I wish I enjoyed cooking!

Oh, I don't enjoy the eating so much. (Various gastric problems). I just enjoy the planning, preparation, making the table look nice and even clearing up after.

So nice to read this post and realise I am not the only one who hates cooking. So many cookery shows and healthy eating advice you get the impression everyone is a whiz in the kitchen.

I live on my own and after many years of cooking for a family I just can't be bothered anymore.

@ JackyB - 14 meals a week
We have our main meal at lunchtime, just a snack in the evening, which each make for ourself.
So it's only 7. And some of those I make with leftovers from the previous day. eg I've got a beef and bean casserole going in the slow cooker with a little mince and gravy added from yesterday. Later I'm adding preboiled potatoes, and dumplings.

I know I was rather exaggerating with the 14 meals a week, but even if it's a snack, I like to ring the changes.

I also hate cooking, always have done. So much effort and then the kids turned their noses up, Luckily DH discovered he loved it and started by doing all the weekend cooking and then after retirement took over all the cooking. Sadly he passed away in April and I find it one of the hardest things to do to cook a meal just for me. I do make the effort because he made me promise I would. I try to cook at lunchtime if I am home as I really find it a chore at the end of the day.

cooking at lunchtime, eating properly then, it is the natural way to do it. It is how we ate when I was a child, everyone home for lunch and it was nice to get back to that after retirement. I don`t enjoy cooking but this is the meal I cook for, simple foods, a mix of plain veg and some fish or meat or an omlette. At least I know that I have eaten well. Getting up early every day, I find it best to do all the chores am, including my veg prep. I use that lunchtime meal as a dividing line and I relax in the afternoon. My last mini meal is around 4.30, just something simple like soup and a cheese sandwich or yoghurt with fresh berries and some granola.

Whether we like cooking or not, eating that 5+ a day is top priority and I usually easily manage 9 a day. Plus proteins and calcium foods. Whether we like cooking or not, we need the intake to stay healthy, to fuel our bodies, they demand more nutrients as we age but luckily we don`t need to bathe our foods in fancy sauces

I love cooking but hate the preparation so my husband offers to do that bit.
My family love my roasts and take what`s left home.
What I can`t stand is working out what to have every flipping day.

Someone's been busy.

Crikey you've made me realise I'm not as bad as I thought! I do take short cuts though and I only have myself to think about.

I use the microwave a lot and have special dishes for it. E.g. Salmon fillet: cut slits in the top and pop in slices of garlic, a few cherry tomatoes around the sides and a couple of grapes, scraping of pesto on the top. Cook for 2 mins. Meanwhile a handful of bought pre-chopped cabbage, in a pan with a couple of sprigs of broccoli - five or six mins max. Done.

I sometimes substitute a meal with cereal on the grounds that they have added vitamins etc. plus the milk. I make an effort when my GS is here and make things he likes.

Can't stand cookery programmes of any kind and never read my cookery books, they're just decoration. My mother used to say, if you can read you can cook anything. Mmm. IF you cba.

Ha ha! Ginny42 My DH says those letters will be etched on my headstone, the number of times I’ve read out a recipe and then not bothered!

Must admit I love cooking (for other people, I find it’s an effort just for me) and your salmon recipe sounds delicious- I’m sure it would also work on a thinly sliced chicken fillet so might give one or t’other a go!