Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When the last kid left, the kitchen closed. Fend for yourself. Has been wonderful.

Yeah, but for college at least, they come back for the summer.

And during the summer they can fend for themselves too. They can find food at college, they can find their own food at home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:not a goddamn thing

I should add that pre-kids I was an absolute foodie and good cook, and my fav thing to do was experiment with new dishes. Now with 3 kids, they've officially broken me. I DETEST preparing food now. I know I'm supposed to sAvOr eVeRy mOmEnT but right now, this is my version of Sisyphus.

I like food. I enjoy eating. I am so done with the mental labor of making sure we have the food we need, planning meals everyone will eat, cooking the meals etc. It has taken all the joy of food away. Just thinking about what I have to do for dinner each night is enough to make me want to not even eat.

You guys. I am the same, the exact same. I feel super broken. When I try to explain this to my husband he offers to make dinner if I tell him exactly what to make and we have all the ingredients. And then he uses 5 pots to make Mac n cheese and hot dogs. I wonder if I will ever recover my love of cooking. My favorite thing is to get Chinese food and eat by myself while reading a book. That sounds so amazing right now.

My husband: I’ll make dinner

(It’s burgers and dogs )

My husband: where is the ketchup. Do we have cheese. How do you normally make Kid 1’s hot dogs, they don’t want theirs grilled. Oh shit I ran out of propane and have to run and get more.

Me: out of ideas, cycled through (and sick of) the usuals plus a few additional nights of dinners "creatively" taken care of with no helpful suggestions or assistance from any family members

My husband: I'll fix myself a sandwich. or, I can take care of myself if that helps.

Me: no, that isn't helpful. I still have 3 other people to figure out and provide dinner for.

Some nights it’s cheese and crackers with whatever fruit is in the fridge that week while I dissociate (this is if I am alone).

Some nights it’s things my kids won’t eat (real marinara sauce—not ragu from a jar, salad, spiced food, most sauces, certain shapes of pasta, foods that are cooked together like stews).

Sometimes it’s things that take more time than I have if my kids are home.

Sometimes it’s “man food”, because my husband likes “man food”.

And some nights we get takeout (Thai! Sushi!), and eat on the couch while watching something trashy on TV (we only eat in the dining room when the kids are home). Those are my favorite nights.

DH and I will get a baguette plus a varied charcuterie platter I'll assemble. We graze for a couple hours with wine. We only do this 3-4 times a year, not regularly, but never when the kids are around.

I eat a lot of eggs when left to my own devices.

My favorite recent discovery - 2 eggs + 1/4 cup of cottage cheese, mixed up in a coffee cup, and microwaved for 1.5-2 minutes (cover with plastic wrap that has been vented). Perfect.

I literally just cooked a very veggie heavy tortilla soup and am eating it right now! One of my kids would probably eat it, but he's at camp right now, so it's all mine!

Sweet peppers, jalepenos, onions, tomatoes, black beans, avocado, corn, garlic, a small amount of chicken (only because I need the protein), and chicken stock.

I literally just made mac n cheese without the cheese powder when I realized we have no milk, and only the kids drink it. So I made a midwest salad, with mayo & ranch dressing and tossed in some cherry tomatoes. Clearly we are going out to dinner, lol.

Big salads with grilled salmon! That is our favorite go to “no kids” meal because they hate veggies and fish.

When we have no kids at home, I take time off from cooking if it’s just a few nights. We order in or go out. It gets super expensive for a family of 5 so when it’s just the 2 of us we take advantage. Otherwise, maybe steak or seafood or an experimental recipe mixed in with a few nights where DH has to fend for himself or we eat sandwiches.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When the last kid left, the kitchen closed. Fend for yourself. Has been wonderful.

Yeah, but for college at least, they come back for the summer.

And during the summer they can fend for themselves too. They can find food at college, they can find their own food at home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:not a goddamn thing

I should add that pre-kids I was an absolute foodie and good cook, and my fav thing to do was experiment with new dishes. Now with 3 kids, they've officially broken me. I DETEST preparing food now. I know I'm supposed to sAvOr eVeRy mOmEnT but right now, this is my version of Sisyphus.

I like food. I enjoy eating. I am so done with the mental labor of making sure we have the food we need, planning meals everyone will eat, cooking the meals etc. It has taken all the joy of food away. Just thinking about what I have to do for dinner each night is enough to make me want to not even eat.

You guys. I am the same, the exact same. I feel super broken. When I try to explain this to my husband he offers to make dinner if I tell him exactly what to make and we have all the ingredients. And then he uses 5 pots to make Mac n cheese and hot dogs. I wonder if I will ever recover my love of cooking. My favorite thing is to get Chinese food and eat by myself while reading a book. That sounds so amazing right now.

My husband: I’ll make dinner

(It’s burgers and dogs )

My husband: where is the ketchup. Do we have cheese. How do you normally make Kid 1’s hot dogs, they don’t want theirs grilled. Oh shit I ran out of propane and have to run and get more.

Chips and dip.

I'm a single parent. I like cooking for other people, including my kids who are now at the teen boy, appreciate anything with calories stage.

But if I'm alone? Cheese and crackers and something like cherry tomatoes or Persian cucumbers that require no prep.

That Doritos and ice cream recipe sounds good too, though, but I'd probably sub Haagen Dazs Dulce de Leche for the B & J's.

Anonymous wrote:When the last kid left, the kitchen closed. Fend for yourself. Has been wonderful.

Yeah, but for college at least, they come back for the summer.