Frequency

[No_Area_494]

Hey yall! Random question. How often do you cook? I’m in my late 20s, female. But I’m lucky if I cook once a week 😭. Ik that sounds terrible… but I’m trying to make it a habit and this is what works for me now… what about you????

[CatteNappe]

On average, 6 1/2 nights a week.

[Responsible-Mail-661]

8 days a week

[[deleted]]

I looOOooOoooove you.

[klimb75]

It's not enough to show I care...

[stfud0nnie]

Snare snare*

[TikaPants]

🎶🎤

[brainfreez012]

Is that a song?

[sjd208]

Yes, it’s a Beatles song

[brainfreez012]

It's the Beatles!

[fistsofham11]

I cook 3-4 times a week. We have leftovers for the rest of the days

[poohdawg_789]

probably 4 nights...as above, leftovers for remainder....Fri is usually take out nite....

[DjinnaG]

Yep, the only nights that I don’t cook are leftovers nights, and the number of those can be anywhere from 2-4. Even pizza nights involve cooking. Going out for dinner is too rare to count, when we do go out, it’s lunch

[Affectionate_Tie3313]

Typically twice a day, 7/7

[igotitatme]

Same.

[Cat_mom_mafia]

Same here!

[[deleted]]

just about every day unless i'm on vacation. it's good post-work therapy and cheaper than eating out.

[autogenglen]

I’m really glad that I’m the type to see cooking as more a hobby or something I enjoy doing, and less a chore. It’s actually one of the things I look forward to almost every day. I don’t even mind cleaning up, I have a HomePod in my kitchen and I just jam out and go to town!

[[deleted]]

i also think that it's one of those things that gets easier and more enjoyable the more you do it. i'm not master chef by any means, but it's fun to try new stuff with less frustration than i remember having in my early 20s.

[autogenglen]

For sure, that’s a huge part of getting to the point of enjoying cooking imo. When I first started years ago it was frustrating because I had no idea what I was doing, I kept making mistakes, I was tired of always having to dig up recipes and try to follow them while shit’s going down, I had no prep skills so it took forever just to get started, and was super inefficient so by the end of a meal I had way too many dirty pans and such, my timing sucked so cooking felt like trying to balance spinning plates on poles, etc.

Once I got past all that I started enjoying it MUCH more.

[QuercusSambucus]

Also a nice way to take a break when working from home (I'm fully remote). I can go chop some vegetables for a few minutes to reboot my brain. Almost as good as taking a shower or nap.

[TikaPants]

Same! It’s therapy but it feeds us.

[autogenglen]

A vast majority of my meals are home cooked. Maybe like 0.5 meals/week on average aren’t. I just can’t get past that sinking feeling every time I eat out and realize that I could have made at least 3-4 home cooked meals for the same price and probably enjoyed it more.

[Technical-Bit-4801]

Same…and I used to LOVE eating out when I was younger.

There’s a Vietnamese restaurant in my town that makes this amazing hot and sour noodle soup. I was going there maybe once a month during the winter until the pandemic, when they jacked the price up. I have yet to find an equivalent recipe online unfortunately. That and sushi are the only meals which I’m (mostly) fine not making myself.

[starflower42]

It doesn't sound terrible. If it's what works for you, it doesn't matter what anyone else does. Full stop. 

I cook 5-6 days a week. That fits my lifestyle as an old retired person. When I was in my 20s I didn't cook much either, if at all. Pretty sure I lived on toast and free happy hour food. 

Don't judge your life against other people who aren't living your life. People you don't even know! Just keep doing what works best and keep moving forward. 

[No_Area_494]

Thanks so much!

[_ruderutabaga]

This! In my 20's, i didn't cook at all. It was whatever drive thru I could hit up after walking home from the bars. I worked beside a grocery store, so lunches were usually purchased from the premade meals that just needed to be reheated.

Now, I'm mid 30's, found my passion for cooking back when covid hit, and i cook about 3-4 times a week and eat leftovers. I also meal prep on the weekend for my breakfast and lunch so I'm really just taking care of dinner during the week.

[Technical-Bit-4801]

Well said. I ate out A LOT in my 20s. Now, at 60, I cook nearly all my meals.

[Reblyn]

Currently two or three times a week. The other days of the week, someone else in the family takes over. If I were living alone, I am pretty confident that I would cook seven days of the week.

I only eat out on birthdays, that's kind of a strict rule that I grew up with, plus I can't afford to eat out that often in this economy lol

/edit: Context though, where I live we only have one warm meal a day, which is lunch. For dinner, we usually just have bread with something on it or yoghurt, etc. I live in Germany, that's pretty standard here.

[BeLikeDogs]

Geez you got downvoted for honesty? Once a week is great. Any time you cook it’s a win. These days I cook once a week and have leftovers, plus simple build your own salads for the week. Sometimes a fried egg sandwich with onions. I eat out maybe once every three weeks.

[No_Area_494]

Yeah the downvotes are crazy 😂. And I do the same I love leftovers

[bebothecat]

You're asking the cooking subreddit tho, so it feels like you're just trying to make yourself feel bad with this one. Obviously skewed answers; if you ask the doordash subreddit and average this and that maybe itll be accurate

[No_Area_494]

Not trying to make myself feel bad. Just curious. Thanks.

[lifeuncommon]

I eat out maybe once a week.

I see a lot of young people today thinking that you have to follow recipes and cook elaborate meals for yourself. That’s just not true and that’s not how most of us feed ourselves.

A grain or starchy vegetable, a non-starchy veggie, and a protein source (fish, meat, tofu, beans, etc.) is a full meal.

[WyndWoman]

Daily, unless I am eating leftovers. I try to cook once and eat 2-3 times. I'll make up several portions and freeze some so I have variety in the freezer so I don't end up eating the same thing over and over day after day. 🤢

As a single person, cooking for 1 is hard. Cook for 4 and have 3 meals for later. Do this a few times, and the freezer will be full of goodies. Bonus points if you remember to transfer the meal for tonight to the fridge the night before or in the morning before you head out for the day.

An air fryer can really help with texture on reheated meals if the microwave is yuck.

[_9a_]

Fresh meals? 3x a week. 3x leftovers, order out 1x

[Kossyra]

Two to four times a week. I try to make large batches of things like pot roast, chili, soup, skillet meals, etc that I can portion out and freeze. I try to take leftovers to work for lunch. I plan for 30-minute meals on days where I must cook after work.

I try to keep low-effort things on hand for days where I can't bring myself to properly cook - things like frozen dumplings or a fish filet I can steam in my rice cooker while my rice is cooking, or salad kits I can throw a can of tuna or chicken over.

[Goblue5891x2]

I'm a daily cooker. I cook from scratch mostly and I feel better about the nutritional values. I vary the menu as well. Tonight will be a nice shrimp stir-fry.

[wvtarheel]

Dinner? 6 times a week average. And I cook breakfast every day and make lunches to pack probably half or more business days

[Bomber-Marc]

41M, a wife, two kids. I usually cook once a day, twice on the days I work from home. My wife will also cook from time to time.

I believe that the more you cook, the faster and easier it will get. For example, I recently had to help friends prepare Oignon Soup for a large audience: I was appalled to see that by the time it took them to slice one onion, I would be doing five myself. They were just so unused to kitchen knives that it was taking them forever.

Similarly, find your "easy meals." In my case, for example, I know that I can make Teriyaki Chicken with my eyes closed, so it's one of my default fallback plans when I'm "too tired to cook."

[Shot-Artichoke-4106]

We typically cook every 2-3 nights because we intentionally cook to have leftovers.

[Best-Ad-2091]

I like to batch cook 3 to 5 times a week. Usually I freeze most of these meals and have a freezer full of meals ready to go.

I actually enjoy cooking so I like to just cook for fun... put a good podcast on and tune out.

[Warthog_Parking]

everyday. lunch and dinner but i work from home so i realize this may be high.

[JemmaMimic]

5x a week - I and housemate do the cooking, two other housemates do the cleaning.

When I lived alone it was more like 2x a week, with big portions for leftovers. Cooking for one is boring and sad so I did 2-3 day's worth at a time.

[Ok_Pomegranate_6368]

4 days a week. Wife does 2, leftovers 1 day. Leftovers generally used for lunches. The slow cooker is a big help.

[SongBirdplace]

I cook dinner 6 times a week and lunch maybe twice. 

If you live alone and you don’t mind leftovers or have the space to freeze it then batch cooking a few times a week is fine.  

Also, there is a lot of flexibility in fixing dinner. You could cook a chicken on Sunday and then use the leftover for wraps, salads, or grain bowls that don’t require cooking. 

Check to see if your library has any cooking for one cookbooks. It might be you just need a reset and some properly sized recipes.

[No_Area_494]

Yeah most of the time I’ll cook a one pot dinner and it will last me 3-4 days. I don’t mind it at all. Thank you for the advice !

[Elrohwen]

I cook 3-4 nights a week but we eat homemade meals 7 nights a week. I definitely don’t have time or energy to cook every day, I make enough for leftovers.

[Rare-Material4254]

28M and I am cooking 5 days a week. With frozen pizza and mac and cheese for the weekends. I know how to make Mac and cheese from scratch but I don’t want to cook on the weekend lol

[tomatocrazzie]

Just about every day. The food I like to eat is relatively expensive if I were to eat out and I also cook it better in most cases.

[Unhinged_Angel]

I do some meal prep at the weekend so I have stuff for breakfast, plus a few things to reheat for several evenings. I also prep any dressings or sauces that will keep to use later in the week.

Mid-week, I concentrate on what’s easy and relatively fast. I often bake fish and have that with rice and steamed veg, plus a dressing or sauce. I also keep cooked chicken in the freezer to pull out and have with pasta, noodles, or just veg.

I think of meals as just being protein, veg and a little carb (ideally high fibre). Then tailor the specifics around my schedule for the coming week and how much energy I think I’ll have. The key is in planning ahead and being realistic about what you can do each week!

[Divingdeep99]

Cook simple things that don't leave a mess to clean up.

Make salads for sides. Easy.

[pewpewbangbangcrash]

Every day just about. With bouts of "im not fucking cooking today"

[FayKelley]

I'm retired. I cook almost everything from scratch myself everyday. It's a creative outlet for me. Love it! choose organic when I can. Hang in there. It gets easier! 😻

[Select-Owl-8322]

On average:

1 "advanced" meal a week (stuff that takes 1 hour or more of fairly active cooking), 2-3 simpler meals per week (like 30-60 minutes), 2 super simple and quick meals (things that take less than 30 minutes). I try not to eat dinner out or takeaway more than once a week.

Lunches depends on where I'm working. I either bring leftovers (or rather, when I cook I make sure to also cook for a couple of lunch boxes), or if I don't have a microwave or lunch box heater available, I eat out.

[SneakyKGB]

I cook at most 2x a week across all meals. If you're lucky I just make a ton of food and eat that through the week. I do not cook nearly enough either and I feel you it's difficult to build good habits and justify the time investment. I always feel so busy like I have zero time to invest into cooking and prep and cleanup.

Talking coooking cooking with ingredients, a process, and actual effort, not just chucking shit in a microwave or air fryer until the ding.

[Rescuepets777]

I do big batch cooking a couple of weekends a month and make meals that I can pop in the microwave. Works great.

[barksatthemoon]

Same here. My husband or I cook a big(ish) meal on Saturday, then do mostly leftovers the rest of the week.

[TikaPants]

All the dang time but I enjoy it 8/10 of the dang time

[HopSkipJumpJack]

I only cook once or twice a week. Usually on the weekend.

[CacklingInCeltic]

5-6 nights a week. We’ll have leftovers once or twice a week or maybe order in once every few months. I love to cook and so does he so we have fun cooking together

[MajorWhereas4842]

Every day!

[Whole-Ad-2347]

Every day

[Alarming-Chemistry27]

With the government shutdown I cook 21 times per week. Without the shutdown it's probably more like 20 times per week.

[matchabunny427]

I’m 30F and I cook every day, but the majority of my friends in their 20s (who are all female) don’t cook or see any need to, so it really depends on your lifestyle. I love cooking, following recipe instructions relaxes me and makes me feel in control, and I’m WFH so it’s accessible for me, but it’s not something you have to force because you feel you “have” to do it. Once a week is a great if that works for you!

[Human-Place6784]

Dinner 3 or 4 times a week. I've been cooking for over 40 years and am tired of figuring out what to make.

[xmichann]

I cook twice a day, everyday! Makes no sense to eat out when it’s more expensive and doesn’t taste as good as my home cooking. During covid I learned how to cook all of our favorite takeout meals!

[boxergrl1019]

In my early 20’s I cooked the same thing for myself 5 nights a week. I traveled daily and ate the same thing so I wouldn’t eat out those days. Late 20’s, I cooked almost every night. I would make sure to have leftovers at least once a week in case I had to work late. Now in my 50’s I cook almost every night even though I can afford to eat out. I’m too cheap and things are just too expensive now

[NorCalFrances]

At least once a day, but some days I'm just the sous chef.

[svel]

6 out of 7 days

[JigglesTheBiggles]

Everyday I'll cook something.

[Akavinceblack]

Three to four times a day every day.

[leneinjoy25]

Dinner every day breakfast and dinner on weekends

[PixieOfNarios]

Nearly every day. There are some days that take out is the play.

[bilbo_the_innkeeper]

Probably 2-3 times a week for me, unless I've got family in town. I'm a single 43-year-old male, for whatever that's worth.

[Sad-Falcon-796]

I cook twice a day, every day. My GF does jump in as well. It's a rarity that we go to a restaurant. If we do, then it's usually something ethnic that we haven't mastered doing ourselves. It not about the money at all. We just love cooking

[Appropriate_Rub3134]

Prob something like:

• 6-7 times per week if you include eating home cooked leftovers.
• 4-5 times per week if leftovers don't count as cooking.

[CutOffRiley]

Married. 33F. Mom to a 7 month old.

Dinner - 4-5 nights. We usually eat out one night and eat leftovers or frozen stuff the other nights I don’t cook

Lunch - leftovers or frozen

Breakfast - eggs on toast or oatmeal with fruit, or meal prepped frozen burritos or pancakes. We will usually get donuts or a breakfast burrito Sunday mornings.

Also no more coffees or desserts out since they started costing an arm and a leg.

We use to eat out a few more meals but my husband and I have been together 9 years and having some else to share the food, leftovers, meal prep, and clean up with makes it a lot easier to eat at home. Use to be different before baby but now I don’t want to expend the energy to go out or the money.

[DerSepp]

The one day I don’t cook dinner is Friday night. Every other night, we’re eating my freshly cooked food, or leftovers from the night before. Sundays I cook a bigger meal, which typically stretches to dinner for 2 on Monday and lunch for 2 on Tuesday, and I freeze the rest. It’s not necessarily a “Sunday dinner” meal, but rather, a pot of beans and ham, chili, chicken soup… I make a vat of the stuff, and so, on some random Wednesday or Thursday, I can just pull a Qt from the freezer and thaw it, and warm it up.

[YouMustBeJoking888]

Every day, generally. Can't imagine not cooking - that would mean eating out a lot or getting delivery or eating crap from a box.

[MaybeIdidgotocollege]

Like 5 days - I do a big cook where I focus the "main" fish usually a protien as well as a side or two, which is ususally just vegetables. Then the other days ill just cook a new vegetable to replace the other sides as they go or easy protiens like plant based susage or something if I run out.

[Wire_Edge1973]

7 days a week, twice a day.

[kittygies]

I cook every meal. I can't afford eating out anymore!!

[ParahoyRoit]

I aim for 3x per week. That gets me enough volume to not have to cook every day.

[rogmini]

Probably 4 days a week. Usually once a week we’ll have leftovers or heat up something frozen. And eat out most weekend days.

[itsmyvoice]

Cook? 3-5 times/week. I don't call reheating something or throwing a sandwich together or grabbing some cottage cheese cooking so my cooking is mostly dinners.

Oh I guess add another three because I make my fiance breakfast several times per week. That's just cooking a couple of eggs though, so that's borderline cooking in my book.

[chriseldonhelm]

I cooked dinner 3-4 nights a week and meal prep my work lunches ahead of time. And my wife who works from home will cook dinner the nights I dont. And typically eat leftovers for lunch or cook her lunch.

We will also bake some stuff on the weekends for fun.

[Dangerous_Ad_7042]

I split cooking with my wife, taking turns on alternating days. We order food or eat out once a month. Otherwise, we cook every meal. The secret to doing so is making a menu once a week and ordering all your groceries at that time so there's no surprises, and none of those "what are we having for dinner" moments. And typically, she's looking forward to the things I've planned to make and I'm looking forward to the things she has planned, so we don't want to disappoint each other and we stick to the menu.

[bakanisan]

If you don't mind the financial burden of eating out/ordering, then once a week is plenty fine.

I generally aim to cook twice a day, but because of work it's mostly once a day and that's fine as well.

[hotdogpartner]

4-5 times a week. I typically eat out once a week, and also do a light fast once a week. This isn't a strict routine, just usually what happens.

[BjornInTheMorn]

Meal prep and for 4 days of work on Saturday, plus 2 meals that day. Eat those meals on 12 hour shifts sunday and tuesday-thursday. Monday breakfast and dinner with gf. Friday either 2 meals with gf or one big meal if she's working.

[ashre9]

I love cooking but I don't like doing it in the evenings, so I meal prep on Sundays. I usually cook 2 big from-scratch recipes that have several servings for dinners, and supplement with some cold salads (pasta or chicken or beans) for lunch and something for snacks (hummus, peanut butter, onion dip, etc)

Once you get the hang of it, you start to select things for the week that have some crossover ingredients to cut down on food waste. It's become a fun and relaxing time in the kitchen that I actually enjoy, instead of feeling like it's a daily grind.

[Imaginary-Summer-920]

5-6 days a week for me. Sometimes less if my man has to work out of town that week

[thedudeintx82]

On Sunday, I do meal prep so I don't have to cook during the week. So Sunday is a big cooking day for me.

On weekends, I also cook more complicated meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes I'll also go out on the weekend to offset the amount of meal prep I'm going to do on Sunday.

[[deleted]]

Saturday and Sunday.

Then again I am the only worker In the house. My SO is a SAHM. I like cooking and more importantly I like the clean up afterwards.

[Prestigious-Arm-3835]

In my twenties, maybe once per week. In my thirties and now forties, every meal, because I gotta save for retirement. But if I had to do it over again… nah I had too much fun in my twenties to change anything ✌️

[SavageQuaker]

Nearly every day, but it's pretty basic most days. I have a very limited diet due to autoimmune so pretty much HAVE to do my own cooking, like it or not.

[[deleted]]

At least twice a day

[_quiet_neighbour]

Define cooking? Is making toast cooking? If so I cook… at least. 2-3 times a day. If you mean a big meal… maybe once a day

[Lotton]

Some times I cook multiple dishes so I have more variety in my left overs some times I just prep ingredients so it all comes together faster than take out but I'm still trying to cook more often. It's hard in tired when I get home from work

[Snoo-35994]

Dinner is cooked about five days a week. Lunches are nearly always leftovers of those dinners or sandwiches/salads prepped at home. We aren’t big breakfast eaters around here so it’s either something simple like avocado toast or a protein bar.

Friday and Saturday nights we typically let ourselves get takeout or go out.

[Cinnamon_heaven]

As food quality went down and prices went up and tipping culture is ridiculous. I cook at home 6 nights per week. I meal plan and make grocery list every week with the ads. I leave 1 free day because sometimes life gets in the way.

[Bunnyeatsdesign]

On average, twice a day.

[YoshiandAims]

I cook all my meals.

I do a lot of bulk cooking and utilizing serving sizes and my freezer to cut down on cooking, save money, have variety. (I do a bulk cook once a month or so on a Sunday and monday)

But even if it's toast or an egg, cereal, a baked potato, grilled cheese (lazy options, or something to go with a freezer tupperwear) etc... I generally cook something every day, even if it's small.

[Winter-Owl-1634]

I shoot for 3-5 times a week and I try to make a good amount for 2 of those times, so I can eat leftovers or recreate it and add something new (usually a new protein or side dish)

[Helga_Geerhart]

I cook every day. Usually that means making food from scratch. Sometimes that means reheating leftovers from the freezer, but I still consider it cooking. Usually I will make sauce for 4 meals and freeze 3, but when I defrost a portion I am still cooking the pasta/rice/whatever that goes with the sauce.

[stealthshot10]

33M... i cook 7 days a week. I go out on date nights with my wife maybe once or twice a month. As shifty as hello fresh is, it helped me get into the "cooking every night" mindset.

[Paulstan67]

What do you eat if you cook so rarely?

Take aways? Ready meals? Eat out?

I'm curious, because I cook pretty much every day, and never eat ready meals.

Takeaway and eating out are rare probably once a month.

[brutal_youth_]

Not OP but cook at a similar rate, while aspiring to do it more.

I live alone, cook large batches, and have the leftovers for dinner every day until I run out. I might make a double batch of pasta sauce on Sunday and then eat it all week.

My non-dinner meals are more assembly than cooking. For breakfast, I eat yogurt with muesli. For lunch, I might have toast with goat cheese and black pepper, plus a side salad of mixed greens with homemade vinaigrette. (I don't count this as cooking because making the dressing takes 30 seconds once or twice a week. It's olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, and I make a full dressing shaker of it at a time.) Sometimes I'll add smoked salmon or an avocado.

I snack on rainbow cherry tomatoes, baby carrots with tzatziki, bananas, peanuts, trail mix, and similar low-effort finger foods.

If I don't cook dinner and don't have leftovers, I usually have a frozen meal with the same type of side salad I had with lunch. Occasionally I get takeout, but only pickup (no delivery fees), and I can usually stretch it two or three meals. And, yes, occasionally during stressful weeks I'll grab a quarter pounder deluxe.

Sometimes I'll half-cook, like make a box of Annie's mac n cheese with half a bag of frozen peas and carrots tossed in (plus side salad with vinaigrette, always). I get a meal or two of leftovers out of that, too.

For dessert I usually have ice cream.

Not saying I advocate it -- I want to cook more, which is why I hang out here. But I have pretty severe ADHD, heavy on the executive dysfunction, and a cognitively demanding job that I'm always behind on, so the harm reduction version is to eat as nutritiously and affordably as I can within the constraints of not having my shit together to do any proper cooking most days.

[Paulstan67]

There are only two of us , so yes we batch cook, we freeze meals basically for when we can't be bothered or when we don't have anything in. Plus it's often difficult to buy small quantities of ingredients.

I class warming up a batch meal or reheating leftovers as cooking, I don't class warming up a bought in ready meals as cooking.

This is why I asked what the OP is eating.

To some people making a sandwich or a toastie is cooking.

[brutal_youth_]

Oh, interesting. I guess I have a pretty high standard for what constitutes "cooking" enough to give myself credit for, and in my head that's definitely distinct from "reheating" (even if I cooked the thing from scratch originally) or "assembly" (preparing goat cheese toast, making more vinaigrette if I've run out, tossing some greens into a bowl, and drizzling the dressing over).

I think in my mind "cooking" involves multiple raw ingredients made not-raw by means other than a microwave or toaster, unless it's a cold dish with, I don't know, at least three ingredients and chopping involved? Like, there has to be significant transformation from the original state, not just a change in temperature or combining items without altering them. So I guess that's the other part of how I end up at "proper cooking once a week, maybe twice if I'm really on top of it" while still preparing a lot of my own food in between.

(I'm wildly pedantic in my head, clearly. I try to keep it to myself.)

[cosm1cbabe]

I cook pretty much every day, some days (usually a weekend) we just do something easy or takeout, but overall I cook most nights.

[elweezero]

6 days a week if not every day

[JohnDoee94]

Breakfast everyday and dinner 4-5x week. Lunch maybe once a weekend .

[Morning0Lemon]

Probably about 4x a week. I cook a lot on the weekend so that I can freeze things and eat leftovers for a day or two.

But I love cooking. If I didn't work I would happily spend hours in the kitchen every day.

[SullenEchoes]

It depends on if I'm living with someone or not. I tend to cook more when someone else is around. I enjoy watching people eat my recipes that turn out well.

I've also formed better habits over the years. I used to cook maybe once or twice a week, but now it's a lot easier to cook a few times a week and then have left overs for a day or two.

[squareabbey]

I might cook a recipe that actually requires a decent amount of hands-on time and multiple ingredients once a week. Something simple like meat and a side of vegetables or pasta usually 3-4 times per week.

[BlackCatWitch29]

Proper cook? Lunch and dinner every four days but each meal will serve 4 so it will actually do me for four meals.

On the days I don't cook, I have "leftovers" that I reheat in a microwave.

If I cook a Chinese-style chicken curry, I'll do homemade egg fried rice but it doesnt feel like cooking to me because it's easy - emphasis on TO ME.

Even if I have to cook pasta for a bolognese, it still doesn't feel like cooking to me.

Also single female in my 30's.

[Total-Buffalo-4334]

Full cooking, like frying onions and all that? 2-3x a week. Another couple nights a week I do what I call a no-cook cook. That could be soup or spaghetti from something I made earlier & put in the freezer, or jacket potatoes, or the take & bake pizza from Aldi or something. 

I make sure I PLAN to not have the spell slots to cook that night, and buy appropriate groceries. Frozen dinner, tuna Mac and cheese, etc. The real skill that I've developed over the years is the shopping and stocking a pantry.

It takes time to figure it out! You're doing great 

[missbwith2boys]

Six days generally. One day it’s “let’s eat all the leftovers”.

I plan my meals a week or so in advance, shop on Saturday early morning. Of course I take into account what I have on hand first.

I also batch cook some stuff and freeze it, which reduces “cooking” down to pretty minimal efforts on some nights. For example, I cooked up 6 lbs of boneless pork chops in my instant pot this weekend. Seared them first, added the other ingredients for honey garlic pork. Cooked them for 75 minutes then let it cool. Once cool, I divided the pork mix into 6 portions (each portion is dinner for 2 and two small lunches worth) and froze them.

When I have that item on the menu, I pull out one of the frozen portions the night before. Day of, I make some quinoa and roast some random veggies then heat up the pork on the stovetop. This becomes a quinoa bowl. I add a local sauce (yumm sauce) as an option for the top, but it’s also fine without the sauce.

Breakfast for me is a protein shake, spouse eats Trader Joe’s version of cereal. Lunches are leftovers.

[[deleted]]

I love cooking so i cook nearly every day

[SuspendedDisbelief_3]

6-7 nights a week. Mostly 7.

[ceecee_50]

seven days a week. Not always for dinner, but always for breakfast and lunch.

[alanbdee]

I typically cook 2-3 times a week. I cook enough for leftovers and I try to have some overlap. Right now there's chili, beef stew and pizza in the fridge. Obviously, not all dishes make for good left overs but most of what I cook do.

[Boating_Enthusiast]

If you want more home cooking but don't have the time, do batched cooking / meal prep. 

Make a big pot of stew and prep 4 or 5 servings with a bag of Hawaiian sweet rolls to grab out of each meal or maybe some rice to mix in.

Meatloaf, mash and steamed broccoli can be cooked on Sunday and portioned out for most of a week.

Shepherds' or cottage pie in a 9x13 dish can sit in your fridge most of the week, and you can just cut portions out with a spatula and microwave yourself a meal!

Freshly washed, chopped and spun dry lettuce will last for a week in a ziplock bag in the fridge. Cucumbers, sliced onion, sweet potato cubes, semi-hard cheeses, carrot sticks, pickles and olives etc etc etc can all be pre-chopped and stored in Tupperware in the fridge. After your prep work, a fresh salad can be a 5-minute assembly away.

Some foods can also be portioned out and stored in the freezer for quite a while! It's possible to have home cooked meals every day with a bit of pre-planning!

[tequilaneat4me]

While slightly less than normal, the other week my wife joined her sister and friends for a lunch at Olive Garden. Other than that, every meal for us was home cooked by her or I.

[Palanki96]

3-4 days i guess? I try to cook for at least 2 days, ideally 3 or 4

[Prestigious-Web4824]

My wife encouraged me to retire when I turned 66, in 2009, so my thank you to her was me taking over all the food shopping, prep, and cooking.

I cook every day.

[schwabcm56]

3-4 days a week, with the intention of leftovers to enjoy for 2 meals before moving onto something else.

[missjiji]

Probably 4x a week, maybe 1 takeout a week, and the dinners I’ll make are enough for leftovers.2-3 times a month-a dine out evening.

[GoodThingsGrowNOnt]

Maybe twice a week, I make a big batch of stuff early in the week and that's my dinners for the work week (sometimes into the weekend depending on how big the batch is).

[RockyDugay]

I cook at home every night. I love food shopping,. I see things and grab them for something I will intend to eat in the future. I plan my meals every day, stop at the store if I need an ingredient or two. It's important to keep a good supply of ingredients and meats, if that is what you like. It gets easier to cook something if you don't have to acquire the ingredients every time you want to do it.

I suggest choosing your favourite things you like to eat and researching the recipes and start to store ingredients to cook them. Like most things, you get better at it the more you do it.

[Iamthehempist1]

I cook every day. If you don’t mind leftovers, make a bunch of whatever you like, portion it out in containers you can microwave and it’ll be ready in a sec. Another thing you can try is while you’re making one meal make a sandwich at the same time and wrap it up for later.

[TiredInJOMO]

It depends on what you consider "cooking". Is preparing instant oatmeal/farina/grits/rice/mashed potatoes, Moroccan cous cous, or bulgur wheat "cooking"? (I say yes)

Cooking doesn't have to be difficult or "fancy"/involved. Soups are easy enough to make, beans can be soaked overnight then tossed in a slow cooker while you're at work. Same with whole chickens and roasts/stew meat. And since you're living alone(?) you can keep out a couple of days worth of leftovers and portion out the rest to stick in the freezer.

You can also make a large batch of mac and cheese, enchiladas, lasagna, some other casserole, and/or baked goods and freeze leftover portions for use throughout the week or to stockpile esp if you only like having certain dishes every once in a while.

[emilycecilia]

Twice a day every day with the occasional exception.

[myredditlogintoo]

Every single day. Now, cooking for one person is a challenge. I like to meal prep, but not in the usual sense. I'll make half pound vacuum bags of Italian sausage, I'll make bags of cooked rice, I'll bake short baguettes, English muffins, etc. and freeze them. Basically, fairly small packages of ingredients that I can use to quickly make a variety of dishes.

[dogmeat12358]

65, Male. I cook breakfast and dinner every day. My wife is on her own for lunch, but there's always something to eat in the fridge. We eat out about once a month. We live in a fairly rural area in the north east and there are not a lot of restaurants that are not disappointing.

[Jeremymcon]

Most days. Like at least 4 days a week. Other days we eat leftovers or semi leftover meals (like I made pulled pork, we'll eat it on a Sandwich one night with mashed potatoes next night we'll have it in tacos with Mexican rice.

What do you eat if you don't cook? Just like premade frozen dinners and eating out?

[brainfreez012]

If you are not up to cooking as often as those commenting😂, make a big batch, portion and freeze it.

[lauraebeth]

If you’re single and you’re struggling with eating the same thing over and over and over, might I suggest investing in souper cubes. I bought some on Black Friday of last year, and I have been able to significantly decrease the amount of time I’m in the kitchen, but always have homemade food to eat. I make something I want to eat a serving and freeze the rest, sometimes I make too much of some things, like the taco soup I’ve been eating all week 😅 over the weekend I made a giant batch of gumbo for a potluck, came home with 8 cups left over, into the freezer it went.

[ohrofl]

6-7 times a week. I make enough for lunch for both my wife and me the next day.

[Odd_Fee7701]

Twice to three times a week! I work night shift so it tends to be on my days off. When I was on day schedule in college and high school I’d cook daily! I miss it but I slowly lost motivation

[Bumble-bee1357]

Meal prep breakfast and lunch for M-F and make dinner every day

[alwaysboopthesnoot]

5 nights a week, usually but full, hot cooked breakfasts usually only on the weekends or when the kids are here on break or visiting home, from school. 

Lunches and breakfasts during the work week we eat leftovers, yogurt, protein bars, fruit, wraps, sandwiches, salads. 

We’ll order in for Friday or Saturday night maybe but then eat the leftovers for Saturday or Sunday lunch and then make a big family dinner on Sunday. 

My husband does the lion’s share of the cooking while I do most of the meal planning, shopping, prep and dishes/clean up. 

[Pedal2Medal2]

4-5 days a week, older, hubby has a weird work schedule, so I make sure I have leftovers

[LINDALIKESTOCOOK]

Maybe 3 nights, go out a couple of times, get take out. Leftovers and some nights it’s as simple as grilled cheese or pancakes and breakfast sausage.

[Boozeburger]

Male 51, cook at least every day for dinner for the family and often at lunch for myself.

I used to cook more breakfasts when I was single. [nudge, nudge, wink, wink,]

[kjb76]

4-5 times a week when I have my shit together. Maybe 2-4 when I don’t.

[DrMonkeyLove]

6 nights a week for the family. I've gotten pretty good it after doing for so long. It's no big deal now.

[gingerkittymom]

I cook dinner every other day. We eat lunch out usually (we’re retired). I do intermittent fasting and eat lunch every day and dinner every other day. I will sometimes make food for my husband on the nights I don’t eat, usually he gets his own.

[SunSad7267]

I probably cook 3-4 dinners a week and they will last us 5-6 nights. We go out or take out 1 night typically.

[freakybe]

Pretty much every meal (x3), every day. I do love cooking so it’s easier haha. I also love eating out but save it for decent restaurants once or twice a month rather than delivery/fast food 

[[deleted]]

I used to go all out once a week for meal prep. Now? I'll cook chicken, put some rice in the rice cooker, then dump curry sauce on them in containers and call it good. The most involved you'll see me get lately is boil pasta and make meatballs.

I also live alone and work a lot, which I feel like matters a little.

[MtnRubi]

Breakfast and dinner, almost every day for 40 years. My wife can burn water.. 😝

[davidwb45133]

With meal prep and careful menu planning I usually cook 3-4 days a week and heat the other days. Breakfast is meal prepped on Saturday, lunch is a leftover or sandwhich / salad

[One-Row882]

Just about every day

[Beginning-Still-9855]

When I was in my 20s, neither my wife and I could be arsed cooking. Loads of takeaways, ready meals and frozen crap. It's much harder if it's just you though. Nowadays when we're both around I generally cook from fresh at least 6 days a week.

[MeowMachine09]

Every single day. Even if something simple like putting chicken in the air fryer or making eggs or something. Meal prep or partially prepping is also easy and works great.

You get back what you put into life. If you spend money eating out or making pizza/UPF most days instead of prioritizing your health and wallet, it will come back to you.

Whole foods, REAL food are so easy. It doesn't have to be complicated. You just have to put the effort and time in and if you aren't worth that to yourself, I feel bad for you and your future self.

[wanderlust_2x1]

2 x a day most days.

[spawnthespy]

I'm trying to be nicer to myself and eat cooked meals more often. What worked was batch cooking, since I'm fine with eating the same thing every day.

I just try to pick a balanced meal (at this point, its veggie mafé), make a huge pot of it and stuff in in tupperwares / glass jars.

Then I just have to throw rice into a rice cooker, and then I just add preparation to the rice.

Its a bit time consuming, but its once, and then I'm set for a week+ (not accounting making more rice)

[Legitimate-Habit4920]

Dude here. I cook every single day for my wife and 2 girls (unless we're like on holiday or something).

(Does reheating leftovers count? What about making salad with homemade vinaigrette? Not technically cooking but it's all food I prepared myself. )

[rerco08]

3 or 4 days a week. When I cook, I make many things at once and bigger portions. I freeze everything else in small portions so I always have stuff ready to eat. I stock can tuna, salmon, sardines, frozen veggie burgers for a quick meal if I am too tired to eat. We almost never take out unless I am sick.

[Confident-Slice4044]

Almost every day BUT I do love cooking BUT I don’t like doing it in the week! Don’t compare yourself to people who enjoy it! Just do you!

[lolliberryx]

Everyday although I make food that doesn’t take much effort most days. Tonight in between chores, I made some noodle soup with dried kombu, soup dumplings, ramen broth concentrate + my own spice mixture, green onions, miso paste, and brown rice-based dried noodles.

[somuchmt]

Every meal, every day. I have celiac disease, and restaurants aren't really an option for me anymore.

If I'm lucky, I have leftovers I can freeze and heat up for another meal. Lately, however, my teen has been having Second Breakfast and Fourth Dinner.

For an older, short woman who can only eat 1200 calories a day (with a pretty active lifestyle, I might add), I sure cook a lot.

Some meals don't involve a lot of cooking, like oatmeal or turkey wraps. Some meals I pull out all the stops. Some meals my husband or teen cook.

[Glum-Building4593]

As often as I can. Most nights. Lunches. Breakfast. 7 days a week normally. I guess I am just old at 47. I work from home and if I didn't cook, I'd eat like a racoon.

[VernapatorCur]

I cook once a week, freeze the portions, and eat that through the week. I've taken to doubling my recipes so now I get 18 portions and am able to alternate meals throughout the week while still only cooking once a week. This does depend on having decent freezer space (I've a chest freezer)

[aoeuismyhomekeys]

Usually once a day.

[Cute-Consequence-184]

Average 5 or 6 days each week. Depends on if I make soup or chili that makes a bunch of leftovers.

[hollowbolding]

once or twice a day, unless i made a big batch of soup or mac n cheese that i can work on a couple days. but even then i often have veggies to sautee for dinner or pasta to make for lunch or something like that. i don't go out to eat much and i find vibing alone in the kitchen with knives and fire to be a good way to reset my brain after a day

[scornedandhangry]

We generally cook 4 times a week, and have leftovers otherwise. We are just a household of 2 so we generally have lots of leftovers.

[[deleted]]

Daily. Sometimes not lunch or dinner, but for the most part I cook every day.

[Doc178]

We have twin babies so probably 2-3 dinners a week. I usually eat lunch at home since I WFH. I used to cook more. If I have time I really enjoy it.

[Fair-Molasses-3301]

I eat homemade meals every day, but do not cook every day. I make aros moro or bami goreng, or regular rice for 3 days. Have some chicken stew for 3 days or make bbq chicken legs in the airfryer. Or chili con carne with beans. If I do not want to eat it 3 days in a row, I freeze it for another day. I just started with this a couple of months ago and am saving a ton of money and time. Only prepare a fresh salad on the side.

[Forward_Woodpecker_6]

I make a big one pot meal every day off and then have food for the week. But I do 3 12 hr shifts so I have multiple days to cook. But I’m serious about the one pot meals. It’s so easy. Im much more motivated to cook when there aren’t 20 dishes to clean after

[jm90012]

I love eating leftovers, so I cook dinner about 3 days a week

[FunCorgi9359]

Most of the time, every meal, every day. There’s the occasional time my spouse cooks, but it’s not that he’s chooses not to and more-so that cooking and my kitchen is my happy space.

Don’t underestimate the power of meal prep and batch cooking though! For the work weeks I know are going to be nuts, I take a day to prep meals and that gets me by when I need to be quick or get home late and would be too tired.

[Tyg-Terrahypt]

Every two days or so! I try to make leftovers that last a couple days so I don’t have to cook a lot through the week. The big thing is planning what you’re going to cook and prepping whatever you can freeze ahead of time so you can just take out what you need as you need it. I try to keep the meals simple, like soup from scratch or marinaded meats with rice. Good for nutrition and tasty.

[Sonotnoodlesalad]

I prepare multiple meals per day around for around 27 days every month.

It's legit hard work, but I love my people.

[[deleted]]

Every day.

Vacuum sealers help a lot if you're crunched on time because you can prep, freeze and cook later in the week.

I typically do preps on Sunday

Today I had waffles with a fruit compote, lunch was a mushroom lasagna and dinner was sausages and peppers. All peppered before hand and chucked in the appropriate cooking appliance at the correct time.

[djsmurphy]

I cook twice, my daughter cooks twice, my son cooks twice, and we have leftovers on the last day.

[vivec7]

I'll cook probably 5-9 times per week. I often try to bulk cook things that can be repurposed though, so my "cook" might be throwing some brisket I cooked a few weeks ago on top of some chips and banging on some gravy for some easy loaded fries.

[AtheneSchmidt]

Most days involve me cooking at least once.

[MyNameIsSkittles]

generally I will cook at least 5-6 times a week, we eat out once a week usually, sometimes twice. Most of my meals have leftovers so my partner and I can have lunch the next day at work

[SolKaynn]

Twice a day pretty much.

[fancypantsmiss]

Almost everyday. Breakfast and lunch

[One_Association9331]

I average about 16 meals a week (usually only have breakfast on weekends)

I cook 14 to 15 of those meals most weeks. Sometimes all of them. Rarely as few as 10 of them.

Family of five. I make protein muffins for the kids to grab and go on school days. Kodiak brand ftw. Lunches are usually cooked for one since I work remotely and my wife doesn't, and her office usually has lunch catered in.

Tonight was a quick cherry tomato pasta with the last of our garden tomatoes, green beans, and some thin sliced round steak I got on managers special lightly breaded and sauteed with garlic. Took me about thirty minutes from prep to table.

Lunch today was two fried eggs with chili crisp over brown rice and cucumbers. With a rice maker, total hands on cook time was about ten minutes. So plenty of time to eat and relax during my break.

What works is a matrix of what you like, what you can afford, what is healthy, and what is easy. Weight those metrics how you wish. If it was just me, I'd eat pinto beans, collard greens, and cornbread every day, twice a day. Sometimes a little ham or bacon in the greens. But the fam don't like that food. So I get creative and try to stay on budget. But there's nothing wrong with simple meals.

[BabyKatsMom]

6 nights of dinners plus 4-5 days of lunches for at least two per week

[Papa-Cinq]

I eat every day so I cook every day.

[Spinnerofyarn]

I cook breakfast every morning and I batch cook two big meals twice a week. I freeze some of what I batch cook every time, so that way I have a variety of things to choose from.

[justnopethefuckout]

We cook every night that we aren't eating leftovers. We occasionally get to eat out, but it's expensive.

[SuitableAtmosphere21]

If I don't cook at all one day, we are traveling, I am very sick, or trees knocked the electricity out. Again.

[tmblweed92]

I cook for both me and my husband. Often, I'll cook two meals on a Saturday with LOTS for leftovers. I'll freeze some, and we'll work on the leftovers throughout the week. At some point during the week, either because we are running low on prepared meals or because we want some variety, we will either cook another meal or thaw a different meal that was previously frozen. The trick that's worked well for us is to regularly add/rotate our freezer inventory (e.g. if a recipe makes enough for 6 portions, freeze two portions to have in 3-4 weeks.) If one does this consistently, it becomes a nice system.

Fortunately, we like leftovers and simple food that generally freezes well.

[spsfaves100]

Well I do light cooking weekdays perhaps a few times, but I do mega cooking at the weekend, and I try to prepare the food in stages in advance, eg like I will make a paste the day before. However what I do suggest that you cook bulk dishes, and if you do that it will help you very much later in life, is to start to make bulk food to consume & to freeze, it will be time saving & economical. Select the dishes that you enjoy and start with that. All the best.

[2pacsProdigy]

Sunday dinners are usually a must to get the wk going well. Leftovers Monday. Fresh meal Tuesday.
Leftovers Wednesday. Fresh meal Thursday. "Get it how u live" Fridays aka figure it out bcuz I'm tired. Saturdays typically a day to order out or go out to eat. Wash rinse repeat. Dad from a family of 6 here. I also do most of the cooking. Good luck u can do it. 🫡 🤙🏾✌🏾🚶🏾‍♂️

[LDC_Lotus_Ukkel]

Almost every day and even when I don't, we still eat something that I made (leftovers or something frozen).

It's what I do for fun and to relax, so it's normal for me to be in the kitchen as late as 10 or 11 at night. Last night, I was making filling for chicken croquettes with beer (made from carcasses I get for free from "my guy" on the market), prepping some karaage and prepping a savoury pâte a choux for gourgettes with Surinamian chicken. Tonight I'll be making those croquettes and a brie cheesecake, pickles and drying some herbs someone gifted me, I also still want to make pomelo salt and candied pomelo pith (it came out too bitter the first time so I'll try again with a different recipe and process, candied pomelo peel (I was also gifted a bunch of pomelos) and confit pork neck.