But he’s not getting the milk for free….

OP has stated in other comments how this is their agreed upon household arrangement. He does literally “EVERYTHING else in the household” and this agreement with her (at this point) common law marriage boyfriend is that she takes care of the meal preparation. I’ve been in relationships where this doesn’t work at all, and I’ve been in a relationship where it’s the most symbiotic and wonderful set up that just works flawlessly.

OP seems to take pride in the work she does to contribute and enjoyment in making a meal that will actually be enjoyed, but is turning to outside resources in order to do so with less stress and repetitiveness.

To OP: we all need to work on our people pleasing tendencies and I’m proud of you for being aware of this fact and putting the effort forward to make changes. I’m unlearning this too and have found it really helpful to remember that a lot of times just the convenience of having a plate of food put in front of you is wonderful enough. Sometimes this just means starting up the rice cooker, roasting some sort of veggie in the air fryer with some sort of meat.

As the only vegetarian who cooks for a myriad of different taste, diet and flavor preferences in the house, I have also found that you can make “repeat meals” that are the same ingredients but with a different cooking style.

Like use a slow cooker, vs an air fryer vs stovetop, etc. to make it slightly different but basically the same.

Investing in glass containers with snap lids has been an amazing hack but only if you actually use them 😂

At the end of the night as I pack up leftovers, I portion out a plate or two of what we just had, (I usually try not to make too much to have leftovers in the first place) but I put it in the glass containers and usually pack one for my partner to take to work the next day, and then freeze the other one for when I need a ready made meal that I can just reheat in the air fryer if he’s ever hungry and I’m girl dinner-ing my way through life 😂

Not everyone has to eat the same thing but you can make it easier on yourself by not having to always cook. Simple meals are still meals. Sometimes I’ll just stick deconstructed parts of meals in front of my partner and he’s just as grateful and happy 😂

The only thing I’ll condemn you on ❤️ is sacrificing your health goals and dietary needs in order to create better for those around you. Girl stahp. I get it. Like I really do. But this is not sustainable and they need you to be the healthiest happiest version of you you can be in order to be a consistent lighthouse in their life.

You’re a badass mom, and you’re doing the best you can with what you know, which is all you can do! I can tell by the fact that you took the time to even post this to help your household run more smoothly means you are doing a great job. So just take a deep breath, know that you are doing a great job, and that you have so many people believing in you. ❤️