Well, dang. I wish I were closer, I'd happily cook for you.

I know how fortunate I am to be 62 and healthy, at least so far. I've cooked for my youngest daughter after her stroke, for my oldest daughter when she was in the hospital for a week this spring, for their families whenever and for them whenever they feel unable to do it. I fill freezers and pantries and cookie jars. I cooked for Dad until he died and Stepmother until she went into the nursing home, and I just cooked for an elderly friend whose wife is in a nursing home. I still like to cook, and if I had the chance, I'd cook for you too!

I will admit that sometimes I get "stuck" and think I need a night off. Fortunately, Elery actually likes restaurant food, so a trip to the local dive bar or the Eagles fish fry is good by him.

When you jump in, though, you do it big. 6 pounds of Hubbard squash is a lot of squash for two people.

Feel better, I'm sending strong thoughts and lots of prayers.

Annie

I never. yet, have gotten sick of cooking when i have someone to cook for and share a meal with. what's hard is cooking for yourself, when you would really be happy with cheese and a slice of home made bread and an apple.

I get that way in the Summer mostly. I enjoy cooking more when it gets cool. Since we don't mind eating leftovers I usually can get away with cooking only 3 to 4 times a week. We go out about once every 2 to 3 weeks. And I don't cook elaborate meals all the time, at least once a week we have what I call the "big salad" with only a piece of broiled chicken breast, beef or fish with it. And sometimes I just have something very simple like BLT's and soup or chili dogs, etc. If I only had myself to cook for I probably wouldn't cook more than once or twice a week.

I never get tired of actually cooking. But the thought of cleaning up after has stopped me from doing so from time to time.

I'm lucky that my husband has embraced grocery shopping, finding his own recipes and actually loading the dishwasher. I just don't have the energy or appetite. I ate and enjoyed a big scoop of Hubbard squash with butter, salt and pepper for supper tonight.

I was running the household for my dad when I was 11, so 55 yrs + counting.....yup, much as I love cooking, if it weren't for DH I'd happily go eat out 5x/week.

But living where we do, one can not only eat well and healthily, but it doesn't cost that much more to dine out, either. Not always true in many areas.

I've lost 40 lbs. over the past year. Can't motivate myself to eat. Ensure and all of those supplements make me very gorpy. Don't get me wrong, I could afford to lose that weight but what a way to go. Often when we go out to eat, I just look at the plate and bring it home.

I don't mind cooking, it is just figuring out what to cook is the bummer. now that it is getting colder what to cook expands. You can cook those stick to your rib recipes. With just the two of us dinner is a lot simpler. We are happy with a grilled cheese sandwich a bowl of tomato soup. When the kids were at home it usually was a full meal. We usually eat out once a week. I don't bake often, but when I do I really enjoy it.

I love grilled cheese and tomato soup. I love Mac and cheese. I have to work my way around menus with anything smoked - bacon, ham, kielbasa, chipotle, paprika, cheese. Seems like smoked foods are pervasive. They make my stomach clench. I can't eat BBQ or my beloved smoked salmon or my husbands daycaught smoked bluefish. Really sucks. I'm having a pity party. I'm sorry.

I hear you...loud and clear! My diet is pretty limited and with primarily an appreciative DH to cook for, I'm BORED with menu planning most days. We eat out one or two nights a week-- sometimes. But honestly, I can make my own food and not feel allergically challenged. That said, I NEED the socialization with friends that eating out brings. Can you go with other friends who might stimulate you and your waning appetite?

I have a few girlfriends I can hook up with for lunch but usually have to cancel on them because I feel crappy, don't feel like getting dressed, driving or eating. And yes - I'm on an antidepressant.

I hear you. BUT how do you feel after getting together with these women? Would they be willing to bring lunch in to you so you could socialize? I realize that you don't feel great, but doesn't it give you a lift to hang out with some different people?

Yes, Compumom, one of them would but I felt so crappy and she's almost an hour and a half round trip from me we decided to make another day. Hard to explain where we live. Outer Cape Cod. Hard to meet people out here. Another source of my depression. Wish I lived next door to you!!!

I'm less and less enthused about day to day cooking but still enjoy the big family dinners when the kids are home. Company dinners too....but just the two of us, night after night, is becoming a chore .

Nobody's fault just the carp around getting old

Outer Cape Cod sounds like paradise to me....even in the winter!
Are you having medical issues still, or just a carry over depression?

I'm with Compumom. The isolation sounds as bad as the food issues. I have a relative who doesn't have your health issues--his are less digestive related--but he also has that can't look at food feeling a lot. When I cook things he likes, and doesn't have to work at eating (he loves a good New York cut steak, but doesn't want to cut and chew it anymore), he does eat more. For him, lots of flavor is the key. Can you deal with interesting spices and new flavors if they aren't smoky? Are there some neighbors you could befriend who would be willing to make you something new and interesting to try once a month?

I have far less dire issues that make approaching the kitchen more than I can manage sometimes, but when I have a helper, it gets SO much easier. Even when she's just throwing this away, fetching that from the other side of the kitchen, or washing up it's the difference between able to undertake a cooking project and making sandwiches. I also have some go-to meals that take minimal effort. I'll admit that being in the city probably helps. The produce I buy is already clean of farm dirt and doesn't need a lot of washing before it can even be cut. Do you think you could get a high school kid or clueless young married from your general area who'll exchange kitchen help for learning to cook? I'm always telling my college girl (too-busy-to-cook-friend's kid) stuff about cooking and nutrition and she's learned an awful lot about cooking just helping me. She's now teaching her boyfriend. :)

Another approach I often take when I'm just not feeling up to cooking is doing a lot of prep one day and making the final dish the next.

Now I have a new robot. It's not an actual Robot Coupe. It's the Breville Peel and Dice which I learned about in the Appliances forum. It's the time and effort saver that my old Cuisinart promised to be but never was unless I was cooking in great quantities. The Peel refers to small round potatoes, but it'll peel lots of other things. The dice is the real kicker. I'm still waiting on the promised two more dice sizes, but it comes with a nice all purpose size. PHWOOM! It's done. I made a quiche the other day when I was very tired from the day's work and with limited time so I just kept changing attachments and it really did most of the prep for me. This thing is amazingly well designed and worth every penny.

I'm glad you're sticking with us here to at least talk about cooking. :) I hope you feel better and more able soon.

I usually love cooking, especially since putting in new counters and cabinets and getting a new and much bigger fridge and freezer, but, as someone mentioned above, I get tired of PLANNING. There's three of us; my husband and I are early sixty's, and my mom will be 83 this month and has advanced dementia. Luckily, she usually loves to eat, so she's easy. Husband's easy, too, and together they are TOO easy. They just don't care what I cook. They like it; they are appreciative, but ask for a suggestion and you'd think I'd asked them (well, him--Mama's mostly non-verbal) to cut off an arm.

Still, most of the time, I enjoy the process. (Even cleaning up isn't so bad in the "new" kitchen!)

Aw Seagrass, I wish I lived closer to you too. I would definitely come to cook and keep you company!

Do you belong to a house of worship or any organization that might have someone to cook for/with you?

I think Pillog’s ideas have merit. There’s likely to be someone itching for a part time gig.

Chase— I am so on the same page! Bigger dinners are fun, even a another couple changes it up!

Guess who— if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, you can cobble together an easy meal. DH’s tonight was Shrimp potstickers, sautéed fresh spinach, and cooked shrimp. Since I can’t do the tasting, he has to do the final seasoning. I laid out, rice vinegar, soy and ponzu sauce. He added a bit of ginger and sesame oil.

I find it's hard to get excited about cooking for one. I just made a big pot of Ham and bean soup, split it up into pint jars, and froze most of it for future meals. That's it. I am trying to get myself to cook more meals, but my heart isn't into it. So, a pot of yogurt and and a cup of tea make up too many meals.

I don't get terribly excited about cooking for myself when DH is away
at work during the week, but I go nuts on the weekends. Usually I make
lots of leftovers so DH can take some back with him (he works very long
days and is often too tired to cook for himself) and I have some to eat
when I'm on my own.Seagrass, it sounds like you're not so much not excited by cooking as not excited by eating (or anything, how sad), so the "not wanting to cook" follows. If I was your friend I'd come and visit you whether it took an hour and a half or not, or whether you felt crappy or not. I'd just sit with you and think warm thoughts.

Just sending hugs.

My cooking is so simple that I sometimes hestitate to even call myself a cook, but we eat well. There are quite a few idiotically simple dishes and meals you can make, and they taste good and are healthy: have you cooked along these lines? Ever just thought of beans and greens and pasta dressed with the pot liquor from the vegetables and a bit of grated parmesan? Mixed long grain and wild rice with olive oil and a little minced onion, and frozen spinach? Egg pasta dressed with a sauce of blue cheese and a spoonful of milk, and a salad of grated carrots? Beans and broth with olive oil and bread? Boiled potatoes, roasted vegetables? I list vegetarian examples because I'm a vegetarian, but you can use meat.

I understand you have issues that influence your willingness to cook and ability to enoy food; this is only to say that food doesn't necessarily require elaborate preparation or long cooking times to be good. In a small way it might be helpful to know that. I'm scheduled to fall in the pit of seasonal depression myself and so I don't underestimate that problem, nor those of isolation and lack of energy. I rely quite a bit on exercise, mainly walking and gardening, and time outdoors under the sky, and find they help. I could certainly use better indoor light, and festive occasions, in which my home life is poor.

Good luck!

It isn't that I am tired of cooking, I just tire easily. Yes I enjoy cooking and baking but I run out of energy.

Sue

I started cooking early when my mother started working. I then cooked for three ex-husbands, a daughter, numerous boyfriends and got thoroughly sick of it. Now I'm living alone. I have a pressure cooker so I use that and put most of the food in freezer bags. So much easier, and only one pot to clean.

I appreciate all of your support and experiences. Yes, LindcaC - I'm still going through medical issues. Not sure anymore but the depression seems to be chronic. Every time I turn around there's something else coming at me.

Seagrass, have you considered moving to an independent living retirement home where you could get a meal plan or have the meals delivered to your unit? I adore the Cape but in the winter it can be bleak and isolating. Perhaps it's time for a move.

Anglo - Have a very fit, active Energizer Bunny as a husband. He revels in our property and his many pursuits out here. If I were alone, I would not be here. Haven't wanted to here for a very, very long time. Won't bore you with details.

While it is well known that your feelings can influence what you eat. But you should also pay attention to the fact that what you eat can dramatically alter your mental health.

Our body is very strong, but can be very weak at the same time. A few milligrams of chemical can make you a very happy person, or a werewolf.

Also, look into a condition known as S.A.D., A nasty thing that is simple to correct.

dcarch

Seagrass, I hope you don't mind my posting this here, but I saw this in my local paper and thought of you. There is a new program at Stanford for people with severe depression. You may want to look at this. The articles discusses a man who has spent decades trying everything from drugs, to ECT to surgical implants and this new procedure- brain stimulation- worked for him.

https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2017/10/27/becoming-whole-again

I don't know why I'm pouring my heart out here but yes, I do. I've become comfortable with people on this forum and have belonged here for a very long time. I live in an extremely remote place. Access to primary care physicians is a problem. Access to specialty care is spotty but Boston is only a few hours away. Not that I could make that drive for treatment myself. I have had excellent care at Cape Cod Hospital for breast cancer, rotator cuff surgery and numerous emergency care issues.

I have an appointment next month for physical tests and to see a specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital/Harvard Medical School who saved my life a year ago (rare blood disorder.) I'm going to put myself in her hands once again. I did not have a positive experience or outcome with mental health professionals where I live.

How the brain and body synchronize is puzzling to me. The body stops working so the brain says I'm with that too??

I am so sorry you are going through all this. I hope your next round of medical appointments shed some light and provide a path to feeling better. I cannot imagine how hard this is for you.

Glad you are seeing a doctor that you trust -- hope it helps.

I have PTSD, and have been seeing a therapist for four years now. Before that I had a few episodes of major depression. I know where you are coming from. I am doing better, but still have bad days and nights.

Wishing you the best -- Sue

cacocobird - I hope your therapy continues to help. I'm sorry you are going through this, too. Thank you.