By which I mean, how often do you have take-out or microwaveable or add-water-and-eat food?
This thread is inspired by an friend of mine who eats no-cooking-needed food at least 5 evenings out of 7.
I either cook or eat out - none of that add-water-eat-food stuff. Ever. Except tonight, when I found a box of pizza rolls in the freezer the BF must have left and I was so damned glad I didn’t have to cook.
But generally, when I’m lazy we eat out or rarely order pizza.
I can remember actually cooking only once this year, which was spaghetti carbonera a couple months ago. It sucked.
I rely on parents for real meals and eat prepared food otherwise.
I’m 26 and male, if you’re curious.
I could have put this in the ‘two truths and a lie’ thread.
Since I don’t cook at all* the answer is 7 days a week. 
*the last time I cooked anything I got a badge from the Scouts…
See, that makes me really sad. I cook every day. I don’t mean I’m preparing feasts every day, but I don’t own a microwave and I can’t remember the last time I had a take-away.
To me, cooking is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. It’s creative, it’s relaxing, it’s engaging. And anyone can do it. Seriously. There’s no special skill needed. It makes me a bit sad that it’s in decline.
Hey, don’t ask for information, then criticise our replies! 
I do have a cooker, but it’s for guests who like to cook.
Don’t get me wrong - I love eating fresh food (e.g. home-made burgers which make McDnlds taste like sawdust).
But I have always found other things more fascinating than spending time shopping, peeling, chopping, cooking and washing up.
I also don’t think cooking is going out of fashion - just look at the number of cookery programs on TV. When Delia Smith mentioned a particular omelette pan on British TV, they sold 90,000 extra inside four months.
Anyway stripping is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. 
The number of nights I or we don’t cook has increased dramatically over the last 2 years. Used to be maybe one night a week, and probably more like one night a month that we’d either eat our or get take out or make some quickie meal like chili mac.
No more kids living at home + classes 3 days a week = a lot of eating out. We probably cook at home 3 or 4 nights a week now, sometimes even less. We both love to cook though.
It isn’t always financially a good idea to cook for yourself if you’re a single guy without easy transportation to the grocery store. Yes, you can make spaghetti… if you want spaghetti for the next three days for lunch (or lasagna, or whatever else).
Single serving meals are tough to make. And costly (not all things are easy to freeze then just whip up into a different meal the next week… often new ingredients are needed… trip to the store…$ for getting there, getting back, and buying whatever it is… along with the added time… I don’t just get off work and zip over to the Piggy Wiggly).
If you’re not feeding a family sometimes its just easier to get a big sub from the sub place down the street and split it in half… half for lunch, half for dinner… A glass of milk or juice and you’ve got yourself a decent meal.
Not that cooking isn’t fun… I know how to cook ok… (better than I used to) but all in all its a lot of hassle for something that will probably turn green in the fridge.
I like to cook, but I hate hate hate the clean-up afterwards. I’m going to make 4 pies next week for Thanksgiving, and I’m dreading the aftermath - I’m not a particularly tidy cook.
We usually get breakfast out on weekends, because my husband really enjoys that. For evening meals, we may eat out as often as never up to 4 or 5 times a week, tending toward the low end of the spectrum these days. However, even if we eat in, I may not cook. We’ve made a meal of a bowl of cereal and maybe some fruit.
Once our daughter and son-in-law move in, I expect we’ll cook most nights. Family time and all that…
live alone, don’t cook. toaster oven or microwave. i don’t add water, i add milk. lots of cereal, oat meal, and soup.
I do myself simple food - tzatziki, gravelax, steak and chips, mussels, sausages and eggs and baked beans, toad in the hole, and the like - and I’ll do myself a joint on occasion with veg, but rarely do anything more. Nobody comes round to eat with me, and I’ve given up inviting people, and cooking for one is no fun, despite what Delia Smith says. As likely as not, I’ll make myself a camembert and tomato baton.
I do do a wicked mashed potato: the secret ingredient is tartare sauce! Garlic mayo also works well.
I cook almost all my meals; breakfast, lunch and supper. I’ll get a pizza or a sandwich once or twice a month. I have several dishes I make that freeze well in portions for later use. The stuff I like that doesn’t freeze, I’ve gotten good at cooking for one. No microwave, mostly I use a gas stove (propane), the grill, the smoker, or the fireplace.
I almost always cook but sometimes my schedule catches up to me (like now). I will probably forage tonight and order in tomorrow. So, during crunch time, I probably don’t cook 2-3 nights a week. The rest of the time I will cook every night except for maybe 2-3 a month. Cooking is one of my favorite activities and I indulge in it whenever possible.
I like to cook, but I haven’t for several months, as I am currently living in a place without real kitchen facilities.
For dinner I had an apple and a little cheddar cheese. What does that count as?
StG
I love to cook and make a “real” meal just about every night, and often make real breakfasts too. I might make boxed mac-n-cheese or ramen noodles for lunch once every month or two, and occasionally we’ll have a frozen pizza for dinner.
I would say I probably cook dinner 5 nights out of 7 on average. It seems that even when we do go out to eat, I still end up cooking something. Tonight, for example – my husband and daughter had a meeting to go to, so they ate leftovers (meeting started at 6, they still aren’t home at 9) and the boy and I went out for Mexican. We like to go to the local Mexican place when it’s just the two of us, so we can practice our Spanish. The waiters there adore him (and me, too, I guess – I tip well) and will patiently answer a million “como se dice” questions for us 
But I digest, er digress.
Even though we went out to eat, here I sit, waiting for a sausage, cheddar and red onion quiche to come out of the oven. I also cook breakfast every weekday. Weekends, I don’t care what time anyone gets up and no one has to take tests, so it’s fend-for-yourself for breakfast. Tomorrow, we will have quiche – I cook it tonight, then shove it in the microwave – when I am getting everyone up, I nuke it for a minute and it’s good to go.
FTR, I love to cook and feel very strongly about the dinner table as a means of relationship-building. When we go out to eat, we still converse. Meh, it’s our thing.
I eat out or get carryout.
I have heated water in the microwave for tea, and made microwave popcorn. And occasionally will nuke some leftover pizza or whatever is in the doggie bag I bring home from a restaurant. That’s it.
I have not cooked a meal in at least 20 years. The oven in my home has been used once – by a guest. And I mean literally once – it was brand new when I bought the place. I have been seriously considering replacing it with a small washer/dryer to save the walk downstairs, but my friends tell me I will kill the resale value of the place.
I am the wave of future. I could live quite comfortably with nothing but a fridge and a microwave – no pots, pans, no cabinets needed, just a small set of dishes and silverware.
How often do I not cook? Every other night. We take turns. We’ll eat out or bring home a sub once or twice a month.
I’ve never eaten microwave food, and I think I’m glad I don’t know what add-water-and-eat food is. I hope I’m never so hungry that I have to find out.
I don’t-cook fairly often because I work in a restaurant and eat food I can get there far too often.