk in the door home from school and immediately ask what’s for dinner. I work at home and I typically have no idea what I’m going to feel like making or what energy I’ll have left when I’ve finished my work for the day. It completely stresses me out.

Anonymous wrote:Career nanny here. This is what I have done for all my nanny families (and a few friends who are busy moms):

1) Come up with a list of 18 meals your family at least sort of likes. This is 6 meals a week plus one day of leftovers or takeout.

I like to break it down by day so like every Sunday is something I have to bake in the oven, every Monday is a crock pot meal, Tuesday soup/salad, Wednesday sheet pan dinner, Thursday pasta, Friday stir fry, something like that.

You now have a Week 1 menu, Week 2 menu and Week 3 menu.

2) Write out a shopping list for ingredients for each week. Depending on how often you like to shop, break it into two lists (Sun-Tuesday and Wed-Friday for example).

Going forward shop according to the list and make whatever is on the list for that night. Your family in never eating any particular meal more than on e every 21 days so you can do this for years and nobody will because absolutely bored of a specific food.

This sounds amazing in theory, but there are soccer games, parent teacher conference night, long weekends, guests in town, and even a date night thrown in there, so there’s never a typical week.

If you are like me, and do not have the same schedule every week, you can do a subpar version of this week by week. I ask my kids on the weekend what they want during the week, and I order a grocery pickup on Sunday and go from there.

Good lord, you're the parent, not your family's servant.

Just do what my family (and pretty much every other family I knew) did when I was growing up in the 80s - mom has like two weeks worth of dinners she rotates and if you don't like what's being served that night you either figure out something for yourself or go hungry.

I usually cook in the morning. My only thing is that I use a lot of pots and pans. My DH or kids clean it up later in the day.

For example right now I have already made - green mung bean daal with tons of coriander, ginger, spices in one pressure cooker, tomato (with onions and garlic) soup in another pressure cooker, a rice pilaf with spices and mixed veggies (frozen pack from costco) in another pressure cooker, and a boneless chicken thighs curry in another pot.

I have a tray with cauliflower florets roasting in the oven, one tray with cut up sweet potatoes. I will add spices, lemon juice, olive oil to both the veggies and serve as sides. Otherwise, I will dunk it in a yogurt-peanut spiced curry if I want to make it into a curry,

I have grated carrots and radishes for salad, and I have chopped up onions and tomatoes for making a raita later.

This will be lunch as well as dinner. My DH is going to be home for lunch around 1 pm. I have skipped making rotis because my family like the chicken curry with rice. So, this is a homemade meal that can be stretched to accomodate more people without any problem and it can also feed vegetarians and vegans.

If you cook every single day, then you have the basis for the next few meal already baked into your routine. I have boiled potatoes and blanched spinach to be used for another side for tomorrow. Your mind also starts to work differently and your wastage is to a minimum. My neighbors also benefit from my cooking.

If I am in a rush, I will serve my family with a hearty veggi salad first, followed by fruits with dips as appetizers. Only then I will follow up with daal, chappati/rice and a curry or two.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have fend for yourself dinner a lot. Kids are teens.

Same. We call it “foraging.”

“Are we foraging for dinner tonight?” They love nights we forage because everyone eats what they want.

We call it "microwave madness"

My DH cooks very one of his meals. He is retired though. OP, it doesn't need to be "for the rest of your life." You can change things. You can change things now.

I love my Crockpot!

I’m a SAHM and hate dinner too. While I have more time to be thoughtful about what I’m cooking, it isn’t necessarily better received. It’s pretty demoralizing to put in serious time and effort into a dinner to have a kid or two or three say they don’t like it and make themselves a tortilla with shredded cheese and a bowl of cheerios. Some days I want to give up and throw Hot Pockets at everyone

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been cooking dinner every night for my wife and kids for the past 30 years. I enjoy it. I clean up and wash every thing and put everything away. I even do the groceries. Each of us does our own laundry, ironing, and cleaning.

Good for you. Were you looking for an award or something on here??

For every man like pp (if not a troll), there are literally 9999 men who do not enjoy cooking and absolutely will not cook dinner every night for his family.