Guest says I starved her <shock>

[stringsoup]

Had a relative to stay for a few days, she just wanted to eat all time which we did not expect. I had cooked and baked which she ate (way more than us) then she said she wanted to get up in the night as she was so hungry!

Is she overweight OP? Perhaps she’s used to eating stacks of food.

I doubt that everything was available every day, how many people would eat porridge and granola? And just eggs? How we're they done? What were they served with, how many eggs per person? There's a massive difference between say 1 egg boiled with 1 slice of toast and a 4 egg omelete.

The menu sounds fine but it could still be down to quantities

Geez, I have a healthy appetite and am 5'10" and lift heavy so need a lot of protein and what you posted is plenty of food for an average adult.

I think she is just being incredibly rude. If she wants more than that she can go out to the shop and buy it. Good grief.

As a host, I would have provided fuller breakfast options of something egg based, toast, some bacon, yoghurt with toppings, a fruit bowl to help self from porridge option and fruit juices/ smoothies in the fridge.

For lunch soup is fine but I would have offered plenty of nice bread on the side and cheese, or a toastie, plus fruit/ yoghurt for snacks after.
Alternatively a quiche and couple of salads (one pasta or rice based) as a main.

Mid afternoon cake/ scone/ crumpet

Dinner: meat and two veg but plenty of potato side options and a dessert / fruit/ cheese and biscuits.

I’d hate my guests to be hungry and the best thing about hosting is the leftovers 😂

Sounds like you have a very small appetite OP but do consider others don’t necessarily.

What does that mean in practise

A guest may not feel comfortable just rifling through cupboards and helping themselves to the fridge

it is your job as hosting to offer

A bird's menu.

I would need twice as much as that. I would be particularly starving around 1pm it seems.

But I'd have ordered a subway on uber eats and offered you some.

Was it the timings, maybe? Projecting slightly, but my MIL was always in a race to get all feeding work out of the way as early as possible, to get her kitchen back to its pristine condition. You'd spend the hours between 12 and 5 feeling stuffed, with stomach growling by bedtime because you just weren't ready to eat enough at teatime to keep you going until breakfast. Your update suggests your schedule is more conventional, but perhaps your cousin eats to a different pattern.

MN: "I need three full sized pizzas every 30 mins otherwise I am literally starving and become skeletal"

All of these things were provided

And you have to offer

not just say “help yourself”

I wouldn’t “help myself” as a guest

pretty much all of this was provided

I'd starve with just this. With guests I always make hearty. Always leave leftovers in portions too so they can grab.

Also people used to eating more fibre and protein wouldn't feel filled by mostly carbs.

My kids would need a more filling breakfast or they'd be asking for another meal around brunch, a soup is classified a starter here, dinner seems okay but then supper is needed just toast would have them up the walls later, would need eggs, loads of veg chopped up as extra plus salad. That's children. Maybe she's used to more fibre and protein? Biscuits are also a snack here like between meals but then also loads of fruit.

Soup and cereal are not full meals

I wouldn't formally provide anything near that for any guests I had. I would never serve snacks between meals, it's not really a "thing" at my house, but would have cheeses, rolls, crackers etc, protein bars, and fruit available for them to help themselves if they like. The meals sound perfectly fine, especially if they can help themselves.

Thats a completely normal amount of food. No wonder half the country is obese. (Not saying you are).

That’s loads of food OP so don’t worry. I’m tall and a little overweight and even I don’t eat all that. She wasn’t actually starving was she? 🤷‍♀️

Totally depends on the portion sizes on what you offered. Older generation sometimes live on very small meals, a slice of toast breakfast, soup lunch and small evening meal. I don’t find soup filling for lunch unless it has bread rolls/ sandwich. Again evening meal did you make just enough for 1 portion or was there enough for a bigger appetite. I wouldn’t feel comfortable raiding a hosts fridge either. It sounds like instead of suggesting she bought her own extra food things she liked snacks puddings etc, you were rigid with the meals and expecting her to fit in.

Then I think for reasons unknown, your cousin may be trying to make you feel bad. Because the menu you listed plus unlimited access to additional food meets no one's definition of starving, regardless of appetite.

If guest was rude enough to say they were ‘starving’ hopefully they would be rude enough to say they didn’t like what you were serving which seems more likely!
There’s not nearly enough fruit, veg, salad or protein in that menu and it’s far too carb and dairy heavy for me but as per PPs I’d have popped out and got what I wanted quietly, not been passive and whinged after the fact

Soup with cheese, bread and cold meat is absolutely a full meal.

Porridge and granola are cereals.

Anyway OP, given your later updates, I would say you provided plenty of food, assuming you didn't only serve a teaspoonful of each.

She was very rude, and talking complete bollocks.

Blimey, that’s plenty of food. And your a relative with family to stay, not running a hotel.

Anyone who would find that not enough food needs to take a good long look at what the fuck they’re eating.

How old is this cousin and what size are they? (Height and size)
it’s possible they have a higher metabolism or they are much larger than you so need more calories. Or perhaps more protein.

in any case I think it very rude for her to have said this based on what you say she ate. However I would either not invite them to stay again or I would go overboard with offering cheese and other snacks thro the day!

Of course soup and bread is a meal (unless it's a thin broth or consommé, I suppose).

How rude to bring it up! Some people are greedy or over eat.