When are you more likely to cook from 'scratch'?

Question

As we get to Thursday lunchtime, I am finding myself starting to trough in terms of enthusiasm for cooking from scratch as I normally do, and I'm contemplating a ready meal tonight.....I seem to get into this pattern every week. Anyone else find themselves in a weekly cooking cycle or is it just me?

Answer 1

I think everyone feels like that I combat it by treating myself to a takeaway once a week better than a ready meal any day!!

Answer 2

When everyone is at home I cook three meals from scatch each day. I use to make breakfast everyday but everyone leaves various times as early as 6 :20 am - so sometimes they just have cereal and warm drinks. When I cook breakfast at weekends or days when they don't leave as early, I make various kinds of omelletes etc or several breads.

Lunch and Supper I make from scratch mostly every day, unless away from home. Everyone looks forward to these meals. Family meals are important times and we all gather together at the table. I have made stews, grilled fish, tradtional meals, casseroles, pizzas, macaroni, hotpots and much more.

If I have an appointment somewhere then I might cook a meal the night before and keep in fridge or cook early morning and make something like a stew and just leave it in the oven.

I am always thinking about what is something different to cook. I try to plan fish at least twice a week and fit in other recipes for the rest of the week. Your mind is always busy no matter what.

To save time I always have batches of precut/ and precooked veggies of various sizes in the fridge ready for use anytime. Then I save time. Just grab a bag and it's ready for the pot.

Everynow and then we might bring in a take away. Depends really.

Answer 3

Cooking from scratch? Tell me about it. I had been away for the weekend when a couple turned up at around 11.00 a.m. Monday morning. Coffee, tea, no problem. Around 12.15 I got the impression they were staying for lunch. I sent my son out to the bakery to buy bread. The deep freeze was virtually useless, since the couple were vegetarians. With small amounts of feta cheese, cream cheese and yoghurt in the fridge, a can of tomatoes,some frozen spinach and a large amount of pasta, I managed to put food on the table by 1.00 p.m. Now that's cooking from scratch. Half-way through my culinary nightmare the wife came into my kitchen and said, 'You have a lot of imaginations.' I think it was a compliment, but my imagination at the time was running more on the lines of, 'How can I commit the perfect murder and get away with it?'

Answer 4

Yep by Thursday Im pretty much out of ideas, but still prefer cooked from fresh. So I bung a jacket spud in the oven and have with salad and cheese as a filling. Or make some pasta and a quick tomato sauce, quick and tasty. I rarely eat packet meals unless Im in a rush to be somewhere.

Answer 5

oh my gosh,, I am soo in your boat,, I love cooking from scratch,, and making big homey meals for my family. However since I have to grocery shop every two weeks and plan my meals out for those two weeks,, I get very caught up in the hamburger rut,,, I feel like I always make the same things,, chili, spagetti,, tacos, burgers, meatloag,, ect ect,, sometimes we have chicken a couple times,, and pork chops to mix things up,, and every once and a while I will do a seafood thing,, when I have the money. I get stuck wanting special meals out,, or go pick up something that we don't get alot,, like say fried chicken,,, or chinese food, I am not sure I have any advice but I just wanted to let you know someone out there feels the same way!!!!

Good luck,, hey maybe we can share meal ideas and perk up everyone.

Answer 6

Apart from the occasional takeaway i cook from scratch all the time, as does my wife, i actually really enjoy it, i find it therapeutic after work.

Some days its simple pasta and sauce or salad, some days its a lot more adventurist, depends on the mood money and what ever is in the fridge!

Try getting more cook books and varying a lot more your recipe's you begin to enjoy it more and get more excited about trying a new recipe much more than a horrible full of rubbish ready to make you fat meal. ;)

Good luck

Answer 7

I find that I am more likely not to cook on the days that have been especially hectic. I think its because with cooking comes a mess to clean. We always try to keep things on hand for what we call "pick up" night. Things like frozen dinners or ready made meals. I think everyone feels this way sometimes.

Answer 8

I cook most things from "scratch". The exception is chicken curry to which I add a prepacked spice blend. This is only because my husband likes it the way his mother used to make it!
Throught the week I stick to quick meals & make more effort on the weekend.
Take out once a week is a must though so I dont feel like I'm used and abused. (Im the only member of the household who cooks on a regular basis)

Answer 9

I rarely cook a ready made meal, but not because I don't want to, just that it's rarer in France to come by such things. Cooking from scratch is the norm, and then freezing it for a later date.
Sure do miss that Kraft Macaroni and Cheese!;)

Answer 10

Decide (roughly) what you're going to cook each day at the start of the week, make a list and stick to it (with allowances for swapping daily meals round if preffered). That way you'll be less likely to talk yourself out of healthly (simple to prepare and cook) meals and into the easier (unhealthy) route of ready meal or takeaway!

Still, easier said than done I suppose!!! :o)

Answer 11

it's hard to think up different recipes, you end just cooking the same thing all the time. we do have a take away once a week, but we also save ourselves one meal that we only have say, once a fortnight, that way there's at least one meal you wont get sick of making!! pasta, hot dogs and baked beans is a tasty dinner and it takes about 15mins tops!