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cuckoo_jenibeth
cuckoo_jenibeth Posts: 1,434 Member
in Chit-Chat
Is the mother that cooks dinner every night a thing of the past? I am 43 and the mothers of my generation prepared dinner for a family to gather together and enjoy as one. I cook dinner for my family every night. I work a full time job, I workout, I garden, and I cook. I was surprised to learn that, at least in my area, I am not the "norm". I am the only wife of the 6 married couples on our block that prepares meals on any regular basis. I decided to kind of "poll" the students at the high school where I work and discovered that I am not the "norm" amongst these families, either!

I know that there are other wives (or husbands) and mothers (or fathers) out there that cook nightly meals, but do you think that we are a dying breed? Is the next generation going to view us as old fashioned and repressed??
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Replies

  • Becka4Real
    Becka4Real Posts: 1,527 Member
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    It makes me sad that people don't cook at home as much. I love cooking and find cooking for my family/others so enjoyable! I guess people feel "busy" or that cooking is hard to do? I can make most weeknight dinners in 30-45 minutes with prep!
  • cuckoo_jenibeth
    cuckoo_jenibeth Posts: 1,434 Member
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    I always laugh at my neighbor that never "has time" to make dinner. Almost without fail, I have dinner on the table in the amount of time it takes her to get everyone's orders, hit the drive thru, and return home! Plus, mine tastes better and has a fraction of the fat and calories!
  • skahtboi
    skahtboi Posts: 7,804 Member
    edited July 2015
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    I think, due to such influences as Food Network and Cooking Channel, and their "celebrity chefs," you are beginning to see a renaissance of cooking. It seems more and more people are looking for things that they cannot find in restaurants, or are seeking the thrill of achieving it themselves.

    I have always found cooking to be therapeutic. After a day filled with working with middle schoolers, it is almost a need for me to come home, get a run in, shower and then go to the kitchen and chop things up! :)
  • cuckoo_jenibeth
    cuckoo_jenibeth Posts: 1,434 Member
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    ThomasW13 wrote: »
    i love to cook. no family though of course so its not quite the same. i do it because i enjoy it more than anything,

    but i definitely agree that it is a dying breed of people who enjoy it and are willing to do it regularly. most of the girls i know can't cook to save their life. unless its y'know like a grilled cheese or something.

    So these women will not be able to teach their children how to cook, and their children won't teach their children....
    I have such great memories of cooking with my mom & my grandmothers! Plus, back in the olden days when I went to school, we had Home-Ec; I loved Home-Ec!

  • Becka4Real
    Becka4Real Posts: 1,527 Member
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    ThomasW13 wrote: »
    i love to cook. no family though of course so its not quite the same. i do it because i enjoy it more than anything,

    but i definitely agree that it is a dying breed of people who enjoy it and are willing to do it regularly. most of the girls i know can't cook to save their life. unless its y'know like a grilled cheese or something.

    It's kind of unfortunate that women these days aren't learning to cook. I get the career thing, but, ladies, men like to eat. Learn to cook, keep a man! LOL
  • Organicgasm
    Organicgasm Posts: 592 Member
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    I'm always surprised at how few people take the time to cook all their meals. Going out or hitting fast food is a very rare thing I'm our house. And the price of a meal for a family of 5 would just knock me on my butt. But I spend a lot of time following homesteading blogs, so I know people can make time for a lot more than just cooking dinner. I raise up my meat, process it myself and still have time to cook the whole meal. It can be done. ;)
  • Laura732
    Laura732 Posts: 244 Member
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    I'm another one that goes home and cooks everynight. Sometimes I even clean, too :wink:
  • skahtboi
    skahtboi Posts: 7,804 Member
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    jenibethbu wrote: »
    I always laugh at my neighbor that never "has time" to make dinner. Almost without fail, I have dinner on the table in the amount of time it takes her to get everyone's orders, hit the drive thru, and return home! Plus, mine tastes better and has a fraction of the fat and calories!

    I think people are starting to figure this out, too. However, there will always be the lazy folk who think they are saving themselves time by doing this. That was how fast food came about to begin with

  • cuckoo_jenibeth
    cuckoo_jenibeth Posts: 1,434 Member
    edited July 2015
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    [/quote]I have always found cooking to be therapeutic. After a day filled with working with middle schoolers, it is almost a need for me to come home, get a run in, shower and then go to the kitchen and chop things up! :) [/quote]

    I agree on several fronts! I also find cooking to be therapeutic. I also like the "normalcy" of the ritual after a day of working with high schoolers!

  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
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    I could not think of anything more boring than cooking every night. I hate it. It's right up there with doing the dishes. My SO loves to do it though, so he does it.

    I do the yard work. I love to do that. He hates it.



  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    I do not cook meals daily. I batch cook protein and then we fill in carb/veg as we see fit. I don't really see the point in cooking different meals each and every day, to be honest.
  • Becka4Real
    Becka4Real Posts: 1,527 Member
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    ThomasW13 wrote: »
    Becka4prez wrote: »
    ThomasW13 wrote: »
    i love to cook. no family though of course so its not quite the same. i do it because i enjoy it more than anything,

    but i definitely agree that it is a dying breed of people who enjoy it and are willing to do it regularly. most of the girls i know can't cook to save their life. unless its y'know like a grilled cheese or something.

    It's kind of unfortunate that women these days aren't learning to cook. I get the career thing, but, ladies, men like to eat. Learn to cook, keep a man! LOL

    you know, like I love it when women actually know how to cook. but its not something i expect in the traditional sense either. like i couldn't be the guy who sits on his butt while she's slaving away in the kitchen...i just think it says a lot about when someone is NOT lazy and cares about putting in EFFORT. if a woman does that in the kitchen then it really says something. Most don't is the problem.

    I see cooking a meal as a way to say you care for someone. I love feeding my family and friends! I care about them. My husband doesn't do much in the kitchen, but he's so helpful in so many other ways, I don't even think twice about it.
  • cuckoo_jenibeth
    cuckoo_jenibeth Posts: 1,434 Member
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    I will say that my husband revels in the fact that the neighbors are jealous of his "cooking wife"! Every time they talk they ask what is/was for dinner. He says it is sad & funny, they listen so excitedly and then glumly respond that they had a frozen burrito or a drive thru fried something-or-another.
    Of course, nothing prevents these men from cooking, either!
  • BethClicks
    BethClicks Posts: 61 Member
    edited July 2015
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    eh, I cook a meal every night for my family, nothing too elaborate but there's a protein and a veggie on the table every night. It takes 30 minutes max, better in the summer when the whole lot can be popped onto the grill!
    We live in a Rural town, 30 minutes from the nearest store or drive through anything, so popping out for dinner would be a pain. I don't mind cooking, my husband hates to cook. I don't like housework so he does that, I handle food and shopping and kid stuff. It's a good life :)
  • skahtboi
    skahtboi Posts: 7,804 Member
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    BethClicks wrote: »
    eh, I cook a meal every night for my family, nothing too elaborate but there's a protein and a veggie on the table every night. It takes 30 minutes max, better in the summer when the whole lot can be popped onto the grill!
    We live in a Rural town, 30 minutes from the nearest store or drive through anything, so popping out for dinner would be a pain. I don't mind cooking, my husband hates to cook. I don't like housework so he does that, I handle food and shopping and kid stuff. It's a good life :)

    Open fire makes cooking even better!!!

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