Cooking Tips & Tricks, Kitchen Products, Meal Planning
5 Ways to Get Your Partner to Help Make Dinner Without Begging Them
Recently updated on May 9th, 2024 at 02:36 pm
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Does the thought of cooking dinner by yourself after a long day at work make you want to order takeout instead? You’re not alone. Many of us struggle with getting our partners to help make dinner without having to beg or plead with them. It’s not fair to expect one person to do all the cooking every single night. However, there are ways to make it a fun and collaborative experience for both of you. In this article, we’ll share five strategies to get your partner to help make dinner without the need for begging. These tactics will not only lighten your workload but also bring you closer together. So, let’s get into it and turn cooking dinner into a delightful experience!
Make it a Fun Activity
One way to ease your partner into cooking dinner is to make it a fun experience for both you and your partner by treating it as an activity you can do together. You can turn on some music, pour a glass of wine, and make it a date night in. This way, you’re not just getting help with dinner, you’re also enjoying each other’s company.
But how do you get your partner on board with this? Well, involving them in the planning process is a great start. Ask them what dishes they enjoy making or eating, and come up with a menu together. This way, they’ll feel like they have a say in what’s being cooked and they’ll be more willing to help out. Use an afternoon outing to help with this by taking them to a farm stand or market to pick fresh fruits and veggies, local items, or desserts. I don’t recommend taking them to the everyday grocery store as this will probably have them throw their walls up before even starting.
Additionally, you can make it a competition. Challenge each other to see who can make the best dish, or who can chop veggies the fastest. It’s a fun way to make cooking more exciting and engaging.
Overall, making dinner a collaborative and enjoyable experience can go a long way in getting your partner to help out without feeling like they’re being forced to. So, grab a spatula and apron, and get cooking!
Get Them Involved in the Planning Process
Another way to get your partner on board with making dinner is to involve them in the planning process. Ask for their input on what they would like to eat or what ingredients they want to use. By including them in the decision-making process, they are more likely to feel invested in the meal and want to help make it a success.
To take it even further, you can make meal planning a joint activity. Sit down together and browse through cookbooks or online recipes to find inspiration for your meals. Discuss your preferences and experiment with new ingredients and flavors. This not only gets your partner involved in the process but also adds an element of excitement to meal preparation.
By getting your partner involved in the planning process, you are creating a sense of ownership and collaboration. This can lead to a more enjoyable and rewarding experience for both of you. Plus, it sets the stage for the next step: prepping together.
Prep Together
By involving your partner in meal planning, you’re already one step closer to getting them to help make dinner without begging. But to take it to the next level, consider prepping together. This can be a fun and productive activity that allows you to work together towards a common goal.
Start by dividing up the tasks. Assign each person a specific task, such as chopping vegetables, measuring out ingredients, or marinating meat. This not only makes the prep work go faster but also gives your partner a sense of purpose and accomplishment.
As you prep, make sure to communicate and work together. Offer suggestions and advice but also be open to your partner’s input. This is a great opportunity to learn from each other and improve your cooking skills.
Once everything is prepped and ready, you can move on to the next step: cooking together. By breaking up the cooking process into manageable tasks and sharing the workload, you and your partner can create a delicious, home-cooked meal together.
Cooking Together
It’s important to emphasize that cooking dinner together is a team effort from start to finish. Once you’ve decided on a recipe and gathered all of the necessary ingredients, it’s time to prep. This is where cooking together comes in handy.
As you prep, make sure to communicate and work together. Offer suggestions and advice but also be open to your partner’s input. This is a great opportunity to learn from each other and improve your cooking skills. Plus, sharing the workload means it will be quicker and easier to get the meal on the table.
Breaking up the cooking process into manageable tasks can also help make the experience less daunting. You can assign each other tasks or switch off between them. By working together, the experience becomes less stressful and more enjoyable.
Switch Off Who Cooks Dinner
Finally you’re ready to get what you’ve been working towards, the last step: switching off who cooks dinner. This is a great way to avoid one person always being responsible for making dinner. By alternating nights or even weeks, both partners can share in the responsibility of meal preparation. This not only lessens the burden on one person but also adds some variety to your meals since you’ll be cooking different things. I love menu boards as they are a great way to keep track of who’s cooking what dish on which day of the week.
Switching off who cooks dinner is also a fantastic way to improve your cooking skills and experiment with new recipes. Maybe one partner is a master at grilling burgers while the other excels at making a hearty stew. By sharing the cooking duties, both partners get the chance to showcase their culinary prowess and learn from each other.
Another great way is to help set your partner up for success on their night of cooking. Plan a simple meal that you know they could do without you. Recently I had a late afternoon event that put my partner home before me so I planned chicken pesto pasta. I knew my partner could grill chicken and make pasta so I made the pesto and left it for him. We talked about the plan a couple days before so it was not a surprise.
This approach to meal preparation is a true win-win situation and is a great way to strengthen your bond while enjoying a delicious meal together. By working together in the kitchen, you’ll grow closer as a couple and develop a deeper appreciation for each other’s unique skills and abilities.
Cooking dinner alone every night can become tiring, but convincing your partner to help out can be a daunting task. However, with the five strategies outlined above, you can make meal preparation fun and collaborative. From making it a bonding activity to switching off who cooks dinner, these methods can lighten your workload and bring you and your partner closer together. So, the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed with cooking, try implementing one of these tactics and see the difference it makes. As the old saying goes, “Many hands make light work.” If looking for more tips and tricks, you can learn more from our other posts found here or jump right in and learn more on a designing a personalized recipe book in a matter of minutes!
