I’m sick to death of it.

I don’t like cooking either, my husband cooks at the weekends which is when we have proper food.

I could happily live on fruit and sandwiches

I can't stand cooking.
I get angry at even having to make a sandwich.

I used to cook quite happily - not my favourite thing, but five people were nourished with 2/3 meals a day for decades; and Sundays were a ritual day with big roast dinner, home-made crumble or pie, and home-made rolls (with cheeses, jams etc.) and a home-made sponge cake which we would eat round the fire in winter.

Now I can barely be bothered to make a sandwich - it all feels a complete chore. And now I am living on my own it all seems even more pointless to cook when I can fill up on a sandwich or a ready meal.... or biscuits, or crisps - or anything but cook really! I am getting worse by the day!

Oh NanKate don’t put yourself through it! I love cooking for others but can’t be arsed for myself so know exactly where you’re coming from.

My answer to the drudgery is to batch bake on ‘happy’ days so that I have 2-4 meals in the freezer (chilli, bolognese, curry) and all I have to do is boil some rice, pasta or spuds. was

Intersperse these meals with eating out and the odd ready made and maybe a takeaway and all of a sudden you’re only cooking twice a week! Planning is everything when you hate doing something!

I used to cook when my daughter was growing up.
Always a roast on a Sunday, and plain, wholesome meals during the week.

Now on my own i can't be bothered , but took a notion and made an omelette for lunch

Oh I am so with you! Such a waste of time and effort.

When I stayed at my daughters whilst she was away, she still had her 'hello fresh' meals delivered.

I was nearly in tears, up to my elbows in raw pork, shaping it into patties, and caramelising onions.

I am just like you. I fed my children well with good balanced meals cooked from scratch. Now, however, I am cooked out. My husband still wants a cooked breakfast and a main meal at night. After 52 years it has become a disliked chore.
He is away for a whole week and I am living on my favourite sandwiches and some tasty bits and pieces from M&S. Bliss.

To me cooking's a pointless exercise! Basically eating food is a necessity to staying alive, so anything cooked by me is thrown together and eaten on the run. On the other hand, Mister b is (in his mind) a Chef of the highest degree and every meal presented by him comes with a squiggle, pinch or little bunch of something artistically arranged on top, covered with a piquant sauce and smelling of exotic things. Give me egg 'n' chips anyday

I'm happy with a cheese sandwich, a couple of tomatoes and a bag of crisps.

I think as we get older we do not have as much appetite and therefore lose the impetus to cook. And weariness doesn't help either.

Not that I've ever enjoyed cooking.

You are not alone NanKate, you are not lazy either. It just so happens that you don’t like cooking. I manage to churn out complete crap most of the time, nothing wrong with the food it is what I do to it. When my DDs left home I told DH, “that’s it, no more cooking for me”. He didn’t believe me but was more or less true. I do so wish he could cook but he is even worse than me. How we managed all those years I will never know. Bring on the ready meals/carvery/takeaways! I regard making a cup of tea as cooking. Much easier having black coffee.

NanKate, ?

I actually can't be bothered cooking for myself, I am an Earth Mother, who prefers to cook for others!

Unfortunately, DH is an awful cook. ☹️When he took early retirement, my children begged me not to let him cook, so I have no choice, or we would starve!!!

Ah, but I bet you love doing it MD. ?

Same here, not surprising when 40 years of cooking one meal a day comes to 14,600 meals.

I have always encouraged DH and our DC to cook to save me from the complete and utter boredom, you describe.
Like you I enjoy cooking for others, for an occasion, but the everyday can be tedium.
DH is a great cook and very creative (most of the time) but afterwards the kitchen looks like a bomb has hit it and he uses every pan we possess...... and sometimes burns them
We also host volunteers and our current French helper is a fabulous cook! Top marks for presentation too. There are sometimes 6 dishes of tasty delicacies. Think Mediterranean sundried tomatoes, roasted seeds, salads, lots of garlic and herbs and often a glass of wine. He cooks vegetarian to please me.
We do have to wait hours though and it's hard to still be hungry at 9pm! whereas when I cook I like it to be fast! omelettes, fried rice, pasta, etc. salads and grated cheese.

NanKate, try a packet of pre prepared vegetables, some sort of protein, a slug of vino , shop bought stock......honestly you can't go wrong.

If you can afford it why can’t you go out for Sunday lunch every week? At least you’d have one day where you didn’t have to cook

Some days I can be bothered.
Others not.
Luckily my husband eats to live, so he’s not fussed whatever we have.

My favourite meal in the whole wide world is two fried eggs and (fat) chips.
Food of the gods!

It seems to me that a key factor shared by most of you, is that you do not really seem to have much interest in food itself. So many of you talk about being happy with a sandwich, even every day.

Now, I do not particularly enjoy cooking, but I love food. I do not mean eating a lot, but tasting different foodstuffs, textures, combinations etc etc. The idea of living on sandwiches is my idea of hell. Even when I was living in a bedsitter, I would cook a meal every night. Nothing elaborate, I had a copy of the She 15 Minute Cook Book and other student type recipe books, but variety really was the spice of my life.

Nevertheless I do not really enjoy cooking and my reaction to any new recipe, is to look at it and see if I can simplify it. But given the choice between cooking a new recipe or a dish I like and having a sandwich, cooking something nice, intersting and tasty wins out every time, even just for myself.

I am so with you in this. I hate cooking now. I used to cook and bake all the time when my girl's were young but DH is a meat and two veg man and I hardly eat any meat. He is still working and expects a home cooked meal every night. I love it when he is away and I don't have to cook.

Monica That’s how I feel about it too. As it happens, today I made a big batch of celeriac & celery soup in the slow cooker, and a lemon layer cake.
MrA happened to come into the kitchen while all this was going on, & said ‘It’s really good that you’ve always liked cooking, isn’t it?’
He got my glacial stare & I told him it wasn’t cooking, but good food, that I enjoy.

I’ll just leave this here.....