Getting tired of food

[StarSong]

After the kids moved out and we went from working full-time to semi-retirement, we drifted away from formal meals. Sometimes I'll make up big batches of soup, lentil stew, pastas, and others, but even with that we tend to make our own meals and eat when we're hungry. We don't eat meat but almost always have baked potatoes and sliced, baked sweet potatoes in the fridge. I'm back to baking whole wheat bread regularly, so there's always some of that around. (It makes terrific toast, including avocado toast.)

Right now I'm having a salad for breakfast. Assorted lettuces, Persian cucumber, tomato, sliced pickled ginger, a few chopped artichoke hearts, some sliced kalamata olives, a baked potato, a little tofu, some sauteed mushrooms, and a dressing that's mostly apple cider vinegar.

DH, who eats eggs, will make himself a scrambled egg breakfast with some veggies and vegan sausage in a little while. He wakes up a couple of hours after me, so I nearly always breakfast before him.

The point is that between our fridge, freezer and pantry, there are oodles of ingredients as well as partially or fully prepared foods. DH and I are mostly responsible for our own meals, and we're happy with the arrangement. We often eat lunch and dinner at the same time, sometimes the same foods, but mostly not.

 

[Lavinia]

I always keep a box of those meal replacement sachets....the ones intended for invalids. When I'm not feeling hungry but know I need to eat, I just whisk up one of those.

 

[Sliverfox]

I'm glad I'm not alone on being tired of planning meals , cooking, cleaning up from that.

Some days I just want to curl up & hide .
Result raising independent sons. ???

 

[Knight]

Like Don M cooking to give my wife a break cooking is as natural as getting out of bed in the morning. 60 years of working together in everything isn't really work. Today I'm making pizza. Making the crust from scratch, using the sauce & two kinds of sausage I made awhile back. Mushrooms, red bell pepper slices, smothered in mozzarella cheese.

As was suggested using the web for ideas can help. For instance this.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Kitchen-cooking/1000-ways-to-cook-chicken-112200699412824/

Mojehas or known in English as chicken gizzards in sauce a true treat.

Adapting those to other proteins for variety works. Or just look for ways to prepare other proteins. As for left overs. Making extra just to have left overs for quick ready made meals is a given. Like the pizza I'm making today. Freezing whatever, then vacuum sealing them keeps them as tasty as the day they are made.

I'm extremely lucky to have married a Puerto Rican. The variety of meals from simple ingredients doesn't seem to end. Corned beef was mentioned. This is an example.
https://latinamommeals.com/puerto-rican-corned-beef-hash/

Pork, beef, fish & veggies offer so many alternatives.

 

[hawkdon]

Being alone now my meal habits have change greatly...when
my Wife first passed (2016), I sorta stayed with same kinda
food prep as we had before...but have gradually became a
whiz with microwave LOL..I hate prepping now, don't really care what I eat as long as its filling...many time have gone with
bowl of cereal/milk for supper and breakfast...I buy lots of
breakfast sausage rolls and lots of eggs, so that is another
easy meal....ah well...still fat so don't matter I guess.....

 

[Chet]

You could try eating out once in a while. It really wakes up the pallet when you taste something new. Lot's of groceries offer prepared meals to go, so could try that. You are probably more tired of the food prep than the meals themselves.

 

[JustinCase]

Frozen food for us, I'm a well managed anal diabetic make my own meals, every 5 hours. She makes hers. We buy the smaller serving boxes, she may get few ready made fresh salads. Everything in the freezer, no guess work easy clean up, use paper dishes/bowls & plastic utensils. Many selections. Recycle all but the plastic.. Neither eat desserts. A few cookies for her fruit for me.

Too many years living the good life, eating what I wanted, limiting my exercise has led to this.

 

[caroln]

You could try eating out once in a while. It really wakes up the pallet when you taste something new. Lot's of groceries offer prepared meals to go, so could try that. You are probably more tired of the food prep than the meals themselves.

Yes, maybe, but I think I'm just tired of food. Nothing sounds good. I think, "I could have (insert food here) tonight. No, that doesn't appeal to me. I could go out and bring home Chinese or sub sandwiches. No, not in the mood." I could go on, but you get the idea. I just don't feel like cooking because there's nothing I really have a taste for. I've scoured the web trying to get inspirations, but nothing sparks an interest. Like I said, I think I'm just burned out.

 

[Packerjohn]

I think of food is much like sex. The more variety the better. The same old day after day really does become boring. Going out for a restaurant meal now and then gets you away from the cooking. I don't mean McDonald's or Burger Barn. Try Mexican food, Indian food and Thai restaurants. There are so many things in the grocery stores these days that just need to be heated up.

As for me I try to eat healthy and keep far away from restaurants. I have a menu up on the wall that I do at the beginning of each week. That helps me when I go to the grocery store and it saves me sitting down and wondering what I should prepare. I don't have to think, I just look up to the list on the wall. About a decade ago, I figured out that I don't need 3 means/day because I'm retired and I don't need the calories. I have breakfast and then lunch around 1 pm. No dinner or supper or whatever you want to call it. I have my evening bowl of cereal while watching my DVD shows and that's it.

Perhaps you need a "culinary holiday." Take a cruise and you wouldn't have to cook and you can eat whatever you want and as much as you want but watch your waist. It's the "curse" of the cruising set.

 

[Jules]

@caroln, I can relate to the tedium of planning, prepping and eating meals. Reading recipe sites does give me inspiration. After the thread I started the other day about our favourite online recipe sites, I found 3 recipes that I’m going to make soon. Picked up some scallops for tonight. I’ll go back and read some more in a week or two.

It does help that my husband will eat everything he’s served with no complaints. It was years before he happened to mention that there was one thing he didn’t really like. That fell off my planning list.

I really think my taste buds have changed lately. Foods I loved seem blah.

 

[shedevil7953]

I have a different problem. I've had 3 minor strokes since 2017 and one of the deficits is that I forgot the procedures of cooking so I can't cook anymore. As a result, we have a delivery service around here called DoorDash, which I've been using since then. Although I try to keep each daily meal around $20 and something different every day, I'm getting tired of it! Can you imagine someone else cooking for you and you getting tired of it?! I wish I could remember how to make chili, etc.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

I'm a good cook but never liked doing it. When I married my second husband about 30 years ago, thankfully he loved eating out especially after a long day at his store. We became the diner king and queen and I got somewhat spoiled. He never minded if I didn't do much cooking either. I always was a "lazy cook". Now that he's gone I've gotten even lazier and make things that are quickest and easiest to prepare. I've noticed over the past couple of years that there are many times I don't know what I want to eat. I keep a lot of prepared foods in the house like fish sticks, spinach ravioli, waffles, cheese blintzes, eggplant parmagean, canned soups and Chef-Boyardee ravioli. I can't rely on them too much though because of the sodium content, though some aren't too bad. Lately I find myself choosing flavored oatmeal from the packets if I can't think of anything else I want.

 

[Gaer]

That is the greatest part of living alone! And it does not matter what I eat and when. If I want soup for breakfast and cereal for dinner, I can do that. I miss my late husband, and he did like to make dinner often, there is something about being free of "food norms" that is appealing to me.

So well said!

 

[senior chef]

Funny, I was just thinking last night of how many meals I have made in my lifetime and how do chefs do it day in and day out? So, I had a bowl of soup and called it a day.

Chefs love to cook/bake. It's our very life. We think of it as an art. I could no more give up cooking than I could give up breathing. I don't ever think of it as work. Admittedly, I prefer cooking for others, but even if I am only cooking for myself, I still love it.

My EX had a saying about me. " Where my husband is, food is". Nothing made me feel as great as when she said, "Honey. This is delicious."

 

[Signe The Survivor]

I have been living alone for some years now since my son moved out and although my desire to cook is still there because I do somewhat enjoy it the meals I cook have changed greatly. Only cooking for one of course the portion size has gone down considerably and because packaging makes that hard sometimes, I do find freezing things is more of a frequent thing.

As for meals I do find that I do many more quick meals such as soup and sandwich meals. Really with these meals the only thing I end up really cooking is some sort of vegetable. I will also have some fruit at dinner as well which takes not long at all to prepare.

One thing I greatly appreciate from these quick meals is not having to clean the pots and pans afterwards. That is what I really do not enjoy.

 

[Grampa Don]

When I retired, I took over cooking dinners. I figured she had done her turn, and frankly I'm a better cook. Monday through Thursday, I cook. Friday is takeout night . Weekends, we each scrounge whatever is in the frig or cupboard. We also fix our own breakfasts and lunches. We share cleanup chores.

We don't eat fancy. I'm not a great cook. But, I can make the basics like meat loaf, stew, or a pot of beans and we get by. She always tells me it's good, and I say thank you.

 

[Jan14]

Speaking of chicken, I just tried Chick Fil-A Food Truck today. Wow it’s a good chicken sandwich. Prob enough for 2 meals for a lot of ladies. I’m not a fried chicken fan, usually stick to grilled. Worth a try! If your not county calories or cholesterol!

 

[Jan14]

Caroln,
Speaking as a chef, it sounds like you really need something dramatically different AND easy to prepare. If interested, contact me and I'll give you some great ideas. One thought immediately comes to mind. Try making corned beef with cabbage, potatoes and carrots. Simple as 1-2-3. The corned beef is already to cook. It's in the cold meat section of your super market. Just open the vacuum packed bag slip it in some water to cover by 2 inches, open small packet of spices, inside the vacuum packed bag, add 2 large bay leaves, turn down to a low simmer and cook VERY SLOWLY for 2-3 hours. At near supper time, when corned beef is done, just peel waxy potatoes, carrots, and cabbage and simmer in the liquid left over from the corned beef. Hint: rye bread goes wonderfully with this.
Not only the above but you'll have leftovers for corned beef sandwiches on rye bread.

That sounds good!

 

[caroln]

Try wine, it makes a difference!!

I may just go with the wine idea! A nice Italian red, please. I tried a new chicken recipe last night and neither of us liked it.

@senior chef, I would absolutely love to have corned beef and cabbage but hubby won't touch it and it's too much to make just for me. My mom made this exact dinner just as you described it every St. Patrick's Day and we all loved it.

My cooking slump can't last forever so I'll quit complaining. Thanks for listening everyone!

 

[helenbacque]

I keep a good supply of eggs on hand and when this mood (tired of cooking) strikes, I do a simple fix. There are so many different yet simple ways to cook eggs.

 

[senior chef]

I hit that wall sometimes, will just go 'minimal' and buy quick easy items like fruit, frozen veggies, maybe get some potatos to nuke in the microwave. Or, like yesterday we picked up some cheap Chinese for lunch, have leftovers for another meal.


I LOVE chicken! I love each and every one of them! I would raise chickens but then they would end up with names, which means we couldn't ever eat them.

Have you ever made Chicken Tettrazini"

I may just go with the wine idea! A nice Italian red, please. I tried a new chicken recipe last night and neither of us liked it.

@senior chef, I would absolutely love to have corned beef and cabbage but hubby won't touch it and it's too much to make just for me. My mom made this exact dinner just as you described it every St. Patrick's Day and we all loved it.

My cooking slump can't last forever so I'll quit complaining. Thanks for listening everyone!

Oh, what a shame hubby doesn't like real corned beef (not from a can ).
I once when thru something similar with an Asian GF. She had to have white rice with every meal. Very frustrating when people have such limited desires.

 

[RFW]

Have you ever made Chicken Tettrazini"


Oh, what a shame hubby doesn't like real corned beef (not from a can ).
I once when thru something similar with an Asian GF. She had to have white rice with every meal. Very frustrating when people have such limited desires.

Funny hearing that. I talked to an old asian lady and she used to wonder how we survive on bread with everything and no rice.

 

[RadishRose]

Good heavens, what's "dramatically different" about corned beef and cabbage?

 

[senior chef]

Good heavens, what's "dramatically different" about corned beef and cabbage?

In my experience, not many people make real corned beef and cabbage. But that depends upon where you live. In Boston, for example, most everyone makes corned beef and cabbage, especially on St Patrick's Day. But in other places, it's hard to get corned beef and cabbage even at a restaurant on St. Patrick's Day

 

[Nathan]

Have you ever made Chicken Tettrazini"

No but I'm sure my wife would enjoy a casserole full of creamy stuff and pasta...that's how she rolls . Actually, since you've planted the idea in my head, I think I will make a Chicken Tetrazzini dish, I'm looking at recipe by Giada...foodnetwork/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-tetrazzini
...only thing I don't have on-hand is white wine, mushrooms and whipping cream.