CV - Fed up with relentless food monitoring

[DorsetCamping]

Anyone else fed up with the constant mental stocktake their of food supplies and thinking about what to make for next meal?

One of the drawbacks of having everyone home 24/7 (2 adults, 2 teens) is the relentless eating and raiding of food. Between DC and DH they are locusts. At least when everyone's at school/work lunch is one less meal to worry about, but now...!

I also seem to have become a control freak where I am making every meal (even lunch) for everyone because I'm terrified that their couldn't give a shit more relaxed approach means we'd have nothing left within 2 days. Have even taken to hiding bits so they can be rationed. I Hate being so controlling over food

What does everyone else do? Do you just let everyone crack on and then go without when food has run out? Do they make own lunches (or other meals) with rules about what ingredients/food they can use?

I’m in my element. I’m a frugal cook at the best of times and loving the control!

The government has said nothing about how many shopping trips per week are considered reasonable and many people have different ideas about this. I'm sure I heard Nicola Sturgeon advice 'no more than once per day.

Many people don't shop weekly, I never have and I've read that most people don't do this anymore, which is sensible as it doesn't really make sense to operate this way, especially as it leaves you most vulnerable to any supply issues.

I pass most of the supermarkets on the way home from work so just drop in for a few days worth at a time and pick up things that are on offer, most people who do a weekly shop do a top up shop anyway, so it's just two medium shops a week instead of one big one and one small one.

I shop to keep a store cupboard topped up, rather that what I expect to use in the next week. Currently, I trying to use up what we have in to reduce the number of times we have to go to the shops and to use up things that have been hanging around, so I'm generally going less and buying less than I would normally.

We’re a family of four adults, all now home during the day, and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to put a decent meal together (be it lunch or dinner) but at least my ‘children’ are old enough to realise but even so, my default is to look after my family and it’s causing me a lot of stress to not be able to do that properly.

The supermarkets and smaller shops around here haven’t yet recovered from panic buying and the essentials and anything that can be used as an alternative are still scarce. My husband went out to a few local shops yesterday (and yes, we know that’s increasing the risk) and came back saying that, unless you want Easter Eggs or beer, you’re fucked.

We aren't doing to badly, ds & I have been staying with my mum since Christmas due to me being ill, the freezer is always full as my mum has always kept it that way & due to her being over 70 we get a priority with Sainsburys for online delivery & I have been keeping my Morrison's slot once a fortnight but having it delivered to mum's. Ds & I have a once a week Amazon order for stuff like chocolate & pop, we buy it in bulk & have also bought things like tinned tomatoes & passata to keep stocks up for making soup, bolognese etc. We have been cooking things like a roast chicken on a sunday, monday we have chicken & chips, tuesday & Wednesday we have soup made with the carcass, leftover chicken & veg. Today we are having meat & potato pie which will last 2 days for main meal. We usually have toast or toasted tea cakes for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch & always have lots for snacks as mum is T2 diabetic & needs to eat regularly, ds has been treating himself to a takeaway a couple of times a week but the ones delivering is slowly dropping off now.

I feel like I'm constantly rationing atm and always worried what will happen if cannot get another online shop (we're vulnerable).

And then every few days I think it's OK, we've got enough and then panic again!

Another case of women automatically taking on the mental load as we are conditioned to do

And then getting blamed for being controlling for doing so.

I do feel fear for my family. I want there to be enough food if the rest of us succumb to the virus. I want everyone to have enough nutrients to be healthy and have our best chance of warding off the virus, since it really isn’t a nice thing to have. I very much need to have enough food so that we do not honest shops or other people until we are totally safe to do so.

I have planned out supplies to make this possible.

I have now put the meal plan, with its ingredients, on the kitchen table so that all can see how where each item fits, or if it is in the small ‘up for grabs’ category.

*Another case of women automatically taking on the mental load as we are conditioned to do

And then getting blamed for being controlling for doing so.*

^ This. DH just thinks I'm some kind of food Nazi just for being concerned over how and what we will eat should this situation worsen.

DH and I sat down today (we hadn’t been shopping for 10 days although we do have milk delivered). We did a full audit of the freezer then agreed on a list. He went and (with the exception of flour, yeast and frozen sweet corn) everything was available in Sainsbury’s....now we have another 10 days of food in. Once the treats are gone they’re gone. He did buy lots but he’s capable of controlling himself. DSs aren’t teens though but I’d expect to be able to have a conversation with them if they were. DS2 (4) managed to understand that there weren’t any bagels this morning ‘because if the virus’ .

My DH always does the food shopping. We usually go to the local greengrocer and butcher on a saturday (well he does!) We meal plan and a tesco order comes on monday. And i nip into the asda across from work when something isn't delivered/is forgotton.
We don't buy many sweets /chocolate as dh doesn't like it and I worry about the kids' teeth.They know they'll be in big trouble to snack on treats.
But dh can't get his head around buying lunch (kids usually have school dinners) so we usually run out of bread and sandwich fillers or ingrediants for meals get nibbled on (peppers/carrots)
Luckily I'm nhs so can get to the shops. I've found little shops often have lots of fruit and veg which is what I'd worry about if i had to be home for 14 days! It's hard to food plan 14 days ahead too...

Cross with BiL; he seems to be taking the lockdown as both a paid holiday and entertaining shopping challenge. Thinks it such fun to queue daily at Tesco's at 6am for whatever he can lay his hands on. His heart is in the right place but it flabbergasts me that he Keeps offering to go shopping for us, even though his GF is classed as extremely vulnerable.

He's already brought 2 loads to us this week (without me knowing but with DH's agreement) but mostly contained utter junk.I've thanked and reimbursed him but said we really can cope without his services. Just don't understand why he would put himself and GF at constant risk? Just had row with DH to stop encouraging BiL

*Anyone else fed up with the constant mental stocktake their of food supplies and thinking about what to make for next meal?

One of the drawbacks of having everyone home 24/7 (2 adults, 2 teens) is the relentless eating and raiding of food. Between DC and DH they are locusts. At least when everyone's at school/work lunch is one less meal to worry about, but now...!*

Send DH out for food. When he has to queue the novelty of eating everything in sight will lose it's gloss if he has to queue each time!

I'm trying to eke out my teabags by making 2 cups at once from 1 bag, or making 1 cup & topping it up with hot water when I'm halfway through it. I need decaff teabags for health reasons, can't get deliveries of the own-brand ones I like & a delivery turned up with the non-decaff version of the (very expensive) box of decaff bags I ordered, so that was a waste & I'm not risking it again.

Unfortunately, the first time I tried making 2 cups with one bag, my DH spotted the second one in the kitchen & promptly threw it away & put the mug in the dishwasher.

I’m definitely eating less and being more controlling about snacks - luckily DH is on the same page. But youngest dd poured away three pints of milk yesterday because she thought they were off! Now none left until the milkman (hopefully) on Monday, I’m not risking the shops unless I absolutely have to (asthma) so I’m reliant on getting a supermarket slot.

@TheLongDarkBreakfastTime What the hell did you say to that.

at the posts saying, have you just spoken to him about it? As if these blokes might just not have noticed there’s an unprecedented global pandemic which is leading to food shortages/supply issues and will immediately become reasonable if this is pointed out to them! It’s more the case that they are selfish entitled dickheads who know that there are shortages but think rationing is what happens to other people, if necessary their wife and children, as long as they get to continue troughing their way through the fridge and cupboards with abandon.

Kids and younger teens might need it pointing out to them, and benefit from a conversation. Men who behave like this don’t give a toss about anyone else.

@rayoflightboy I said that she needed to check with a grown up before throwing away milk at the moment. Usually I’m fine with her chucking the end of a pint it if it’s off, and we did go through a phase last summer where the milkman delivered milk that was off so I was chucking several at once and she saw me do it, so it was a fair enough mistake to make. Just badly timed. Fingers crossed for the delivery tomorrow!

Are you all rationing because you cant get food now or because you think that you wont be able to get food in the future?

I'm rationing/bulking out meals etc now to make sure what we have lasts as long as possible. We have two more slots booked and I am trying to make sure I get the most possible from them, and hope it'll keep us going until slots are easier to come by again.

@Escapeistheonlyoption in thus house, because DS1 has a cough, and so we cant go anywhere.
A friend has dropped a bag of bits, anc I got a fruit and veg shop to drop a mixed box plus milk and bread.
But I honestly cant ask a neighbour to give us half the bread and milk she can buy in one go, or queue for 2 hrs just to get into Tesco for us.

I’m quite enjoying it, but it’s just me and DH, plus I love a frugal food challenge.

There is an undercurrent of stress though, knowing that when I’ve used something up I might not be able to replace it. I feel for those taking care of young kids or elderlies, and especially those with allergies or eating disorders.

Are you all rationing because you cant get food now or because you think that you wont be able to get food in the future

It isn’t all about the availability in the shops. We are using our food in a managed way because

1. Because we are in isolation as a household member had the virus, so we can’t go shopping
2. For all of us, the less often we go shopping the less likely we are to pick up or transmit the virus,

We have a list of fresh food in the fridge (no freezer) and I do the cooking as it's just me and DS.

I have hidden some of DS' favourite treats as back up - but he has found them.

We are being careful - the plan is to go to the supermarket once a week.

I've seen my war films when they get stranded on a boat and some idiot eats the rations on the first day. DS has had that lecture

@Whathappenedtothelego we're a day ahead of you. I went out for the first time yesterday. It's very very strange.

We’ve had a Big Talk with DD about being less fussy. Showed her empty shelves in the supermarket, including where the baby milk goes. The empty bread, pasta & loo roll sections. She gets it. She’s still struggling as there are quite a few veg she doesn’t like, but she’s doing ok. And we have no more snacking without permission.

Next, DH & portion size... he uses far too much meat per meal. I think he’ll get a shock if they do start rationing...

A lot of these stories strike me as mindless eating. Not driven by hunger or nutritional needs. Just habit or boredom. Wouldn't this be a good time to address the problem.

No one is having to control anything here, and no one is going without.

I'm shopping differently, but I'm not buying any less (in fact slightly more as we're all at home all the time).

I'm shopping once a week. No top ups, everything gets bought in the one shop. If something isn't available, we don't go without, I just buy an alternative. We might not be able to have our favourite, but I'm still buying enough food so that we can all eat as much as we always have. If they don't have shreddies, we buy cornflakes. Or if they don't have cereal at all (not that I've seen that happen), then we buy different breakfast stuff like porridge or brioche or yoghurt. If we can't buy enough ham for sandwiches, then we also buy cheese (or pate, or corned beef, or tuna etc), and then we have a different sandwich when the ham runs out.

I can't see any reason why anyone is rationing food or going without? Just keep buying the amount you usually do, substituting for other items if something isn't available. There's food in the shops - it might not be your favourite, but there's food there available to buy.