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60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:24 pm
by KK
Daily Moan wrote:What's for dinner tonight? Lasagne...just like last week...and the week before that...and the week before that...how 60% of people eat the same seven regular meals every week.
Millions of Britons spend most of their lives eating the same seven 'safe meals', according to new research.
A study found a lack of time and confidence plays havoc with the typical person's meal plans, meaning 60 per cent of us eat the same dishes week after week.
One in four adults even cooks the same meal on the same day every week and has a strict rota in place.
Of those, the typical adult has the same meal schedule in place for nearly four years.
But around 13 per cent have eaten the same thing on the same days of the week for 10 years or more.
Of the 2,000 adults polled - 27 per cent said they prefer to cook British meals rather than international dishes.
I find this incredible. I will admit rarely does a week go by that doesn't feature a pizza or a curry (even then there's a multitude of options) but aside from that I can't imagine having the same meal plan day in and day out. I do love to try new flavours (I have a bit of a thing about picking up at least 1 new item every time I go into the supermarket) but even day-to-day eating, I've probably got about 30 or 40 different dinners I like to regularly cycle through.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:30 pm
by Corazon de Leon
I have a few go-to meals but I don't rotate on the basis of "Monday is lasagne day, Tuesday is bacon and waffles day" kind of thing. That's boring.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:34 pm
by Tragic Magic
Corazon de Leon wrote:I have a few go-to meals but I don't rotate on the basis of "Monday is lasagne day, Tuesday is bacon and waffles day" kind of thing. That's boring.
Same. I often try new recipes as that's what excites me about cooking. If I cooked the same meals day in and day out it'd just be a boring chore. I find it hard to be interested in cooking a meal if I'm not trying something new.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:35 pm
by Hexx
Corazon de Leon wrote:bacon and waffles
Edit - Ah Potato Waffles (I hope). That's much less disgusting sounding
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:37 pm
by That
Corazon de Leon wrote:I have a few go-to meals but I don't rotate on the basis of "Monday is lasagne day, Tuesday is bacon and waffles day" kind of thing. That's boring.
This. Can't believe over half of people would do that.
EDIT: Oh, it's 1 in 4 that have a rota. Still...
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:38 pm
by KK
Hexx wrote:Corazon de Leon wrote:bacon and waffles
Edit - Ah Potato Waffles (I hope). That's much less disgusting sounding
As the box makes clear, it's evidently supposed to be waffle and EGG. Rookie error, that.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:39 pm
by BTB
Similar to others, I have a lot of go to meals (not sure how many exactly), usually for midweek dinners if i'm busy. Easy to cook, basically always have the main ingredients in the cupboard and know I like them etc. But if I've got more time I try to do something different. Always nice going through a recipe book and picking something different to do at the weekend.
Easy to see how some people/families (I imagine more so with families) can fall into this without even realising though.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:41 pm
by Dual
I hate common people.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:41 pm
by Hexx
I have a regular gathering at a specific pub on Wednesday - so that's "always" burger of some description.
Friday tends to be takeaway of some description
Other than that I can't imagine "Monday is X, Tuesday is Y" on rotation
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:46 pm
by more heat than light
Guilty. We mix it up a little bit here and there, but because we have such different work patterns and things it does make things easier. Wednesday my missus is back late so I'll have something with the kids (pizza, burgers etc). Friday is pasta night (need a quick meal before I start at 6) and Sunday is fish fingers for kids as I'm at work till 8, we eat afterwards (usually fish & potatoes).
Couple this with me being a fussy eater, and kids being kids and it just becomes incredibly difficult to plan out a week of meals that differs drastically from what we had last week. We do try, honest.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:47 pm
by Garth
It was a bit like that at home with our family of 5 when I was a kid (most of the time just had some plain potatoes, meat and veg), but our meals diversified a hell of a lot more in the late 90s onwards.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:49 pm
by Dowbocop
Off the top of my head, we cook chilli, bolognese, sausage pasta, fajitas, ginger and soy chicken wings, cajun chicken, and chicken in cannellini beans on a regular basis. There's also a meat sauce/filling we have with casseroles and in pies but that's more a winter thing. A lot of those my wife batch cooks so they're just in the freezer and ready to go (chicken stuff needs a bit more thought...). Throw in your occasional pizzas, curry jars, ready meals etc when you're feeling lazy/rushed and you can easily double 7 go to meals.
Having a meal rota is crazy...
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:51 pm
by Lotus
I imagine it would be pretty dull having the same meal on set days every week, although a lot of people often eat the same thing for breakfast or lunch every day, so having the same meal once a week on a set day isn't bad in comparison.
Personally I have some meals I enjoy a lot and will have on rotation I guess, but it's not set in stone when I have them. Wouldn't have any issue having the same meal twice in a week if I really enjoyed it, but other meals I can go months between having - all depends on my appetite, how much time I have, etc.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:52 pm
by Moggy
Dual wrote:I hate common people.
You are more of a Disco 2000 sort of chap?
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:58 pm
by Cumberdanes
There are certain meals I make in quite heavy rotation like curries, chilli, stir fries and bolognese because I like them and they're quick and easy to make but there's no fixed schedule. I often just pop into the super market on the way home have a quick browse and see what takes my fancy.
When I was a kid however we always went to the chippy on a Friday and had pizza on a Saturday.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 1:03 pm
by Lotus
Also, the more people you have to cater for, the higher the number of preferences, dislikes, allergies, fussy eaters you have to cater for. If you've got a family of several people I can easily see how you'd end up sticking to the same few meals that you know everyone will like.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 1:16 pm
by Squinty
7?
More like 5 for me. I'm getting bored in all honesty.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 2:16 pm
by Ironhide
Dual wrote:I hate common people.
I think I'd go insane eating certain meals on certain days.
I do however have a few things I eat fairly regularly but that's mainly due to having severe difficulty swallowing food and thus being unable to eat as wide a range of meals as I'd like.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 2:41 pm
by Corazon de Leon
Hexx wrote:Corazon de Leon wrote:bacon and waffles
Edit - Ah Potato Waffles (I hope). That's much less disgusting sounding
Potato waffles yeah. To be fair I have no idea why I posted that given that I don't eat that combination of food at any time.
Eggs are strawberry floating disgusting btw KK, the smell makes me retch.
Re: 60% of UK households have the same 7 dinners on rotation - are you one of them?
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 2:44 pm
by Preezy
As I don't have a Pantry of Plenty we tend to rotate meals in our house. But it's not like we have Fajita Fridays every week (sadly) or anything like that, but we tend to have a staple of 6 or 7 dishes that get tweaked or form a base for a meal. I think that's perfectly normal and acceptable.
Normally we limit it to one pasta dish a week, one red meat dish a week and then the rest if a variety of chicken/fish/veggie.
Broccoli with everything though
edit: also disclaimer - almost always make things from scratch, we hardly ever use jars.