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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to starve my DH? (lighthearted)

29 replies

chelle792 · 05/12/2015 15:48

This isn't a TAAT but is a rant inspired by another thread.

DH eats close to 5000 cals a day. He's 6ft 7 and has a very physical job. He's really skinny. On the other hand, I only need to sniff food to put on a pound.

We both eat pretty unprocessed food so I guess he's healthy but he costs a bloody fortune to feed.

WIBU to either starve him or put him on rations? He breaks the bank every week. He could be like Oliver Twist Grin What are my options? Lock him in a cupboard and throw him scraps? How can I feed him more cheaply?
disclaimer - I'm not actually responsible for feeding him, he does majority of evening meals and more than half the food shop so this is all VERY lighthearted

OP posts:
olbas · 05/12/2015 15:53

Huge baked spuds with baked beans/cheese/tuna. I have one 6ft 6 DH and one still growing at 6ft 1.16 year old ds! They are both like hoovers and inhale their food Grin

StealthPolarBear · 05/12/2015 15:57

Does he like dog biscuits?

OddSocksHighHeels · 05/12/2015 16:01

Lard is pretty cheap.

ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 05/12/2015 16:11

Meals need to be bulked out by huge portions of pasta, rice, potato etc and tasty cheap sauces, with smaller helpings of expensive protein like meat and fish.

Notsoaccidentproneanymore · 05/12/2015 16:26

What about a large portion of porridge for breakfast made with blue top milk, some flaked almonds and dried fruit.

Bulk buy huge bags of pasta. Cook with some veg, stir in some garlicky cream cheese and serve with fish.

Or stews with a hunk of bread and butter?

baublesbells · 05/12/2015 16:26

Careful expat will be along soon saying she is not interested in this thread Grin

OurBlanche · 05/12/2015 16:29

Ramp up the protein base with pulses, beans, lentils rather than pasta, rice etc. It is more filling, often cheaper and usually far more calorific, weight for weight.

If you do that you would be swapping low kcal dense foods for high kcal dense foods, aiming for the healthier end of the glycemic index and filling him up on the cheap Smile

Original poster
chelle792 · 05/12/2015 16:38

oooh oddsocks I like the idea of lard Grin I could just stick a block of lard with the skewers I have hanging around in the cupboard. It'll be like candy floss!!

He's annoying because he likes protein far far too much chicken and isn't a fan of pasta/bread. I'm going to tell him tough luck Wink I try to send him with at least 2 boiled eggs every day as that's kinda cheap protein.

In all seriousness though, some really good ideas. Thankyou Smile

OP posts:
Original poster
chelle792 · 05/12/2015 16:40

Mostly it's annoying because he keeps making snacks for us both about two hours after a meal! Lovely chicken wraps with salad, mayo, etc...two each!! Shock All well and good but I CAN'T eat that as a snack!! jealous Envy

OP posts:
SaucyJack · 05/12/2015 16:44

Do you have morals about cheap meat?

You can buy frozen chickens ridiculously cheaply. I doubt they had a happy and fulfilled life though.

baublesbells · 05/12/2015 16:44

Has it become a habit for him eating like this? Does he still eat this amount when he is not working or on holiday?

OurBlanche · 05/12/2015 16:49

If he cooks then you can suggest he looks at adding pulses to reduce the fat content and cost of your meals, he may enjoy it. I know my DH, a confirmed meat eater, cooks with some pulses out of preference, he started with became obsessed with chickpeas and has branched out from there.

If he likes wraps he may adore quesadillas and they are easy to add pulses to. Chicken is easy to bulk out too, in all sorts of ways

www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/pulses.aspx
britishfood.about.com/od/britishrecipecollections/tp/10-Recipes-Using-Pulses.htm

Dixiechickonhols · 05/12/2015 17:02

I can remember reading a book as a teen where they lived with her mum as newlyweds. They cooked one normal meal for 3 then made a huge treacle pudding for the husband only to eat for dessert (character and her mum didn't like steamed pudding)

Yorkshire pud before meals like they were invented for, to fill up hungry farmworkers.

WorraLiberty · 05/12/2015 17:07

Potatoes and bread fill me up for ages, but pasta really doesn't (for long) and I don't have a particularly big appetite.

carbsfoundme · 05/12/2015 17:10

Has he had his thyroid checked? Wink

Or maybe he needs worming? Slip a tablet into his lard butty OP, he'll never know Grin

Original poster
chelle792 · 05/12/2015 17:12

saucy I don't really have the income to have morals about cheap meat Sad but often the frozen chicken seems to halve in size because of the water content they bulk it out with so I wonder whether it's a false economy.

bauble he doesn't eat so much when he's not working, no. He does struggle to maintain his weight though. These days he's sustaining his weight by topping up with sugar which is really unhealthy. If he cuts out sweets he loses weight really quickly. At 6ft 7 and only 13st, I don't think he's eating too much.

He does love chickpeas Grin always add lentils and chickpeas to a curry! yum

It's annoying that he's allergic to milk because that's a huge calorific food group cut out.

I'm going to start playing around with lentils!

OP posts:
IHaveBrilloHair · 05/12/2015 17:14

Cat litter is quite filling, or that mn staple, avocados with cashew nut butter.

bimandbam · 05/12/2015 17:17

Cheap cuts of meat like brisket and pork shoulder done in the slow cooker all day, then shredded for wraps and things are good. And prowl around the reduced section in supermarkets.

You could make a really filling stew with left over meat and some pulses I bet.

Does he like fish? Tinned pilchards are really cheap and are lovely on toast and very filling.

TendonQueen · 05/12/2015 17:17

Could he have soy milk? If so I'd get that and persuade him to have porridge instead for his nightly snack. It'll fill him up for longer. And why does he keep making you snacks too? Have you said you don't want them? Does he then hoover yours up too? Hmm

baublesbells · 05/12/2015 17:18

Morrisons do regular special offers on potatoes if you have a store near you. £2 for a sack of big potatoes

OurBlanche · 05/12/2015 17:25

Ooh, definitely try the slowcooker, if you haven't already.

You don't need an all singing all dancing one and there are a lot of blogs, sites, etc with great recipes. Plonk all the ingredients in at breakfast, eat it at tea time - no other botheration required and really cheap cuts of meat become unctious.

Leftovers become pies, hash, quesadillas, empanadas...

TheBunnyOfDoom · 05/12/2015 17:30

Porridge, jacket potatoes, big bowls of pasta, curry and rice, slow-cooked stews etc. are all really filling.

Protein fills you up as well - chicken, oily fish especially. And cheese, nuts, salami etc. as snacks.

Original poster
chelle792 · 05/12/2015 17:34

tendon i'm smiling at your post Smile he has this in built need to 'look after' people. I tend to eat a little and then pass it over to him or save it.

Soya milk is an interesting one. Apparently it has something in it that mimics oestrogen so it's not great for men. He likes hazelnut milk and almond milk. I try to keep him off almond milk as it's too low in cal and I'm not that keen on it.

I have a slow cooker. Will have to bust that one out Grin Can anyone tell me how pilchards taste? stupid question he likes fish but not 'fishy fish' so isn't keen on sardines.

I'm not sure why I'm getting so excited about providing him with food. I never cook because I work evenings! It's normally DH slaving over the stove when I get home. I might have to show him this thread

OP posts:
OurBlanche · 05/12/2015 19:03

Pilchards are sardines, the difference is meaningless, age and size. They taste the same - very fishy Smile

wannabestressfree · 05/12/2015 19:27

I have three sons and now cook.massive cheap joints on Sunday so they can make sandwiches, curries, stew etc. Seems to do the trick.
I feel your pain though they also eat at least a loaf a day and six pints of milk.