Anonymous
01/19/2025 12:33
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
I have been working hard to get promoted over the past three months and I cook for my family (DH and I plus two young kids) every single day. What I did was stick to only three meals that I rotate, making each last over two days:
Chicken breast diced up and sauted with butter and olive oil and then add rice or bulgur or freekeh (we are Arabs) and then add hot water and better than bouillon along with Arab spices. If I have canned chickpeas I throw in as well. Serve with frozen Costco veggies first day and second day make a salad with leftover chicken and rice.
I sauté frozen cauliflower rice and add ground beef and then add rao marinara larger size from Costco and then add pasta. First day I don’t make veggie bc we have cauliflower rice but second day I make a salad.
Mujaddara: lentils and rice or bulgur with fried onions on top. We also eat this over two days. Make salad both days or frozen veggies or steamed broccoli.
I have been making these three meals only and I’m not proud of it because I’m a good cook but it is what it is and I’m doing my best to feed my family healthy food while working hard for a promotion.
Chicken breast diced up and sauted with butter and olive oil and then add rice or bulgur or freekeh (we are Arabs) and then add hot water and better than bouillon along with Arab spices. If I have canned chickpeas I throw in as well. Serve with frozen Costco veggies first day and second day make a salad with leftover chicken and rice.
I sauté frozen cauliflower rice and add ground beef and then add rao marinara larger size from Costco and then add pasta. First day I don’t make veggie bc we have cauliflower rice but second day I make a salad.
Mujaddara: lentils and rice or bulgur with fried onions on top. We also eat this over two days. Make salad both days or frozen veggies or steamed broccoli.
I have been making these three meals only and I’m not proud of it because I’m a good cook but it is what it is and I’m doing my best to feed my family healthy food while working hard for a promotion.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 11:22
Subject: Re:Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
This has been a problem in our house for so long. My kids are in high school now, so the end is in sight. The big problem is that everyone wants to have a hand in deciding what we eat every night. I am very tired of the whining and bickering over what we're having.
I do all of my meal planning and shopping on Sundays and then make a list on our kitchen white board of all of the available meals for the week. Everyone gets a day to pick from the list. Anyone who doesn't like it can eat ramen or nuke some frozen food.
The main flaw in this plan is when someone makes their choice 30 minutes before dinner and the needed protein is frozen solid.
DH and DCs are good about helping with the actual cooking, but the mental load is all on me.
I do all of my meal planning and shopping on Sundays and then make a list on our kitchen white board of all of the available meals for the week. Everyone gets a day to pick from the list. Anyone who doesn't like it can eat ramen or nuke some frozen food.
The main flaw in this plan is when someone makes their choice 30 minutes before dinner and the needed protein is frozen solid.
DH and DCs are good about helping with the actual cooking, but the mental load is all on me.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 11:14
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:At least they pretended to like it, OP!
I feel you; it’s awful. I’m counting the days until I am responsible only for feeding myself.
And then they come home from college for breaks, and you have to cook for them again!
My son cooks for me now. He likes it. He was home from college for four weeks and he made dinner 2-3 days a week and we sometimes had leftovers. If your kids are home from college, they should have time to research a few meals and buy the ingredients.
This is my goal.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 11:13
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Anonymous wrote:Sometimes we have dessert/snack food for dinner. Especially on family movie nights. Who cares?
Every Friday, DH and I eat charcuterie board foods for dinner. Kids get fast food. 6 other nights are home cooked, so it works for us.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 11:11
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Why isn’t your DH cooking?? Mine does all the cooking.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 11:07
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
I used to cook regularly when my child was at home and my darling husband couldn't be bothered to get to the table when I said dinner was ready.
Upon becoming empty nesters, I never cook and DH seems to forget I ever did.
Upon becoming empty nesters, I never cook and DH seems to forget I ever did.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 10:55
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:At least they pretended to like it, OP!
I feel you; it’s awful. I’m counting the days until I am responsible only for feeding myself.
And then they come home from college for breaks, and you have to cook for them again!
My son cooks for me now. He likes it. He was home from college for four weeks and he made dinner 2-3 days a week and we sometimes had leftovers. If your kids are home from college, they should have time to research a few meals and buy the ingredients.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 10:31
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:And there is no reason that your kids can’t handle dinner one day a week, once they are 12 or 14. Your husband could do one night and you can eat out or order out another.
NP. My kids know how to cook, but by 12 or 14, they’re never home on week nights in time to cook dinner… they’re at sports practices or other activities. I’m sure that’s true for many/most people.
OP, I know a couple who cooked meals for the whole week every Sunday.
Re-evaluate your schedule so a teen can set aside one night a week to make dinner. See research of the importance of family dinner and cut back just a bit on activities.
Honestly this sounds like anti-woman propaganda. Keep them busy in the kitchen.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 10:25
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have lots of thoughts and they may not work for you but I’ve always worked full-time, as has my husband, and our twins are 10 so I haven’t been doing this forever but it’s been a while.
- Your husband needs to help with this responsibility. There is no reason he can’t be equally in charge of food. If his work schedule doesn’t allow him to actually cook at dinner time, he can still come up with meals, place a pick up grocery order, prep stuff, etc.
- Your kids need to also take responsibility for this if they are old enough to talk. They should each come up with a dinner once a week. It is not your job to feed multiple people with no input or help. You have a job. You have other things you do. This shouldn’t be all on you.
- You don’t need to have a perfectly balanced dinner all the time. Pizza is fine. Cereal is fine. Don’t strive for perfection, it’ll drive you crazy. It may seem weird to have a banana on the side of a pasta dish but if you don’t have time to steam broccoli, it’s ok. And, gasp, if you serve a dinner that doesn’t have produce on the side, that’s also ok. No one is going to get scurvy because they didn’t have a fruit or vegetable that night.
- Make easier food. Get a rotisserie chicken instead of making one from scratch, for example. Buy pre-chopped vegetables. Do what you can to make the steps easier sometimes.
- Make dinners that allow for customization. We eat a lot of Mexican food, so every week we grill a big batch of chicken, cook peppers and onions, make guacamole, do a huge pot of rice, and make black beans (from a can, I’m not soaking them for hours or anything). From that we get multiple meals that people can customize. Burritos, fajitas, nachos, quesadillas, bowls, salads, etc. I do similar with Asian dishes - sauté vegetables, cook some chicken and often beef, buy some frozen potstickers. Then we can have stir fry, fried rice, potstickers, meatballs, noodles, etc. Depending on the sauce you want to put on, you can make it Korean, Chinese, Thai, etc. That way everyone gets the flavors (I like spicy, my husband prefers salty) and consistency (one kid likes rice, the other prefers noodles) they want.
Cereal is not a fine dinner. WTF.
Oh stop, a bowl of cereal for dinner once in a while is absolutely fine. The PP didn't suggest cereal for dinner every night. Show a little grace to others and assume good intent.
Breakfast for dinner once a month should be on everyone rotation it’s fun and builds memories.
Builds memories? This is such a crap phrase. I have memories of my parents screaming at each other in the kitchen about dinner while my brother and I waited in another room to find out if we’d go to the diner or scrounge up eggs and toast. Breakfast for dinner is not magical,
I make it a rule to not take parenting advice from someone who hasn’t used all the resources available to them to get over their childhood trauma. Do better.
Just because people remember upsetting things from their childhood doesn’t mean they’re traumatized by them or not over them.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 10:22
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have lots of thoughts and they may not work for you but I’ve always worked full-time, as has my husband, and our twins are 10 so I haven’t been doing this forever but it’s been a while.
- Your husband needs to help with this responsibility. There is no reason he can’t be equally in charge of food. If his work schedule doesn’t allow him to actually cook at dinner time, he can still come up with meals, place a pick up grocery order, prep stuff, etc.
- Your kids need to also take responsibility for this if they are old enough to talk. They should each come up with a dinner once a week. It is not your job to feed multiple people with no input or help. You have a job. You have other things you do. This shouldn’t be all on you.
- You don’t need to have a perfectly balanced dinner all the time. Pizza is fine. Cereal is fine. Don’t strive for perfection, it’ll drive you crazy. It may seem weird to have a banana on the side of a pasta dish but if you don’t have time to steam broccoli, it’s ok. And, gasp, if you serve a dinner that doesn’t have produce on the side, that’s also ok. No one is going to get scurvy because they didn’t have a fruit or vegetable that night.
- Make easier food. Get a rotisserie chicken instead of making one from scratch, for example. Buy pre-chopped vegetables. Do what you can to make the steps easier sometimes.
- Make dinners that allow for customization. We eat a lot of Mexican food, so every week we grill a big batch of chicken, cook peppers and onions, make guacamole, do a huge pot of rice, and make black beans (from a can, I’m not soaking them for hours or anything). From that we get multiple meals that people can customize. Burritos, fajitas, nachos, quesadillas, bowls, salads, etc. I do similar with Asian dishes - sauté vegetables, cook some chicken and often beef, buy some frozen potstickers. Then we can have stir fry, fried rice, potstickers, meatballs, noodles, etc. Depending on the sauce you want to put on, you can make it Korean, Chinese, Thai, etc. That way everyone gets the flavors (I like spicy, my husband prefers salty) and consistency (one kid likes rice, the other prefers noodles) they want.
Cereal is not a fine dinner. WTF.
Oh stop, a bowl of cereal for dinner once in a while is absolutely fine. The PP didn't suggest cereal for dinner every night. Show a little grace to others and assume good intent.
Breakfast for dinner once a month should be on everyone rotation it’s fun and builds memories.
Breakfast for dinner means eggs and bacon, or pancakes. Not a bowl of Trix. Disgusting.
Take a deep breath….let it out…breathe in….out….youre getting very riled up about a bowl of cereal. I hope you’re ok. Try to relax….
Not worked up, just stunned at the laziness.
Laziness is a lot healthier than self-loathing.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 10:19
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:And there is no reason that your kids can’t handle dinner one day a week, once they are 12 or 14. Your husband could do one night and you can eat out or order out another.
NP. My kids know how to cook, but by 12 or 14, they’re never home on week nights in time to cook dinner… they’re at sports practices or other activities. I’m sure that’s true for many/most people.
OP, I know a couple who cooked meals for the whole week every Sunday.
Re-evaluate your schedule so a teen can set aside one night a week to make dinner. See research of the importance of family dinner and cut back just a bit on activities.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 08:59
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have lots of thoughts and they may not work for you but I’ve always worked full-time, as has my husband, and our twins are 10 so I haven’t been doing this forever but it’s been a while.
- Your husband needs to help with this responsibility. There is no reason he can’t be equally in charge of food. If his work schedule doesn’t allow him to actually cook at dinner time, he can still come up with meals, place a pick up grocery order, prep stuff, etc.
- Your kids need to also take responsibility for this if they are old enough to talk. They should each come up with a dinner once a week. It is not your job to feed multiple people with no input or help. You have a job. You have other things you do. This shouldn’t be all on you.
- You don’t need to have a perfectly balanced dinner all the time. Pizza is fine. Cereal is fine. Don’t strive for perfection, it’ll drive you crazy. It may seem weird to have a banana on the side of a pasta dish but if you don’t have time to steam broccoli, it’s ok. And, gasp, if you serve a dinner that doesn’t have produce on the side, that’s also ok. No one is going to get scurvy because they didn’t have a fruit or vegetable that night.
- Make easier food. Get a rotisserie chicken instead of making one from scratch, for example. Buy pre-chopped vegetables. Do what you can to make the steps easier sometimes.
- Make dinners that allow for customization. We eat a lot of Mexican food, so every week we grill a big batch of chicken, cook peppers and onions, make guacamole, do a huge pot of rice, and make black beans (from a can, I’m not soaking them for hours or anything). From that we get multiple meals that people can customize. Burritos, fajitas, nachos, quesadillas, bowls, salads, etc. I do similar with Asian dishes - sauté vegetables, cook some chicken and often beef, buy some frozen potstickers. Then we can have stir fry, fried rice, potstickers, meatballs, noodles, etc. Depending on the sauce you want to put on, you can make it Korean, Chinese, Thai, etc. That way everyone gets the flavors (I like spicy, my husband prefers salty) and consistency (one kid likes rice, the other prefers noodles) they want.
Cereal is not a fine dinner. WTF.
Oh stop, a bowl of cereal for dinner once in a while is absolutely fine. The PP didn't suggest cereal for dinner every night. Show a little grace to others and assume good intent.
Breakfast for dinner once a month should be on everyone rotation it’s fun and builds memories.
Breakfast for dinner means eggs and bacon, or pancakes. Not a bowl of Trix. Disgusting.
Take a deep breath….let it out…breathe in….out….youre getting very riled up about a bowl of cereal. I hope you’re ok. Try to relax….
Not worked up, just stunned at the laziness.
Get off the internet and do something worthwhile with your time. Calling your fellow internet addicts lazy doesn’t actually accomplish anything, and your feelings of superiority will (should) be short-lived once you understand what a loser you are (just like the rest of us) for participating in this nonsense.
Sorry, who’s worked up again?
Anonymous
01/19/2025 08:57
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have lots of thoughts and they may not work for you but I’ve always worked full-time, as has my husband, and our twins are 10 so I haven’t been doing this forever but it’s been a while.
- Your husband needs to help with this responsibility. There is no reason he can’t be equally in charge of food. If his work schedule doesn’t allow him to actually cook at dinner time, he can still come up with meals, place a pick up grocery order, prep stuff, etc.
- Your kids need to also take responsibility for this if they are old enough to talk. They should each come up with a dinner once a week. It is not your job to feed multiple people with no input or help. You have a job. You have other things you do. This shouldn’t be all on you.
- You don’t need to have a perfectly balanced dinner all the time. Pizza is fine. Cereal is fine. Don’t strive for perfection, it’ll drive you crazy. It may seem weird to have a banana on the side of a pasta dish but if you don’t have time to steam broccoli, it’s ok. And, gasp, if you serve a dinner that doesn’t have produce on the side, that’s also ok. No one is going to get scurvy because they didn’t have a fruit or vegetable that night.
- Make easier food. Get a rotisserie chicken instead of making one from scratch, for example. Buy pre-chopped vegetables. Do what you can to make the steps easier sometimes.
- Make dinners that allow for customization. We eat a lot of Mexican food, so every week we grill a big batch of chicken, cook peppers and onions, make guacamole, do a huge pot of rice, and make black beans (from a can, I’m not soaking them for hours or anything). From that we get multiple meals that people can customize. Burritos, fajitas, nachos, quesadillas, bowls, salads, etc. I do similar with Asian dishes - sauté vegetables, cook some chicken and often beef, buy some frozen potstickers. Then we can have stir fry, fried rice, potstickers, meatballs, noodles, etc. Depending on the sauce you want to put on, you can make it Korean, Chinese, Thai, etc. That way everyone gets the flavors (I like spicy, my husband prefers salty) and consistency (one kid likes rice, the other prefers noodles) they want.
Cereal is not a fine dinner. WTF.
Oh stop, a bowl of cereal for dinner once in a while is absolutely fine. The PP didn't suggest cereal for dinner every night. Show a little grace to others and assume good intent.
Breakfast for dinner once a month should be on everyone rotation it’s fun and builds memories.
Breakfast for dinner means eggs and bacon, or pancakes. Not a bowl of Trix. Disgusting.
Take a deep breath….let it out…breathe in….out….youre getting very riled up about a bowl of cereal. I hope you’re ok. Try to relax….
Not worked up, just stunned at the laziness.
Get off the internet and do something worthwhile with your time. Calling your fellow internet addicts lazy doesn’t actually accomplish anything, and your feelings of superiority will (should) be short-lived once you understand what a loser you are (just like the rest of us) for participating in this nonsense.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 08:55
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have lots of thoughts and they may not work for you but I’ve always worked full-time, as has my husband, and our twins are 10 so I haven’t been doing this forever but it’s been a while.
- Your husband needs to help with this responsibility. There is no reason he can’t be equally in charge of food. If his work schedule doesn’t allow him to actually cook at dinner time, he can still come up with meals, place a pick up grocery order, prep stuff, etc.
- Your kids need to also take responsibility for this if they are old enough to talk. They should each come up with a dinner once a week. It is not your job to feed multiple people with no input or help. You have a job. You have other things you do. This shouldn’t be all on you.
- You don’t need to have a perfectly balanced dinner all the time. Pizza is fine. Cereal is fine. Don’t strive for perfection, it’ll drive you crazy. It may seem weird to have a banana on the side of a pasta dish but if you don’t have time to steam broccoli, it’s ok. And, gasp, if you serve a dinner that doesn’t have produce on the side, that’s also ok. No one is going to get scurvy because they didn’t have a fruit or vegetable that night.
- Make easier food. Get a rotisserie chicken instead of making one from scratch, for example. Buy pre-chopped vegetables. Do what you can to make the steps easier sometimes.
- Make dinners that allow for customization. We eat a lot of Mexican food, so every week we grill a big batch of chicken, cook peppers and onions, make guacamole, do a huge pot of rice, and make black beans (from a can, I’m not soaking them for hours or anything). From that we get multiple meals that people can customize. Burritos, fajitas, nachos, quesadillas, bowls, salads, etc. I do similar with Asian dishes - sauté vegetables, cook some chicken and often beef, buy some frozen potstickers. Then we can have stir fry, fried rice, potstickers, meatballs, noodles, etc. Depending on the sauce you want to put on, you can make it Korean, Chinese, Thai, etc. That way everyone gets the flavors (I like spicy, my husband prefers salty) and consistency (one kid likes rice, the other prefers noodles) they want.
Cereal is not a fine dinner. WTF.
Oh stop, a bowl of cereal for dinner once in a while is absolutely fine. The PP didn't suggest cereal for dinner every night. Show a little grace to others and assume good intent.
Breakfast for dinner once a month should be on everyone rotation it’s fun and builds memories.
Breakfast for dinner means eggs and bacon, or pancakes. Not a bowl of Trix. Disgusting.
Take a deep breath….let it out…breathe in….out….youre getting very riled up about a bowl of cereal. I hope you’re ok. Try to relax….
Not worked up, just stunned at the laziness.
Anonymous
01/19/2025 08:50
Subject: Dealing with family dinner every day for the rest of your life!
Sometimes we have dessert/snack food for dinner. Especially on family movie nights. Who cares?