If you live alone, do you still do basic cooking

Cooking for oneself offers many rewards, the first and most important IMO, the healthy side of such.

Next up on my list, knowing what goes into the making of such meals and how all is prepared. The older I get the less interested I am in having someone prepare my food for me. I can make anything any restaurant makes, and aside from there being no garbage ingredients in what I make, my home and kitchen is spotlessly clean, which is more than can be said for restaurant kitchens and their food handling practices. In addition to, the overall lack of stringent hygiene practices of employees in restaurant kitchens I can do without.

Home-cooked meals/food... healthier, prepared fresh, tastier.
 
When I eat out I do so for three reasons:

1. I want to eat something I would not make for myself due to complexity, lack of the right tools, or very unusual ingrediants.
2. It's a social event with friends.
3. I am traveling and have given up trying to cook corn on the cob and chicken in the hot engine compartment of my car.
 
Just got home from spending the holidays with my son and I cooked up a storm. He said to me, "Mom, the older you get the better you cook." Now, should I take umbrage at that one since he grew up to be a strapping and healthy lad and ate my meals like he had a taxi waiting for him? Just kidding, actually, I never make the same thing exactly as I did the last time. I create ways to make it better. Alas, my cooking is slowing down as I'll be 88 next week and don't have the stamina to spend a ton of time in the kitchen anymore. But, when I am there, it is all from scratch. No premade junk for me.
 
I always say I am not going to do all this cooking anymore, but then I get something in my mind that I want and I have to fix it. I can't tell you how many times I have bought a convenience food or meal out and then realize I could have made it better. I am a label reader and I just can't see buying food that has all those chemicals in it. For me convenience food is preparing several different foods and putting then in the refrigerator for the week. Which I am doing today.
 
Yeah I prepare food.

But I used to joke with my wife that I fear that in old age, I'll become one of those decrepit old men who needs help carrying grocery bags and loading them into the truck.

Hard to believe but it may be coming to that. I go thru self-serve stations and recently scanned three of those cube-shaped cartons of Dr. Pepper, 24 cans per carton, and put them on the shelf while scanning other items.

A female employee who oversees the self-serve stations apparently saw that it was a bit of a struggle and felt sorry for me. She grabbed each of them by their handle and hauled them back into the cart. 1,2,3, all done. Maybe slightly larger than average-sized woman but not huge, maybe 45 years of age.

You know you're close to rock bottom when that happens.🙁
 
I learned to cook when I was a single father of 3. Poor kids. But I got pretty good at it before they developed any nutritional deficiencies.

I don't like to cook but it's a necessity. I agree with everyone who said cooking your own food is healthier in that you choose the ingredients, but I confess, sometimes I just dump some cans of veggies in a pot of boxed meat stock and chopped up leftover chicken to make soup. And I do that pretty often.
 
I'm, unfortunately, a widower, after being married twice to 2 very good cooks. I'm rather a dunce when it comes to cooking. For breakfast I eat fruit salad with yogurt twice/week. Tired of toast & eggs. I admit to buying a small pizza, some pizza pops & some "sweet & sour" chicken, chicken burgers & 1/2 dozen packages of noodles. Unfortunately, they are loaded with salt even though I try to buy no more than 25% salt. I have high blood pressure so that's sad! On the more positive side, I do pretty good with my slow cooker & enjoy making beef stew & chilies. I am hoping in the near future to start looking at the 20 odd cook books that my dear wife left behind when she left this earth. Cooking is an art & I tip my hat to anyone, male or female who puts out wonderful, healthy, delicious meals. Wish I could!
 
Just got home from spending the holidays with my son and I cooked up a storm. He said to me, "Mom, the older you get the better you cook." Now, should I take umbrage at that one since he grew up to be a strapping and healthy lad and ate my meals like he had a taxi waiting for him? Just kidding, actually, I never make the same thing exactly as I did the last time. I create ways to make it better. Alas, my cooking is slowing down as I'll be 88 next week and don't have the stamina to spend a ton of time in the kitchen anymore. But, when I am there, it is all from scratch. No premade junk for me.
Oh Lewkat, I love it!!! And your son’s remark💕. He must love his Mom to distraction. You should start a new posting with some of your favorite recipes...wouldlove to read them ❤️
 
So did my Mom! I love that even more. Boy I bet they are just delicious. What is YOUR favorite meal to make and eat?Whi
I make fabulous pot roast dinners. Everyone loves them. Only use rump roast as the chuck and rounds become stringy and I hate stringy meat. Also, my spaghetti sauce puts most Sicilians and Neapolitans to shame, I am told. My late daughter in law's step brother came to dinner last year for my pasta and he was floored. Rob told me that his mother is a true Italian and couldn't come close to my sauce. I also make a mean Tex-Mex Chili. While I haven't done this one in a while I make a pork tenderloin cut into tournadoes and in a pot with carrots, sauerkraut, some brown sugar, sesame seeds or even rye seeds and add potatoes at the end. Makes a great winter evening meal.
 
I make fabulous pot roast dinners. Everyone loves them. Only use rump roast as the chuck and rounds become stringy and I hate stringy meat. Also, my spaghetti sauce puts most Sicilians and Neapolitans to shame, I am told. My late daughter in law's step brother came to dinner last year for my pasta and he was floored. Rob told me that his mother is a true Italian and couldn't come close to my sauce. I also make a mean Tex-Mex Chili. While I haven't done this one in a while I make a pork tenderloin cut into tournadoes and in a pot with carrots, sauerkraut, some brown sugar, sesame seeds or even rye seeds and add potatoes at the end. Makes a great winter evening meal.
Drooling!!!!!!!
 

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