Ok, if we want to get back to some practical advice for op ...

You said you hate meal planning and shopping. Ok, I get it, I really do. But there are some things you can do to minimize this pain and still have a decent amount of food in the house.

I have a general weekly shipping list. It goes something like:
- 1 loaf of bread
- a package of sliced sandwich meat
- lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and a 3-pack of bell peppers for salad
- 5-7 cooking vegetables: broccoli, squash, asparagus, whatever else looks good at the store
- milk
- block of cheddar cheese
- yogurt
- I buy meat in bulk and freeze, but otherwise would add a week's worth of meat here too

Then I keep a running list on the fridge for staples that are running low. Nearing the end of the rice? Add it to the list. Almost out of toothpaste? Same.

Every week, I run to the store - once per week - to buy whatever is on the list plus my weekly standards. If DH or anyone else runs out of something mid-week, it's your own damn fault for not putting it on the list when you got low. It took a few years, but they're all trained now . I takes an hour on the weekend - you or DH could do it. That's it - no other meal planning or shopping required.

With that, I can cobble a meal together - or DH can - at any time. I don't need to meal plan. I can if I want to (and add whatever to the list), but it isn't necessary. I can "cook from the fridge/pantry" all week, as long as there is a variety of meats, vegetables and grains around.

Getting home from work and having to go to the store cause there's no food around? Yeah, that sucks. But if there is at least a decent variety of ingredients, you could get a meal on the table quickly, without having to plan ahead, or he can throw something together when he gets home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people sound like horrible cooks. Frozen vegetables, plain chicken breasts, yuck. If you're going to cook, at least learn to make good food! It's not that hard. Make a big vat of spaghetti sauce/beans/soup from scratch, then freeze it in smaller containers. Season the meat/chicken/fish and chop the vegetables the night before. The wok and the crockpot are your friends. Do a meal plan and grocery shop on Saturday or Sunday. Not really that hard to eat well.

I've got a husband that prefers not to eat leftovers for dinner. He'll eat them for lunch, but dinner needs to be fresh made daily. It's a weird little quirk of his and I've gotten used to it. But growing up in a family where leftovers were for dinner at least twice a week it was an odd thing for me to get used to.

Guess he cooks a lot then?

Not really. But I do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question is...why so much rage about COOKING? The poster above has a cleaning lady 2x per week. Well, that costs money. That's something the at-home parent can do. No one freaks out if a SAHM isn't cleaning, or if the DH has to spend 30 min doing laundry or dishes or cleaning up the kitchen. So much rage because op doesn't like to cook.

Having a cleaning lady come occasionally isn't the same as not cooking period. Plenty of people outsource house work, OCCASSIONALLY. That means takeout a few times a week or a maid once or twice a month. If your family can afford to hire a cook every day or eat out everyday or have a housekeeper, have at it. But OP's husband obviously can't so the adult thing to do is for OP to cook for her family as the SAHM.

Are you really too retarded to grasp that simple concept? We already know OP is.

"Retarded" pp? Really? Are you ten years old in 1988? And with your immature name-calling, you are in a position to tell others about "adult" behavior!

I couldn't care less about your PC sensitivities. Go start a new thread then about how I hurt your feelings so you can commiserate with like minded losers.

Wow. DH is a SAHD and he meal plans and shops and cooks for us. It is part of his job. He's the one not tied to a desk and with the time to do this. Kids are 4 and 2. They eat what we eat.

Sounds like your DH made a poor marriage choice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people sound like horrible cooks. Frozen vegetables, plain chicken breasts, yuck. If you're going to cook, at least learn to make good food! It's not that hard. Make a big vat of spaghetti sauce/beans/soup from scratch, then freeze it in smaller containers. Season the meat/chicken/fish and chop the vegetables the night before. The wok and the crockpot are your friends. Do a meal plan and grocery shop on Saturday or Sunday. Not really that hard to eat well.

I've got a husband that prefers not to eat leftovers for dinner. He'll eat them for lunch, but dinner needs to be fresh made daily. It's a weird little quirk of his and I've gotten used to it. But growing up in a family where leftovers were for dinner at least twice a week it was an odd thing for me to get used to.

We hate leftovers too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people sound like horrible cooks. Frozen vegetables, plain chicken breasts, yuck. If you're going to cook, at least learn to make good food! It's not that hard. Make a big vat of spaghetti sauce/beans/soup from scratch, then freeze it in smaller containers. Season the meat/chicken/fish and chop the vegetables the night before. The wok and the crockpot are your friends. Do a meal plan and grocery shop on Saturday or Sunday. Not really that hard to eat well.

I've got a husband that prefers not to eat leftovers for dinner. He'll eat them for lunch, but dinner needs to be fresh made daily. It's a weird little quirk of his and I've gotten used to it. But growing up in a family where leftovers were for dinner at least twice a week it was an odd thing for me to get used to.

Guess he cooks a lot then?

Anonymous wrote:You people sound like horrible cooks. Frozen vegetables, plain chicken breasts, yuck. If you're going to cook, at least learn to make good food! It's not that hard. Make a big vat of spaghetti sauce/beans/soup from scratch, then freeze it in smaller containers. Season the meat/chicken/fish and chop the vegetables the night before. The wok and the crockpot are your friends. Do a meal plan and grocery shop on Saturday or Sunday. Not really that hard to eat well.

I've got a husband that prefers not to eat leftovers for dinner. He'll eat them for lunch, but dinner needs to be fresh made daily. It's a weird little quirk of his and I've gotten used to it. But growing up in a family where leftovers were for dinner at least twice a week it was an odd thing for me to get used to.

Anonymous wrote:Is OP the same mistake m who found a condom and lube in the glove box?

Probably. Because with the level of care she shows dh when it comes to something as simple as food, she probably doesn't show much care in the bedroom.

I'm a full time WOHM of a 3 yr old and get home 2-3 hours before dh does and yes it makes sense that on at least some nights I have something ready for dinner. Other nights I ask dh to stop on his way home and grab something but I give him a heads up in advance. I can't imagine him coming home and THEN letting him know he has to get his butt out the door again to grab food, especially after I've bothered to make myself something.
OP you sound either a bit lazy or there may be some resentment/dislike towards your dh that you do this. Why can't you bake him a potato too?
I was a SAHM when my dd was your child's age and damn right I would have something ready when dh got home. Not necessarily a 3 course meal but it's not THAT hard to cook a bowl of penne with meat sauce. Or throw some veggies and beef in a pot for a stew.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does your husband do for dinner then? Does he make a single meal for himself? What are you doing when he does that? I'm trying to picture your evenings and I can't see you every single night having a potato and diet coke. Do you really just make a meal for yourself and not your husband?
By the way, I'm a mom of three who works and yes DH does have dinner ready most nights. Mostly a salad and chicken, etc. There are nights we make dinner together for everyone.
I frankly think you are missing out on making dinner a happy, family occasion.

There's no "normal" currently. DH travels a lot, about half the month. I cook once a week. He cooks once a week, we do take out, etc cobble stuff together.

So you started a thread to complain about having to cook once a week about half the month?

Are you the same troll OP who started the buttered noodles thread?

Yes. That is pare it my non monetary contributor to the home. I conside it a staple.

It's in a parent's job description. Still have to cook even if you WOH. Difference is you have less time to do so.

Anonymous wrote:OP, thank you for bringing together all of the SAH Lazies who can't even get a meal on the table and keep the house tidy, yet still act entitled to everything that's coming their way. I have no idea why their husbands keep subsidizing this nonsense, but it's been an entertaining read.

Did I miss a bunch of posts? There's been near universal agreement that making/cooking (I get that food on the table, but breakfast and lunch aren't really cooked, unless oatmeal and sandwiches is your idea of cooking) three meals a day year upon year is drudgery, but all of us "SAH lazies" get the job done, and well. So you just wanted to get a childish dig in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question is...why so much rage about COOKING? The poster above has a cleaning lady 2x per week. Well, that costs money. That's something the at-home parent can do. No one freaks out if a SAHM isn't cleaning, or if the DH has to spend 30 min doing laundry or dishes or cleaning up the kitchen. So much rage because op doesn't like to cook.

Having a cleaning lady come occasionally isn't the same as not cooking period. Plenty of people outsource house work, OCCASSIONALLY. That means takeout a few times a week or a maid once or twice a month. If your family can afford to hire a cook every day or eat out everyday or have a housekeeper, have at it. But OP's husband obviously can't so the adult thing to do is for OP to cook for her family as the SAHM.

Are you really too retarded to grasp that simple concept? We already know OP is.

"Retarded" pp? Really? Are you ten years old in 1988? And with your immature name-calling, you are in a position to tell others about "adult" behavior!

PP was obviously making a statement, and poking an eye in the face of political correctness. If you can't comprehend that, you may not be retarded, but you are certainly a dum dum.

I think you're being generous. In no way does that person seem to be making an anti-respect statement, just a dumb one. (And, my, poking the eye of someone with limited mental capacity? What a bold statement! Kick a dog in the gut while you're at it.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question is...why so much rage about COOKING? The poster above has a cleaning lady 2x per week. Well, that costs money. That's something the at-home parent can do. No one freaks out if a SAHM isn't cleaning, or if the DH has to spend 30 min doing laundry or dishes or cleaning up the kitchen. So much rage because op doesn't like to cook.

Having a cleaning lady come occasionally isn't the same as not cooking period. Plenty of people outsource house work, OCCASSIONALLY. That means takeout a few times a week or a maid once or twice a month. If your family can afford to hire a cook every day or eat out everyday or have a housekeeper, have at it. But OP's husband obviously can't so the adult thing to do is for OP to cook for her family as the SAHM.

Are you really too retarded to grasp that simple concept? We already know OP is.

"Retarded" pp? Really? Are you ten years old in 1988? And with your immature name-calling, you are in a position to tell others about "adult" behavior!

PP was obviously making a statement, and poking an eye in the face of political correctness. If you can't comprehend that, you may not be retarded, but you are certainly a dum dum.