I know everyone hates shaming, but I am sick and tired of conversations about food, simple food, cooking, and budgeting here.

Hello all! I have lurked and enjoyed this chamber for awhile, I am passionate about food, cooking, and budgeting. I love the food and recipes you all share and I think everyone is doing it right. <br><br>For this reason I am FED UP with the comments and posters I see on every thread. I hope everyone who needs this can see it. You are not alone, and you are not wrong.<br><br>You are not a shame or a failure for not being able to afford to cook. You are not a shame or a failure for not being able to cook. You are not a shame or a failure for not wanting to cook. <br><br>Food is necessary. If you do not eat, you will starve. Starvation kills you. All people deserve to eat, and to eat enough to live. <br><br>If you are struggling to get enough food to eat, there is help for you. I urge everyone who needs help finding resources to seek it out. You will get through this, and I am so sorry that you are like this. You do not deserve this, and you did not create this. This is not your fault. <br><br>If you never want to cook again, you don't have to. Why would you? Why should you? If looking at a pan, or a knife, or a pot causes you harm, you should not look at a pan or a knife or a pot, because you are the most important person. You are important, you are valuable, and you should protect yourself. <br><br>If you have been taught that you must thrive rather than survive, that you are not allowed to suffer, that you are the reason that you suffer, that if you worked harder or were smarter or If only you , then I urge you to rethink that. You have to eat to live, and you are allowed to live. <br><br>Lastly, I want to address the "Just cook. It is simple and cheap" that is shoved down people's throats repeatedly. I have never seen a comment like this that was actually true. <br><br>I want to share an example from my life. I am a graduate student and I am also a mom. I am married and I have a partner who is also a student. We also have 2 jobs each, one for school, one for work. We have 2 grandchildren we care for 3 days a week, and we have a 10 week old baby. I am currently nursing the baby. Many days we all 5 of us are home, and only I am home, (OP was written when I had 10 week old, now baby is 4 months), and I have a 4 month old, baby carrier is a lifesaver, but does not help with things like peeling and chopping. <br><br>To say that cooking is simple, or that you can easily cook with a baby on your front is a lie. It is not simple. But guess what, if I want to eat, I have to do it. I do not have a choice. <br><br>I want to share an example of a dish, I made a very simple chili for my husband the other day. the ingredients were simple, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of kidney beans, a pound of ground beef, a carrot, a celery stalk, and a potato. But it took hours to make it. <br><br>I had to peel and chop the potato. I had to peel and chop the carrot, and the celery. I had to sauté the chopped things in a pot, which requires me to stand by the pot to make sure nothing goes wrong. I had to brown the ground beef, and that also requires me to stand by the pot while it cooks. After the hours of work to get to this point, I could finally put it in the crock pot. <br><br>If I wanted to cook on a weeknight, I would have to either do it between 8 and 10 pm when all the kids are asleep, or I could do it between 1-3 if I take the baby with me to the kitchen. But if I take the baby with me to the kitchen, I have to either hold the baby, wear the baby, or put the baby down. If I put the baby down, I have to make sure the baby is safe, and if I am standing at the stove, I can't make sure of that. If I choose to hold the baby, I have only one hand, and have to do everything one handed. If I choose to wear the baby, I can have two hands, but I have to be careful not to burn the baby. Even with two hands and no risk of burning the baby, I have to be careful that the baby does not grab anything they shouldn't. <br><br>So, for me, a simple and cheap dish is not simple, or cheap, because my time costs something, and I do not have much of it. For me, a simple and cheap dish is not simple, or cheap, because it requires me to be careful of the baby. For me, it is not simple or cheap because I have to protect the baby, I have to teach the kids, I have to work, I have to do so many things that I can never do them all. <br><br>I know I am not the only person who has these problems, and that many of you have problems that make cooking expensive and hard for you. You are not wrong. You are not to blame. You are not a shame or a failure. <br><br>I am so tired of seeing people who cannot cook get shamed and blamed for their circumstances. I am so tired of seeing people who cannot cook being called lazy for not cooking. I have never met a lazy person in my life, and I am so tired of watching people I care about get torn down for being the victim of circumstance. <br><br>Please remember, food is necessary. If you can't afford to eat, there is help available. If you do not want to cook, that is ok. Food is necessary, but cooking is not. You are not a shame or a failure if you cannot afford to cook. You are not a shame or a failure if you do not want to cook. <br><br>I post this in the hopes that someone who needs this will see it. Please know that, no matter what anyone says, that you are doing your best, and that is enough. Please know that you are not to blame if it is not enough. Please know that you are not alone. Please know that you are loved, just as you are.