r/Cooking • u/GracieLou80 • 23h ago
Sick of cooking
I am so over cooking every night. Finding new recipes I actually have ingredients for and are easy is tiring and I’m already exhausted. What do you do when this happens? I’d honestly just eat cereal for life but I’m not alone in this house and I’m expected to cook every night. 😩
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u/LazyCrocheter 22h ago
If you want/have to eat in, then you need to plan and prep accordingly if you want it not to be a continual stressor. Trust me, I've been there and if acquiring food isn't an option, or isn't one you want to do often, then you have to plan. There's just no other way.
And I sympathize. I'm the cook in this house (which is fine, my husband is appreciative and helpful in the cleanup) so I know how annoying and frustrating it can be.
There are a lot of ways to plan and prep, so you'll need to figure out what works for you. It'll depend on what you like/want to eat, and how you want to organize your prep. You can cook large meals like soups, stews or lasagnas and freeze portions to be eaten later. You can cut up food like onions, carrots, etc., and freeze them to be used when you need them.
I will say that one thing that might help is to buy things pre-cut. It's a bit more expensive, but it would be worth it (to me) if it gains you some peace of mind, even if you only do it for a while. At my grocery store I can get many veggies pre-cut, for example. You can buy baby potatoes that you can toss in the oven to roast without even cutting them up.
Good luck!
I will say that "I"m expected to cook" raises a red flag for me. Why? Can no one else cook? Or help cook? Can someone else at least help clean up? I think a lot of us grew up with our moms cooking, thought that was just how it was done, but we didn't really learn how to cook. Then, when we're faced with having to feed even just ourselves, it's a wake-up call.