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Fed up of making the same meals !

(120 Posts)
grace56580 Thu 12-Sept-24 08:56:37

Does anyone else feel the same ? I have searched the internet for ideas but always come back to the same old meals. A lot of it boils down to the price of food I used to love cooking now find it a chore. I'm spoilt for choice 4 Supermarkets near me but it's same old same old in all of them.

MissAdventure Mon 16-Sept-24 19:15:08

55 years?!
You deserve a medal, as well as a rest. flowers
Maybe slink off an hour earlier, to plan what you're going to make (and have a cup of tea, or whatever your tipple is)

It is frustrating, plus we don't really eat the same kind of dinners, anymore, since veg is totally off the menu for him these days.

buffyfly9 Mon 16-Sept-24 18:57:00

I could have written your post Miss Adventure! When I've been busy all day and feel too tired to cook anything the OH comes in from the garden and says " it's 6.00pm, WE should pack up earlier and have our meal at a sensible time". I respond by asking if, after 55 years of cooking I deserve a rest and perhaps he would like to get it ready??. His response is well I could if I had to.

MissAdventure Mon 16-Sept-24 18:12:12

I shall.
I will keep dishing up my errrrm... wonderful offerings. grin

Ilovedogs22 Mon 16-Sept-24 17:57:22

Sorry to hear that MissAdventure, everything changes the good & the bad, hold on in there. 😊❤👍

MissAdventure Mon 16-Sept-24 17:48:40

Every meal time in this house is a battle ground, and it wears me down.

Whatever I cook is at the wrong time, on the wrong day, too early or too late.
It's all such a hassle.

Stansgran Mon 16-Sept-24 16:05:45

I used to love cooking but DH is not very well and in some ways seems to have regressed to childhood but with rose coloured specs. He mentioned mince which I loathe . He forgets that his mother produced boiled mince as when we were first married he said could we have mince . I asked his mother how she did it and answer was put it ina pan and boil it. I made a different version with herbs and spices etc and his brother and sister were eating with us and went home asking why they couldn’t have mince like that. The relationship went downhill . I still loathe the texture of mince but as he bought some at our farm shop I’ll make it for him . I have very little freezer space so it has to be eaten at a fairly rapid pace. I too am tired of shopping and cooking and am thinking about trying hello fresh or gousto. I get in a rut of cooking a chicken every Sunday and following up with curry or pie. End of week now autumn is slow cooker stew. One thing for slow cooker I learnt from mumsnet was a gammon on a layer of dark brown sugar and it makes its own sauce.

MissAdventure Mon 16-Sept-24 14:36:54

Thank you. smile
It'll be on my to-do list.

Norah Mon 16-Sept-24 12:49:10

MissAdventure

That sounds good, and easy Norah.

I might give that a go. smile

It is an easy recipe. Freezes well, lovely re-heated.

Perhaps I should add I blender blitz tomatoes prior to adding. Or use passata. Sorry I hurried and didn't write directions out.

MissAdventure Mon 16-Sept-24 10:17:33

That sounds good, and easy Norah.

I might give that a go. smile

Norah Sun 15-Sept-24 22:42:23

To the question. Try this, cheap, fast, easy, delicious.

olive oil -- to cook onion and garlic
1 onion
3 clove garlic

3-4" pieces ginger --add this (and all below) cook half hour
1 T curry powder
3/4 c orange/pink/red lentils
1 tin tomatoes
3 c water
salt
pepper
1/2 c fresh coriander
1 tin coconut milk

Serve, fresh chopped coriander on top (serves 4)

M0nica Sun 15-Sept-24 22:20:40

Steelygran

Yes I do feel the same! I think a lot of people just have a few meals they're used to cooking all the time. It saves time and money too if you have more of a fixed weekly menu.
I find that supermarket recipes are good and a source of inspiration to try new things.

I am not sure that having a few meals that you cook all the time does save you either time or money. You may well find recipes that use less expensive ingredieants or enable you to make the most of yellow stickered items or seasonal gluts of certain fruit and vegetables.

Jaxjacky Sun 15-Sept-24 22:03:58

kittylester

But, why make the same meals again and again?

There are loads and loads of recipes on line.

I think kitty there are a number of reasons.
Some people eat to live, they have little pleasure in the whole process, particularly if they’re on their own.
Some have a tight budget, so they make and eat what they know is affordable, others physically for various reasons can only eat certain things, bad teeth is one example.
Others are just not adventurous, like predictability and routine. There may well be others, but not everyone is of the same mould as others.

Steelygran Sun 15-Sept-24 21:46:44

Yes I do feel the same! I think a lot of people just have a few meals they're used to cooking all the time. It saves time and money too if you have more of a fixed weekly menu.
I find that supermarket recipes are good and a source of inspiration to try new things.

buffyfly9 Sun 15-Sept-24 18:55:43

NotSpaghetti

I'm glad you liked them buffyfly9 I know there were at least two of us that like them on Gransnet.

They make good gifts too - if people like curries.

Was it you that recommended them NotSpaghetti? If so, thank you very much, I've usually bought M&S or Waitrose curries for a treat but these from Chef Akila are very good indeed. grin

kittylester Sun 15-Sept-24 18:08:40

But, why make the same meals again and again?

There are loads and loads of recipes on line.

NotSpaghetti Sun 15-Sept-24 17:28:30

I'm glad you liked them buffyfly9 I know there were at least two of us that like them on Gransnet.

They make good gifts too - if people like curries.

buffyfly9 Sun 15-Sept-24 16:30:14

On the recommendation of an OP on here a few weeks ago I bought a supply of curries, vegetarian, meat and vegan, from Chef Akila. They arrived in very good insulated packaging, still as hard as a rock so went straight into my freezer. A really good range of dishes, the lemon rice is fabulous and the portions are very generous too. They are truly as good, if not better, than you can make at home. No additives, no dubious chemicals, just good food. I'm a fan so will be ordering more, particularly for Xmas.

Dempie55 Sun 15-Sept-24 16:13:07

I’ve never liked cooking much, so now I am a widow, I quite enjoy doing as little as possible in the kitchen. I usually have fish and a salad. Sea bass, sea bream, sardines, salmon, tuna. Other days I might have egg salad or turkey steak with salad. The only thing I really like making now is soup, which I do in the winter. I’d rather read a book or go for a walk than faff about with spices, herbs and obscure vegetables!

Mollygo Sun 15-Sept-24 15:54:45

It’s the desire to claim something that makes me laugh. Maybe they should start and market omnivore recipes and meals.
Or maybe vegan names which don’t match the original meaning should be changed to something else.
So oat or almond liquid or vegan squeeze instead of cheese. Or even, as I saw the other day
Potato Cheezz is plant-based food, made from 100% fresh potatoes

M0nica Sun 15-Sept-24 15:18:11

Norah I agree, 100% plant based dishes are generally easy, healthy and cheap and I eat a lot of plant based meals. But I just see nor reason why they should be called vegan. Vegan's do not have a monopoly of those dishes and they were not developed specifically for vegans.

Norah Sun 15-Sept-24 12:20:55

M0nica

*Norah * Vegans do not annoy me. It is having perfectly ordinary everyday dishes described as Vegan, just because they do not contain any animal products that annoys me.

I have friends that are vegan and I have happily prepared suitable meals for all of us when they visit, which would mean, because I am lazy, all of us eating only plant-based food. No one complained.

Many people, apparently not you, are annoyed by vegans - the recipes, herbs and spices, the concept. Saying "I can't be bothered." No matter - vegan recipes are generally easy, healthy, and cheap.

Thus an answer to the OP may be Vegan cookery books.

Babs03 Sat 14-Sept-24 21:39:26

My go-to signature dish as the temps become chilly, is hearty home made soup. My favourite is a job lot of veg - whatever is cheap and available - with chicken stock, turmeric and a bit of black pepper, blitzed and then a tin of drained butter beans added. Served with crusty bread warmed in the oven.
My grown family love it.

M0nica Sat 14-Sept-24 20:02:28

Norah Vegans do not annoy me. It is having perfectly ordinary everyday dishes described as Vegan, just because they do not contain any animal products that annoys me.

I have friends that are vegan and I have happily prepared suitable meals for all of us when they visit, which would mean, because I am lazy, all of us eating only plant-based food. No one complained.

V3ra Sat 14-Sept-24 17:31:19

My son and his girlfriend are vegan.
When I cook for all of us I describe it as "vegan-friendly" food, because we are all happy to eat it.
We also eat vegan-friendly food when we are on our own.

We all went to a nice Indian restaurant on holiday in July.
When the waiter realised they were looking for the vegan-friendly options on the menu, he crossed out all the dishes containing animal products to make it easier for them to see what they would be happy to eat.

Macadia Sat 14-Sept-24 15:23:15

Bump