London, November 16 An average mum generally has just nine recipes in her stock to make her family happy, according to a new British survey.

Nine out of 10 mothers polled confessed that they prepared the same meals over and over again, as they couldn't experiment much due to other household chores.

Moreover, one in four, out of 4,000 mothers polled, makes the same meals on the same day of each week.

Also, it was found that the most commonly-cooked meal is spaghetti bolognaise.

Roast dinners, shepherd's or cottage pie and another pasta dish, follow in the list.

"It's not surprising, given the demands of modern life, that home cooks revert to the recipes they know and love. But this can make very repetitive meal times," the Daily Express quoted a spokesman for Merchant Gourmet, who carried out the survey, as saying.

The rep added: "People are put off experimenting with new meals and ingredients as they're convinced it will be time consuming or expensive. And what we found most interesting was the rise of the fussy family.

"A massive 81 per cent of respondents claimed they have to make two or more meals every night and 23 per cent said they would stick to the same meals because their children are fussy eaters."

The study further found that 44 per cent lack the time to experiment, while two-thirds feel guilty that they don't try hard.

The spokesman added: "There are plenty of quick and easy ways to update your current menu.

"Use new ingredients that can be kept in the fridge or cupboard and introduce a handful at a time to your dishes. Blend or finely chop new foods to make them less noticeable." (ANI)