To ban cooking for teenage boys

Or even children still at school. It's actually unbelievable.

As do you seem obsessed with the 3p here and 6p there for them to boil some pasta or run the over for 25 mins.

That's an odd take. We are all the parents, the budget holders, and the owner of the house.
So yes they are entitled the eat when hungry, but we all get to decide on the rules for our household.
And that includes being the food police when teens are taking the piss.

I've had the big air-fryer pitch from my DS: you've gotta get one of these, they're great, etc. Somehow I've resisted. I use my oven A Lot, but I don't see a air-fryer wuld help much? Can I make bread in it? Can I make sourdough in it? Can I make pizzas in it? I think the answer to all three is no,and that's 80% of of m yoven use.

Yes we had a list on the fridge which was updated as something was close to empty. I agree there is a logistics issue but its an issue which one person cannot solve as they all need to agree to be more considerate and work together.

Of course the OP is paying food bills and energy bills. They're her children! The older one contributes financially.
I do sometimes wonder why some parents get so resentful of their own children and how much they cost.

On the oven/cooking front i can see exactly were your coming from. My 18 YO will come in after we’ve eaten (with our younger children) and cook another meal, then BF will come and will start cooking for their lunch the next day (chicken etc). So next thing you know the oven/ hob has actually been on 3 hours with the various cooking. It soon tots up when its 5/7 days a week.

Ive lost count of the amount of times i’ve said can you at a minimum make your evening/meal and if your cooking for tomorrow do it at the same time to save on gas/ electric.

YOUR oats?! What?! What is even your problem OP?!

This whole thread is massively derailing from the fact you don't want them using your electricity (which is actually electricity for the whole household, not just you. That's how it works when you have a family).

Then you're apparently worried they're eating too many processed meats and now you're annoyed because they take "your" oats?!

Do you even like your children? Because quite honestly, these posts are starting to sound quite disturbing and like you just don't want your children eating full stop (apart from the one hot meal a day you claim to cook for them).

You sound extremely controlling.

But you COULD take the fuse out of the oven to prevent at least that aspect.

What kind of world am I living in where people would do this to their adult children. 😂

You sound awfully similar to the poster who got loads of people worked up with the thread about the two girls who cook all the time and use up all the ingredients.

Maybe you should find that thread and you two can put your heads together for a solution?

You can't really stop them. What you can do is not buy the extra stuff and let them fund it themselves.

The rule needs to be that they clean up behind themselves.

And also, that they're not doing it late at night and disturbing you. I'd have a no-cooking after 10pm rule.

If you really don't want them using the oven, yes, an air fryer and you'll have to accept the hob being used. But you COULD take the fuse out of the oven to prevent at least that aspect.

Other than that, accept they're being industrious and not constantly ordering Uber Eats.

Turn the WiFi off?

Do they have gaming computers and/or consoles? Those are a much bigger use of electricity if left on constantly than the hob.

A full sized oven being used frequently for things like chicken nuggets and chips will also use much more electricity than needed - an air fryer heating up a much smaller area is cheaper to run.

Your kids sound great, I would love mine to cook and you sound like you’re complaining for the sake of it without really being sure what the problem is. I’d treat them like adults and with more respect if you care about your future relationship with them.

They are not buying all their own food, the OP is paying all the energy bills and most of the food bills. They are emptying stocks at home and not thinking of others in the house who were planning to use them.

White pasta and processed meat are not a healthy diet.

Its selfish and self absorbed behaviour and the OP is right to be concerned about it. Teens all go through periods of selfishness, it doesn’t improve by ignoring it - they live in a shared house and something teens need to learn is consideration for the people they live with.

I’m amazed the extent to which MN excuses this kind of behaviour “because boys”. We see the same on greedy husband threads where thoughtless DHs eat the food planned for that night’s dinner or the children’s snacks.

Men do not need vastly more food than women, they do not need to be selfish and self absorbed but looking at threads like this we can see why so many are.

Who are you? The food police? If they are hungry they are hungry and entitled to eat.

They buy most of the food they cook though.

I understand the frustration of being ignored, but I also think you request is unreasonable. Teen boys eat a lot, that's a fact, and a lot of people wouldn't eat cold meals - particularly in winter.
Beyond the processed meat it doesn't look like it's particularly unhealthy, and they are being very independent so you need acknowledge that.

There are other solutions than just the blanket ban you want to impose. Working with them to find a compromise seems like better option. Some ideas:

• someone suggested a air fryer
• pasta and porridge can be cooked in batches, kept in the fridge for 2-3 days, and microwaved
• generally look into batch cooking with them, so they can prep food and reheat
• work with the to agree a set of meals that are ok, things that won't require long cooking, and what's not ok
• if they are cooking everyday then why are you cooking as well? They should be helping making dinner for everyone. Generally they shouldn't all cook their own meals separately but join efforts

If you have a smart meter, can they track energy consumption for the day? You could agree on a threshold where they have to be mindful.
Is there any other area they could make an effort to compensate? E.g. if they play video games or anything other activity using energy?

Well they know that and are choosing to eat them. They will buy them themselves if you don't provide it so you're just throwing money away on food they won't eat, and then begrudging them the... I still don't understand... the fridge space? The hob? The dishwasher?

I would genuinely step waaaay back from this before you damage your relationship over nothing.

This - my teens use it, not only does it cook at less that 20-25% of the energy usage, but it’s quick and easy for them to clean up.

I’d be surprised if it is only cooking adding to the costs though - at that age I am guess xboxes, computers, charging devices is more significant. Perhaps look into ensuring they are powering down when leaving the house/not using them. Swap light bulbs for LED and other lower energy alternatives?

I agree with you OP. They are living like they're at uni already, and allowed to graze and eat round the clock. If they have had family dinner, there is no reason to be cooking food again. A snack can be something easy to hand.

I think a lot depends on whether you are really on the breadline to the point that cooking a pan of pasta will push you over the edge or not. If this is really about money, I think your adult dc probably needs to move out so you can save money to feed your younger dc, and yes, they will have to accept food is only used for the earmarked meals.

But, you posts sound a bit like you feel this is more a matter of principle. I don't think it's unreasonable for people to cook when they are hungry in their own home, especially the 19yo who is paying rent. I don't believe it takes an hour to cook pasta or sausages. I think you should maybe try to stop enforcing your preferences on them.

Why not ask them to cook the evening meal, maybe in turns during the week?
It might be that you dont make enough and if they are tasked with it, they can adjust the content and amount accordingly and it might reduce the amount of snacking later in the evening.

As a woman it can be hard to understand just how much teenagers (especially tall boys) need to eat (I say this as a mother of an 18 and 21 year old).

I think its great they all cook properly. Just try to find a middle ground where you can all co exist in the same house/kitchen,

You are being utterly awful. Your teenage sons are hungry, they like cooking, they are buying most of their own ingredients... Stop being such a total misery and enjoy the fact that your kids are doing something for themselves. Have a protein brownie!! What I wouldn't give for my teenager to be able to do this.

You need to give your head a wobble OP. Quite honestly if this is the biggest problem you have in your life you're very lucky. But someone eating your oats is not hurtful.