Cooking Dinner...when did most resume?

Scheduled for a SAH and the only thing that bothers me the most about recovery is that I won't be able to cook my home-cooked meals.

Hubby is a take-out sort of guy and I don't think I could stomach that stuff more than twice a week. I've enlisted my youngest son (age 19) to make some of the easy stuff like spaghetti and turkey burgers.

Don't suggest cooking ahead and freezing...I have nowhere to freeze anything because both fridges are full of stuff already.

So, when did most get back to making just nightly dinners for the family?

I was cooking by week 3 following a TAH. Not so much because I had to but because I wanted to. I sat at the bar for prep. and then had someone else put things in and out of the oven but anything at the stove top was no problem.

We're supposed to cook dinner? lol! I am not much of a cooker, so my DH will be doing most of that still.

For me the cooking wasn't the issue (I started with simple one skillet/one pot items towards the end of the second week). The issue was picking what to make that didn't require lifting anything too heavy or bending over too much.

How about letting your son cook the easy stuff at first then when you want to start your home cooked meals appoint him sous chef. That way you can tag team making the home cooked meals so you don't do too much too soon.

I'm one of the bad one's I cooked from the night I came home mind you it was only simple meals and hubby did all the cleaning as I was exhausted after cooking. I think it's all very individual and depends how you feel.

What about doing some simple crock pot recipes that do not require much work? There are lots of recipes on the internet for those, and also many cookbooks have some good recipes as well. One of my favorites is crock pot macaroni and cheese. Open a bag of salad for the side and you have a meal.

I went back to cooking within the first week, but with assistance and a lot of pre-planning. I purposely bought crock pot meals and convenience dinners to tide us over when I knew I'd barely have the energy to shuffle in and dump a sauce over meat in the crock pot. I've now graduated to Hamburger Helper and similar boxed meals as well, but I'm still keeping things very simple and easy. DH and roomie are bearing up well, playing sous chef and dishwasher in turns. As long as I sit in a comfy chair in the corner of the dining room and supervise, they do most of the work.

Lena

I'm almost 7 wks post op and I am wiped out from having to take care of my 22 mos old so I cook as simple and as little as possible. lol Quick meals like spaghetti with homemade gravy/meatballs my mom froze for me, pb&J, oatmeal, quick chicken cutlets.....stuff like that. I use to be a big fan of cooking but now I'm just too darned tired and try to keep it healthy but just cant get into cooking right now. I have a lot of snacks on hand for my daughter (fruit, cut up veggies, etc). If you are worried make some meals and freeze them beforehand so all you have to do is microwave or heat it in the oven. Good luck to you!

I ordered and picked up some Super Suppers meals this week in preparation. I don't like take out and DH is not the greatest cook around I figure its one less thing to worry about.

I was very lucky in that I had friends and neighbors bring meals for 2 solid weeks! I was very glad too, because I had thought that after 1 week I would be ready to do those sorts of things, but I definately was not! After the two weeks, however, I enjoyed cooking. Watching lots of Food network TV made me want to try some new recipes, and easy cooking was one of the few things I felt like I could do. I would cook for a while and rest for a while. If you don't have anyone to help you, freeze some things ahead. Good luck!