topic Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good.................. in Kitchen

Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

CrazyKittyLvr2 — Sat, 04 May 2019 15:42:47 GMT

Do you ever have periods when nothing sounds good food wise? I think it makes planning meals difficult. The last few weeks most days I just don't care about food. I have gone through my favorite cookbooks and looked online for inspiration, nada.

If it were just me I wouldn't worry about it but DH loves his food. I ask for ideas and get "I don't know, whatever you make."

Anybody else feel this way from time to time?

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

hopi — Sat, 04 May 2019 16:02:03 GMT

Yessss, happens in spurts. My biggest go to is to get rotisserie chickens from the store, you can make all kinds of dishes with it. An amazing meal in no time. Order food in. Pick up food and bring home or take-out. Going out to dinner is also an option but my least used.

Also my family love subs, so I buy fresh French loaves and make them.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

Annabellethecat66 — Sat, 04 May 2019 16:27:41 GMT

Well I can't smell (very little) or taste (very little)....so I just don't get hungry.

It's easy for me to go an entire day without eating. It's surprising to me (still) how connected smell and taste are to getting a person hungry.

Every now and then I'll feel like I want to eat something but it needs to be spicy so I can really taste it.

Back when my family lived at home and my husband was alive, I could taste back then...But I dreaded having to come up with dinner for everyone. Well, dreaded is a stupid word, I guess I should say I found it 'challenging'.

My husband was very easy to please and my girls loved vegetables, so it wasn't them, it was me. I felt like I needed to come up with 'different' meals.

I think most people will tell you the same thing. Now I eat lunch out with a friend and I'm 'done' for the day. I TRY to eat a little something later in the day but I have no taste for it.

When my husband was alive we still ate out at least once or twice a week.

One thing I've learned, I've repeated it here and will do it again...."The more we are different ....the more we are similar".

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

Desertdi — Sat, 04 May 2019 16:31:20 GMT

I live alone, so a "protein bar" will suffice.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

Nightowlz — Sat, 04 May 2019 16:44:07 GMT

I know what you mean. Don't want any meat but want to eat dinner. I have been eating a lot of fruit & salads. Even if I do eat some meat I eat fruit & salad with it instead of different sides.

DH does not like it because he wants a full meal. I find myself not eating like that anymore.

DH picked up a slab of ribs, potato salad, baked beans the other day. I ate 2 ribs a salad & an apple.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

aroc3435 — Sat, 04 May 2019 18:19:43 GMT

@CrazyKittyLvr2 This rarely happens to me, since that is the one domestic area I enjoy completely.

When inspiration doesn't arise one of my standbys is spaghetti and home made meat sauce (or doctored up) jarred sauce, with a loaf of Italian bread and green beans as sides. Alternatively, shrimp scampi works, or linguine with red or white clam sauce. ( I prefer white.) Or pasta with butter or olive oil, grated cheese and festooned with a vegetable--peas, broccoli rabe or florets, or asparagus tips. A small side salad goes well with any of these.

Or I might do a far from authentic Chinese stir fry. Peg Bracken's Jolly Rice Roger chicken and rice casserole is another favorite. Pressure cooker or stove stop pot roast or beef stew is another reliable. Baked cod with an easy, quick, mornay sauce on a bed of garlicky spinach is another.

When my budget permits there is always steak, lamb or pork chops, a baked potato, and a frozen vegetable as another side. If I want to jazz it up I usually have a few twice baked stuffed potatoes (I make extra and use my Food Saver) in the freezer.

Good question, by the way, since we all get in a rut once in a while. I look forward to reading the suggestions of others.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

NicksmomESQ — Sat, 04 May 2019 17:11:48 GMT

When that happens I order in or DH will run out & pick something up. I don’t cook as often as I used to.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

panda1234 — Sat, 04 May 2019 17:55:42 GMT

I love to cook but run out of ideas. My go to is Pinterest, have found lots of good things.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

Daysdee — Sat, 04 May 2019 19:35:29 GMT

I just cook for myself, but do cook every day. Air fryer is great and I use it at least 4 or 5 times a week. Some days I just don't know what to make, but always think of something. I have many dietary restrictions, but always come up with something. Again, air fryer to the rescue! Miss eating out with DH, but do the best I can. I've always enjoyed cooking and would rather cook something than get in the car and go pick something up.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

CinNC — Sat, 04 May 2019 20:10:14 GMT

I feel very stuck in a rut w/meals. BF is struggling type 2 diabetic and normally we have a piece of meat and a vegetable........most of the time it's some form of chicken breast, pork chop, occasional steak or ground beef and occasional fish. We rarely do pastas or potato or macaroni salads any longer. He's picky about his veggies so it's salad, cauliflower, sauerkraut, cabbage and occasionally broccoli, maybe pickled beets, maybe roasted green beans. He won't eat spaghetti squash and we try to stay away from corn and peas and potatoes.

Frustrating at times. I get sick of the meat. LOL

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

jannabelle1 — Sat, 04 May 2019 23:39:33 GMT

DH and I are both retired and it takes a bit to get me motivated to cook a meal - that's why I only do it a couple of times a week, and believe me that they are simple meals. When I don't make anything, we eat leftovers or fix whatever we each want (frozen pizza, etc). Hubby will eat anything I make, so there are always grilled sandwiches with fresh deli meats and a variety of cheeses. I like making home made soups like vegetable or even potato soup with carrots and celery or broccoli. Spaghetti and meatballs (Prego sauce and frozen meatballs) or a big salad with frozen garlic bread are options. Also, we love a simple egg quiche in the afternoon using a frozen crust, diced Canadian bacon and a few veggies. I do not cook a big meal for us very often. We can split a grilled steak and baked potato and that's all we need. My suggestion is to look for simple things to fix and don't worry about planning a big meal!

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

m0rgan — Sun, 05 May 2019 01:27:23 GMT

When I am feeling good and actually like to eat, I make a batch of meatballs and freeze them in ziploc bags, pork tenderloin cut in 4 pieces and freeze, buy shrimp and freeze in bags, then I have proteins that cook quickly and have salad ingredients in and maybe a couple of fresh veggies. All cook quickly and it's not such a chore. I do often go through stages when I don't feel like eating and have to feed my husband so having quick cooking things in the freezer helps a lot.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

BeccaLou — Sun, 05 May 2019 04:32:36 GMT

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup always welcome with us when stuck in a rut. Or we just go get Wendy's Taco Salad.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

BeccaLou — Sun, 05 May 2019 04:35:13 GMT

If I may ask , Why can't you taste or smell things ?

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

BeccaLou — Sun, 05 May 2019 04:39:28 GMT

It si more difficult for me to eat anything I am resticted on my salt intake. And It's frightening at times. If it was just me I would probably live on cereal, oatmeal, and fruit cups and salads.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

house_cat — Sun, 05 May 2019 15:00:40 GMT

I have a similar problem. My husband has lost a lot of weight due to health issues and the medications he has to take. In addition, he has no appetite or interest in food. I struggle to cook things that will entice him to eat. When I ask what he'd like he says, "I don't know. Chicken?" When I cook for an hour or two and he takes a few bites I want to cry.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

CatsyCline — Sun, 05 May 2019 16:06:45 GMT

@aroc3435 i have a Peg Bracken paperback and i use many of her recipes. my old standby has been Eiffel Trifle for leftover roast beef (when odd rare time i prepare it)

i get into the doldrums with meals. we started doing our own meals.

I dislike meats except the occasional hamburg in chili or pasta sauces, but DH loves meat: pork chops, lamb chops, angus burgers, so he grills his meat. He is trying to lose weight so it's a bagged salads for him - i have gi issues with salads, don't eat them.

i like fish, scallops and shrimp, he can take or leave. i do the veggie and potato thing,

i keep canned Salmon to make salmon burgers, smoked salmon, frozen shrimp annd pick up fresh seafood.

we rarely eat out or even do takeout. not even pizza, around here there are really no good take-out places.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

aroc3435 — Sun, 05 May 2019 16:33:44 GMT

@CatsyCline It is so difficult to plan menus when household members have different dietary needs or preferences. I'm fortunate that my dear significant other and I have no such restrictions yet; I did succeed in gradually helping him to cut way back on his salt and sugar intake since I first met him sixteen years ago this coming October.

Like you when I was working I could never eat a tossed salad at lunch as part of my meal, but could at home for dinner. I think the workplace stress and salad didn't mix well in my gi tract either.

Peg Bracken's book just makes me roar laughing. Even if I don't follow her recipes completely she often just gives me a new idea and certainly improves my attitude concerning "I'm bored so what's to cook" rut.

Significant Other and I don't go out to eat very often, except during summer travel back to New England, and rarely get takeout unless we are completely at a loss, for the same reason as you--not too many good choices nearby.

He enjoys cooking as much as I do and cleans up so that is a plus.

Hope you and your husband enjoy a lovely Sunday.

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

CatsyCline — Sun, 05 May 2019 18:57:33 GMT

@aroc3435 wrote:
@CatsyCline It is so difficult to plan menus when household members have different dietary needs or preferences. I'm fortunate that my dear significant other and I have no such restrictions yet; I did succeed in gradually helping him to cut way back on his salt and sugar intake since I first met him sixteen years ago this coming October.

Like you when I was working I could never eat a tossed salad at lunch as part of my meal, but could at home for dinner. I think the workplace stress and salad didn't mix well in my gi tract either.

Peg Bracken's book just makes me roar laughing. Even if I don't follow her recipes completely she often just gives me a new idea and certainly improves my attitude concerning "I'm bored so what's to cook" rut.

Significant Other and I don't go out to eat very often, except during summer travel back to New England, and rarely get takeout unless we are completely at a loss, for the same reason as you--not too many good choices nearby.

He enjoys cooking as much as I do and cleans up so that is a plus.

Hope you and your husband enjoy a lovely Sunday.

Thank you @aroc3435 and hope you and your SO are enjoying your Sunday as well!

Re: Planning meals when nothing sounds good..................

vabreeze — Sun, 05 May 2019 20:53:54 GMT

@Daysdee wrote:
I just cook for myself, but do cook every day. Air fryer is great and I use it at least 4 or 5 times a week. Some days I just don't know what to make, but always think of something. I have many dietary restrictions, but always come up with something. Again, air fryer to the rescue! Miss eating out with DH, but do the best I can. I've always enjoyed cooking and would rather cook something than get in the car and go pick something up.

@Daysdee Everyday??!!!! I truly admire you!!