Why does no one cook at home anymore?

[Ellester]

Originally posted by goodstarr
Christine, you are so right about "convenience foods" but ordering out doesn't have to come from McDonalds, BK or KFC.

I agree that today you can get alot of convenience foods that are much better for you than typical fast food. Our grocery store has sushi, a huge salad bar, rotisserie chicken and turkey, roasted pork and a variety of other yummies available everyday.

That said, I am a SAHM and I cook almost every night. We do go out once or twice a month, but that's it. I also make lunch almost every day as my dh works at home. But, I like to cook, so it's usually an enjoyable part of my day. Cleaning is a whole 'nother thing. I am not a neat person and never will be. I try to keep the house neat, but with two adults home almost all the time and 2 (soon to be 3 kids) as soon as you clean up something it gets messy again! The reason I stay home is to be with my kids and raise them, not to be a housekeeper and a cook (although I do my best at those). I wouldn't mind eating out more often and I would absolutely love to have maid service now and again, but the financial sacrifices we make so I can stay home won't allow it.

 

[nativetxn]

I was a SAHM and I cooked....well, except for those evenings when we had swimming practice, hockey practice, drama rehearsal, orchestra rehearsal and football practice and I was the chauffeur for everyone.

I don't guess that I <i>did</i> cook all that much considering all of these practices and the fact that they took place just about everyday.

Hmmm, I never thought about that before. Now, I'm feeling guilty

 

[Mishetta]

I've been a SAHM for the past 1.5 years now. I do manage to get dinner on the table every night (we eat out on EITHER Saturday or Sunday). I make a meat, a fresh veggie (not canned or frozen anything & a potato/pasta/rice side dish.

If I'm in a crunch, I'll make a veggie dish (spinach, or cauliflower), sautee it in olive oil & garlic & toss it with pasta. Instant quick meal.

The laundry gets done daily (folded & put away) & while I don't run the vacuum (at all ~ my DH does that), I do make sure all 3 bathrooms are clean & the sinks/tubs are shiny, all the beds are made (my DS8 is responsible for making his own) & sometimes that's all I have time for depending how my 2 y/o is acting! My DH washes the floors every Saturday for me & I keep it up during the week with my trusty swiffer mop. My house looks okay most of the time, except for my 2 y/o's toys all over the place!

My Mom cooked everyday & it was all fresh food. She not only took care of everything inside the house, but also outside the house & she worked full time. Oh...she also had to walk to & from work until the last 10 years of her working life because she didn't drive. I am still amazed at what my Mom did! I don't have half the energy! Of course, she had more time on her hands than I do, because I'm addicted to my computer & the DIS board!

 

[kasar]

Now, I'm feeling guilty

Don't! I don't feel guilty one bit! I have two happy, busy, well-rounded kids who get exercise, attend school functions and have made life-long friends from all their activities. Could they eat better if we were home more often? Sure. But, like I said before, we're doing the best we can - sometimes it's better than other times but on the whole we're doing pretty good. Nope, no regrets here.

 

[Cruisin]

As to the question posed by the original poster about how did our moms cook good meals and keep spotless houses.....
well in my day as a child (late 1950's, 1960's) my mother did not do all of the things that a lot of mothers today do.
We were not involved in gymnastics, swimming, soccer, hockey, riding lessons and the multitude of other things that kids do today. We did have music lessons though.
So my mother's time was not taken up running me and my brothers around town the way I did with my own children.
Also in my mom's time second cars were not as popular as they are today, so she didn't have a car to do the running around to start with.
So she had more time to cook and clean etc.

 

[sm4987]

I'm a SAHM and for a long time I just preferred to eat out. I love to cook, but do get entirely lazy. Plus I grew up in a house that ate out most of the time, and that habit has just fallen into my house. However, I have been cooking more meals at home, and that is just fine too!

 

[Lezah]

We eat in virtually every night. Who can afford to go out these days? We do have some convenience foods 1-2 nights per week. I credit my cooking more often now with the website www.recipezaar.com and the cookbook I've made there. I have over 525 recipes in it and try a new one each week. So far only 2 haven't worked well for us. I would love to go out all the time, but not on our salaries!! If I stayed home, I'm fairly certain that I would cook lots more I'm sure. If I'm home on the weekend, I cook each day. The crockpot is a godsend cause it is so easy to make something warm and tasty with it. There are times where I wish I had 2 so I could do main course and dessert or side dish in it.

 

[ducklite]

I work a full time job that takes about 50 hours of my week, a part-time job that is another 5-20 hours a week, and try to squeeze in some volunteer work in my spare time.

Add to that a 45 minute commute (each way), and it makes for some long days.

Also, I simply do NOT enjoy cooking.

That said, I do cook 2-4 times a week. Usually it's some form of chicken thrown on the grill, even in the middle of winter, with frozen veggies and steamed rice (LOVE my rice steamer!!)

The other days DH and DS fend for themselves with either a cook and serve meal from the grocery store or homemade taco's or pasta with sauce, or a "recipe" from the cook book I got them called "A Man, A Can, and a Plan". LOL!

We eat out once or twice a week, although often it's Subway or cheese pizza, we try to keep it at least reasonably healthy. (Tonight was Subway)

Anne

 

[barbeml]

I work full time running a consulting business and manage to cook a healthy dinner for DH and me at least 5 nights a week, usually six.

Sorry, but if you leave your family's diet and nutrition up to the fast food/restaurant industry you are setting yourself up for obesity and heart disease. (My major client is in the health care field, I am not overstating this).

Yes, we are super busy, but there are so many healthful shortcuts available these days that make it easier.

 

[disykat]

We eat out once a week and do a quick meal (like rotisserie chicken and salad from the grocery deli) about once a week too. The other meals I cook. However if you ask my working spouse (I'm a SAHM that also substitute teaches as my schedule allows) he would say we eat out all the time. From my perspective as a SAHM it seems like I'm on an endless cycle of cook and clean, from his it seems like he doesn't get enough meals at home. I like to eat out mainly because I get bored and it's an entertainment issue - getting out of the house and having someone cook is the treat, not the food itself. If we decided to tighten the budget and give up eating out I'd manage fine, but we feel this works fine for us.

I grew up in a family that ate out once a week too - so it's not very different from how I grew up. DH grew up pretty poor and they never ate out.

 

[KimR]

I was just having this discussion with DH last night. I am sick and tired of the kids having take-out, soup and yogurt, or even cereal for dinner when I'm in a crunch. I work full-time, but I work from home and usually quit around 3:00 or 4:00, so work isn't the issue. The problem is (aside from the fact that I hate cooking and I'm lousy at it), one DD has gymnastics 3 nights a week from 5:00 to 9:00 (and Saturday mornings as well!), the other 2 DDs have gym 2 nights a week from 4:30 to 6. Unfortunately, they practice on different nights, so we are at the gym every weeknight. That leaves very little time to get a meal on the table anymore.

I told DH I want to get a crockpot and learn how to use it and I'm hoping that solves the problem. I'm thinking that way I can put something in in the morning and have a cooked meal by the time we get home from the gym. I feel so guilty because ever since we've gotten this new schedule the kids have been eating nothing but convenience foods

 

[Tulirose]

I HATE to cook..... but do it anyway.

Crockpots, KimR, do help. I probably should utilize it more than I do, but my new one cooks much faster than my old one. Wish I still had my old one.

 

[browneyes]

I definately cooked more often when I was a SAHM. Now that I'm not a FT SAHM mom, we do eat out a lot, but I cook a lot too. I made a big meal tonight.

 

[CindyKansas]

I work 40 hours a week and DH works anywhere from 8 to 30 hours a week depending on the week. He does the laundry, changes the sheets on the bed, general house cleaning (he doesn't do bathrooms) I think he's a great house-husband. I clean the bathrooms and I do the cooking. Meaning we have home cooked meals 6 nights a week. We do order take out one night a week. Usually pizza. I am a cook from scratch kind of person.

 

[BigDog13]

I am a stay at home step dad disabled Vietnam veteran who cooks healthy dinners everyday. Yesterday, up here in the Boston area at 26 degrees, I was outside finishing off cooking our dinner of Bar-B-Que ribs!!

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by BigDog13
I am a stay at home step dad disabled Vietnam veteran who cooks healthy dinners everyday. Yesterday, up here in the Boston area at 26 degrees, I was outside finishing off cooking our dinner of Bar-B-Que ribs!!

Would you like company for dinner, Big Dog??

 

[Cindy B]

I don't understand it either.

I work, and go to school, but I still cook. On school nights, I sometimes have the crockpot set up, and something cooking while I am work.

As for the time it takes to clean, set, cook, etc.. I have my kids clear and set the table, while I cook. The kids and hubby clear and put away in the dishwasher.

We on very rare occasions, eat out. We don't eat out much, and are just amazed at teh markup (well not really amazed, just shocked I guess) on how high it is..

 

[powellrj]

When we use to eat out a lot we would always eat the specials. Monday was Pizza King, Tuesday was Big Boy....... One time I was pressed for time and we were pulling into the Big Boy parking lot and my ds who was about 4 at the time said, "stop mom its not Tuesday." I wasn't thinking and said so, to which he said "Wow you mean you can eat here when its not a Tuesday???"

 

[jx3smom]

I work full time and we rarely eat out. Sometimes on a Sunday if we visit MIL we stop and DH has wings or something. Otherwise I cook every night. Last night I made crab imperial, coconut shrimp(frozen), horseradish mashed potatoes and Birdeye brussel sprouts. Some times we only have pasta and sauce (ragu) with a salad. We do have hotdogs and easy stuff often but never do we have fastfood take out.

 

[sharbear]

My New Year's resolution was to be more organized and to not rely on convience food and takeout so often. I work part-time but I'm home when my kids are home. I found that when I wasn't organized, I got so busy I couldn't get dinner together. I hate to go to the grocery store. What I used to do was fly into the store and pick up a few things.

I am more organized now. I try to go to the store and do a big grocery shop once a week. Now I only have to pick up more milk and bread during the week. I have a plan now. Even if it's Ragu (love the new Ragu with meat) over spagetti with salad and bread.

Missypie, maybe you could be the grocery shopper. Make a plan for your DH, an easy plan. Maybe the two of you together could do some investment cooking during the weekends. It is so easy to brown up some ground beef, mix a pound with taco seasoning, a pound with sauce and a pound with sloppy joe seasonong. Then it would be easy for your DH to make meals. I also will buy chicken breats and put them in the crockpot. I'll cut them up and use them in casseroles or chicken salad. It takes no time.

Just a suggestion.