Why Don't We Cook?

     Regardless of our socioeconomic status, most people, these days, don't cook a fresh dinner for their families.  One study shows that about 40% of us cook a meal on a regular basis rather than using a convenience food, ordering delivery, or getting fast food.  When, at last count, at least 20% of America was below the poverty line, I have to wonder, how many people below the poverty line are in the 40% that make a meal.  I've known a lot of people in a lot of different economical situations over the years.  People who have no economic problems and people who have struggled their whole lives.  I hate to say it this way, but in my experience, the fewer monetary problems people have, the more likely they are to make a dinner from scratch.
     I don't mean to say that the people I've met make up a perfect cross section of the population, but it may be true that the greater economic stress that someone is under, the less likely they are to cook.  It makes sense, when you think about it.  Also, those who are under economic stress tend to work during dinner hours which means the kids get a box of mac and cheese for the babysitter to make.  It's a valid point, if your baby sitter is only capable of making things with directions on them.  (Solution:  Make casseroles in disposable pans and freeze them with directions written on the lid.  Leave them out for the babysitter to put in the oven.  I'm assuming you leave your children with someone who can learn how to operate an oven.)
     Regardless of how normal my friends and acquaintances are, I've found that the reasons they give me for why they don't cook are either indicative of how I think America thinks or really crappy excuses.  Here are a few:

"It takes so long"
     This is my least favorite excuse of all time.  Usually the people that say this play Farm Town on Facebook for at least an hour a day.  To paraphrase my cousin's wife in a statement about exercise:  "Bullcrap, if you're on Facebook, you can cook."  It all depends on the type of recipe you use and how you cook it.  No, you can't cook a whole beef roast within 45 minutes of coming home.   Well, you can, but it'll be awful.  But you can cook a roast chicken in an hour and a half.  An hour and a half sounds like forever, but it's also a recipe that requires very little involvement from you.
     When I'm looking for recipes for my family I look for one of two things.  a)  I can finish it in an hour or less - preferably 45 minutes, or b) I can use the crock pot.  The beautiful thing about crock pots (which I'm going to talk about in equipment someday) is that you can throw something in them before you leave for work in the morning and come home to a completely cooked meal that night.  Honestly, a crock pot roast involves about 15 minutes of work for me.  You can't convince me that you can't take 15 minutes out of your day.

"I don't cook well."
     To this, I ask you, "How well did you drive the first time you got behind a wheel?"  Look at every skill you have and think about how hard it was when you started.  Sure there are things we're naturally good at, but even those need refining into excellence.  I tell my daughter that there isn't an Olympic gymnast in the world that was born able to do a triple back flip.  They had to try and fail many, many times before they could do it.
     If you "don't cook well," the best thing for you is to keep trying.  Here are a few tips to start you out:

• Don't salt things in the pot until you learn exactly how much to put in.  Sure salt is a flavor enhancer, but if you put too much in, your dish will be completely inedible.  Instead, make an item and put a salt shaker on the table.
• Learn what things really taste like.  The problem with a lot of us is that we're so used to over seasoned, fried, salty, and chemically enhanced foods that no one knows what food tastes like anymore.  That means, the first few dishes you make will probably taste bland because you're tasting food.
• Get a few herbs.  My basic herbs follow Simon & Garfunkel.  I always have dried sage, rosemary, and thyme in my cabinets, no matter what.  Parsely's fine, but it won't do you huge amounts of good.  When you're seasoning for a dinner for four, either gently sprinkle one or all of these over the top, using the shake top.

 "I don't have what I need."
     Well, don't cook that recipe then!  It's simple.  Don't make a crock pot meal if you don't have a crock pot.  Unless you have absolutely nothing in your kitchen as far as equipment, this is not a viable excuse.  If you've just moved out on your own and literally have nothing, well, you get to say that.  However, follow the steps I've lined out in my first equipment posting to find some good things.  Use future posts to figure out what you really need.  To start with, find a skillet, a 4 qt sauce pan, a sharp knife, and a cutting board.
     If you're referring to food, go shopping!  If you've not managed the ability to have any food in the house yet, follow my planning techniques to figure out how to stock up and have an inventory of things with which to cook with.  If you want to make something and the ingredients you have aren't the ones you have, make something else!

"I'm tired of cooking."
     This is one I hear from older adults who have spent most of their life cooking, but I've heard it from young moms too.  My first reaction to this is "tough" because I know I don't have a choice.  We're all tired of doing something that we absolutely have to do.  I'm tired of doing laundry.  Does that mean I don't have to?  Nope!  I need clean underwear whether or not I want to wash them.  Unfortunately, food manufacturers have offered us slightly less expensive alternatives to cooking than cleaning companies to laundry.
     Here it is plain and simple:  You can cook or spend money on unhealthy alternatives.  Your choice!

"My kids are picky eaters."
     This is a close second to "it takes too long" for me.  This is how I was raised - dinner was served, I ate it.  If I didn't like it, I didn't have to eat it, but I didn't get anything else.  We had 3 people in my family and we ate 1 meal.  If friends came over, they ate exactly what we ate.  The same goes if my daughter's friends come over, with one exception.  Her best friend's family is vegetarian, so we do try to make a vegetarian dish whenever she's having dinner with us.  Even then, we all eat the vegetarian dish even though my family is made of people that like to eat things that have faces.
     Here's the thing:  Your kids will eat when they're hungry.  If you're already in a cycle where you have a different dish for each member of your family, this is going to be hard, but it's not impossible.  The next time you make dinner, think about the ingredients in it and try to figure out if there's anything which anyone could object to or is allergic to.  DO NOT GIVE ANYONE A CHOICE!!!! Make your dinner for the number of people in your family and serve it at a table.  If your kids don't want to eat it, let them go hungry, but don't let them get up from the table.  If my daughter refuses anything, we make her sit with the rest of the family until we're done eating.  She knows, however, that if she eats well and asks to be excused, she can get up at any time.
     Giving your kids a choice is the first pitfall in making a cheap and easy dinner.  If I gave my 9-year-old a choice, we'd eat macaroni and cheese every, single, flipping day and we'd eat ice cream after.  Instead, I give food; she eats it.  She eats it because she doesn't have a choice.  If your kids have a choice now, it's probably going to take a while to convince them that they don't any more.  You're in the perfect time to retrain them too because school's out (unless you're in a 12-month school district).  If you are sending them to a school, camp, or other place where someone might be concerned about your kids being hungry, speak candidly with their teacher/leader/whatever about what's going on.  Tell them exactly what you served for dinner and that your child had plenty of time to eat and chose not to.  If they have kids or work with them, they'll understand.
     Finally, if there are things your family hates, try to avoid them at first.  Make things you know they can't say, "You know I hate mushrooms" to for at least 2 weeks before you start sneaking them in (please don't sneak in allergens).  I personally hate mushrooms, but they don't really provide me with a nutritional benefit, so I just don't cook with them.  Carrots, however, are different.  Your kids need carrots, even if they hate them.  There are some amazing techniques that involve food processing carrots and broccoli and adding them to meatloaf where your kids can't see them.  I think I'll go over sneaking healthy foods into your kids' food soon.

Why don't you cook? How do you overcome that? Questions? Comments? Tweet to @cookingcheap