Mental food load: This weight we drag into the refrigerator

Every week it’s the same movie: “What are we having tonight?” Between the hassle of shopping and the pressure of a balanced dinner, cooking becomes a mental marathon. And frankly we can’t take it anymore.

Come on, I’ll go, I’ll start, I’ll tell you about something that weighs heavily on me in my life as a mother of a large family. I called the mental load… the food. Yes, I’ll tell you about food, meals, shopping, the refrigerator to fill. In my rather egalitarian couple this task still falls to me.like 88% of you (women) according to a survey Opinionway of 2022. Obviously he also does the shopping, but most of the time it’s because I ask him to or on the fly when we need something. I think about it a lot, right now as I’m writing to you, for example, I’m thinking about my minced steaks that I urgently need to put in the freezer. A nice program.

2h41 is the average time we spend doing the shopping per week

I have opted for Leclerc delivery for several months now (no, this is not a sponsored newsletter, read on), but I always forget something “Fuck olive oil.” «Damn sponges “. Or I’m not careful and duplicating my previous order, skip some products and end up with 18 rolls of absorbent paper that I’ll swarm all the closets telling myself that I’m definitely not green. What particularly bothers me is that when you pay you are told that some products are no longer available. “Here, fortunately, are exactly the ones I ABSOLUTELY needed » Then I become conspiratorial. “Leclerc wants my skin “.

This post is taken from the weekly newsletter “Le Balagan” by our editor-in-chief Candice Satara. Candice is the mother of four boys aged 2 to 12. To receive it you can sign up for free here.

They eat so much

But that’s not all friends. For several weeks I have the impression that I have barely achieved this goal food work – it’s not just that, there’s also the butcher, fruit and vegetables – and there’s already nothing left to eat. I laughed a while ago when my sister told me about her neighbor, a mother of 5, who lived nearby 12 yogurts a day. It’s sad to tell you that I’m not that far away and that I have this feeling I spend my life buying yogurtand what’s more I don’t like it, this is the best, right? If you see a girl half dressed in her pajamas in front of the dairy department of Auchan on Place de Clichy (Paris) at 11pm, look no further, it’s me.

Running out of ideas?

Shopping is boring, we agree, and eating, shall we talk about it? I admit I can’t take it anymore. I have no more ideas I’m running out of time, I don’t know what to feed him anymore. The worst thing is the weekend, I seem to spend part of it in my head in the dishwasher. I tried to think weekly menusbut I think that put even more pressure on me. I wanted to get inspired recipe ideas from influencers. They call it humbly “Everyday cuisine”. My eye. I never would have had time to cook these veggie empanadas and eggplant curry. Best of all, there’s no way my kids would agree to eat it. My parents have an annoying habit of loving a recipe and then, as soon as you start making it more regularly, they don’t want it anymore.

I try to anticipate, but spending Sunday in the kitchen, no thanks

Lately I’ve been trying to prepare a large meal on Sunday, very invigorating, that lasts two days. Lasagna, shepherd’s pie, we are away from lentil dahl or quinoa risottobut they already are super proud of myself. I won’t teach you, getting a group of 2 to 12 year olds to eat vegetables is a real challenge. Little ones like vegetables, even leeks with vinaigrette, I was told in kindergarten. My eldest is also committed and has taken a sudden passion for cooking, it’s cute. He makes cucumbers with cream, guacamole, I won’t tell you about the mess later. But the youngest, there is nothing to be done, isolates the green vegetables and discreetly throws them in the garbage. Always be wary of a child who resolves things too quickly.

Brief, all the thinking about the meal is up to meIt’s time consuming, but that’s how it is. I know that my partner does other things, but they are less repetitive. I complain, I like to complain, you know me by now, but I am fortunate to have the means to eat properly. I can’t imagine the energy, the organization, the imagination parents must demonstrate when money is tight. I’m leaving you, I have to go buy some juice, they throw out almost a bottle a day.

Source: Madmoizelle