Nanny eating all our food including specialist food for my diet - what do I do?

OP, if you believe that it is healthier and makes you feel better to eat organic and healthy food, do you think that maybe the whole of your family (including the nanny) might also feel better to eat that way? There's no way to give your nanny cheap food while you eat expensive stuff without looking like you just don't value her. I would imagine she would be looking for a new job quite quickly after that. If there are treat items (like expensive chocolates someone has given you for a present) that are just for you, couldn't you keep them in your bedroom? I don't think its right to flaunt the fact you can afford better things in front of your nanny, while she eats Asda Smartprice.
Remember, she's the person who you are trusting to bring up your children. A happy nanny makes for a happy child.

It looks like the op isn't coming back?

This thread also reminds me of many previous ones. I do feel sorry for the nanny.

Emma It depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you are trying to lose weight, of course, it's better to eat whole vegetables and fruits, but if you want your body to get most of the nutrients you juice.

from eating (not each)

I don't think juicing is great either (much better to eat whole fruit and vegetables) but I don't think anyone ever got fat from each too much fruit and veg and nothing else

You get fat if you eat more calories than you burn off. Doesnt matter what the food is, although not mushing up loads of fruit is better - as you know it ends up in sugar guzzling which is why juice diets never work

So juicing wastes loads of the fruit and veg. Thought so. It also apparently destroys a lot of nutrition. Teeth and cooking are good.

I just hate it when snake oil is peddled, especially to the ill.

specialsubject

We juiced, it's not like we ate 100lbs of vegetables and fruit and even if we did eat it all, as it was 90-95% vegetables and only green apples as fruit, you hardly get fat from that.

100lbs of fruit and veg? Didnt you get really fat?

I hope your boss is getting real treatment.

You said your nanny is juicing? So that maybe explains why she goes through six apples a day. I remember when my ex boss and I juiced for health reasons (she has cancer) and we went through a minimum of 100lbs of vegetables and fruit every week.

She also followed a very strict diet (alkaline diet) and while we all adjusted to the diet as well, she had some things only she ate and they were kept in a separate cupboard.

As always us nannies are not mind readers

So talk to her

You can be quite pleasant and matter of fact; "please help yourself to anything on these two shelves in the fridge. Don't take anything from the to shelf because i need it for lunch boxes / my special

Perfect

It's unfair for you to eat one thing but expect nanny and children to eat another

And why on earth doesn't your partner contribute - unless jobless but doesn't sound like it

Maybe if he did then you all could eat organic

And agree organic doesn't necessarily make you held the

An ex mb ate healthy. Only organic fruit veg meat etc. She didn't drink or smoke yet she still died of cancer :(

Yep speciality food is different especially if gluten/ lactose or whatever free.

I think the poster who said she is feeding the organic food to the kids as well would have to be right if the "special" yep snake oil regime to treat a health condition that requires an all organic diet for one adult but is too expensive for the kids or nanny hadn't been mentioned.

I did used to know somebody with endometriosis who followed a strict organic diet "for" the endometriosis which she was very vocal about (checking before eating out and sitting with a glass of water, not eating at friends unless they swore everything was organic) with all sorts of "health food" / "superfood" supplements but didn't insist on organic for her kids at school or anywhere else ... I'm not sure why she felt her food had to be organic specifically because she had endometriosis, but she didn't keep the organic food only for herself at home either, and her kids and husband ate it too just not exclusively, so it wasn't as odd that way!

OP isn't coming back is she?

If you said that you would provide food, then she is free to eat as she pleases and unless you think she is feeding her friends with your food as well you cannot stop her from eating.

You could explain to her about your health condition and ask her not to eat the foods you need for your diet (perhaps keep them in a certain cupboard so it's clearer) but then make sure you are the only one who eats them as I think it would be a horrible situation if she felt there were foods that the family was eating but banned for her (e.g. if your children or husband start eating "your" special diet foods too).

Make sure you have plenty of inexpensive but filling and healthy foods; if she is making lots of juices and salads, buy plenty of ingredients for those, looking out for what's on special offer.

I had this with our last au pair. I just sucked it up and bought more of everything, also adjusted some of the things I bought (like a PP stopped buying the really expensive honey and lemon curd and so on). She would eat ALL the cherry tomatoes in one day no matter how many I bought! So I bought ones we could afford a lot of.

Ops not actually said what it is, I guessed at gluten free to illustrate the point I was making

No which is why I think the fruit and veg should be for everyone but the 'speciality' stuff should be just for her

Stealth organic fruit and veg aren't any more gluten free than non organic though...

"I said that i would provide food at the beginning, but we keep coming home and finding all the organic fruit and veg eaten as well as speciality foods. I cant afford to provide organic and health foods for everyone"

Sorry, the original face was left off the bolded quote up there.

Organic as a medical need 

This, basically.

You know organic produce is NO DIFFERENT nutritionally to non-organic, therefore will make no difference to any medical condition? And I say this as someone who tends to buy organic.

If she's eating stuff like gluten free products and you've got diagnosed Coeliacs then, yes. It's an issue that she needs to be made aware of. But if you've diagnosed yourself with a bunch of 'illnesses' and the nanny's eating your snake oil, then I think a grip needs to be obtained.

I remember a nanny who was told buy the family that the fruit juice in the fridge and fruits were out of bound. She could drink "squash" if she was thirsty.

Sadly, I believe that the OP could be genuine.

Just because the OP has a live in nanny, it doesn't mean she has to put up with her eating to excess. Some people are just greedy. When I lived in, I was always told to 'help myself' but I didn't demolish everything in sight. If I wanted 'luxuries' I generally bought them myself.

OP I agree with previous posters. Say things on top shelf are for your specific needs and the rest is for everyone. Maybe ask her to pop a few bits she'd like on the shopping list but say you're only shopping once a week and the food has to last.

whatthe, I often subsist on bananas and chocolate in a day, I never knew my DC were in jeopardy because of it

OP, talk to the nanny. Why isn't your DP doing the childcare if he isn't contributing?

Yes I'm assuming the specialty food is gluten free or whatever and I think assuming there is an alternative also on the cupboard you leave it alone
it does also sound like she eats a lot

Just a thought, I wonder if it isn't just the nanny eating your "special food". Perhaps she is serving it up to the DCs as well as herself as she thinks it for everyone (well why wouldnt apples be for everyone!!) and the DCs are not telling her it's only for mum as they are enjoying getting the stuff they're not normally allowed. 6 apples in a day is easy enough for 1 adult and a couple of kids to eat (not sure how many DCs are involved.)

I don't think it's unreasonable - there are things that I buy for myself that I don't expect the children or my DH to eat.

It doesn't have to be difficult. Just explain what's available and be very clear about it. So there would be certain items (probably easiest to separate them out by label or shelves) that are not for consumption. But everything else is fine to eat and you are more than happy for her to help herself as and when she wishes.

We had one nanny (not live in) who would also eat us out of house and home. Entire packs of biscuits and tubs of icecream in one go. Receipts for her lunch at expensive restaurants. A pack of chicken breasts would last 1 meal and we only had one child at the time, 10 months old, and not particularly interested in food yet .

We sacked her pdq because she was an evil cow (found out she hit my baby), but that behaviour should have been a big red flag for us. We know better now.