When I was a girl, my grandmothers cooked while they had husbands or children, and one even did it as long as she cared for her grandchildren. Nutrition was important for the family. But once those “family” members were gone, the cooking stopped.
My mother used to get so angry with her mother when she would look at her grocery bill. It was full of snack foods and back then that was mostly sweets. My mother would berate her mother not really understanding why she did this –until she got older. And my mother, even before my father died, became the snack queen of all times before she finally went to an assisted living facility that cooked meals for the residents.
I used to love to cook, even when single. I would cook large meals – sometimes two different ones at a time – and redistribute them into individual meals that I froze. I commuted a pretty long way with my job, so all I had to do was microwave the meals. (I think the microwave has been very instrumental to modern day cooking.)
As I have grown older I have cooked a little less each year. Being single has had a lot to do with it, too. I still cook a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner and freeze and save it for the future. I occasionally make a roast with potatoes and carrots, too, but I prefer to toast or microwave most of the food I eat. And I love ripping open that bag of snacks, too.
So I guess I am saying that even if you do not eat the way I do, you might end up in the same place when you get older.
Cooking is a lot of work and when it is just you, it is easier to eat something already prepared. Cookies!!!!