To think £3.25 isn't cheap for a dinner every night?

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DD (18) has a Caesar salad every night for dinner, I batch cook but she doesn't like any of the stuff so I buy her the stuff for Caesar salad. It works out at £3.25 (she likes this certain fresh hot and spicy chicken that goes on it.) She thinks this is quite cheap, I did mention that she is expensive with the food shopping and she got defensive saying that she eats cheap foods and that it isn't fair to say she is expensive! AIBU to the £3.25 every night is quite a lot for dinner?

She can make that judgement when she's paying for it. Teenaged pronouncements like that are best ignored if possible. Lots of people have an 'obsession' with a certain favourite food and pass on to something else eventually. It really doesn't matter what she thinks about the cost it matters what you are willing to provide for her and your budget.

The Mumsnet 'they are 18, so adults and should buy their own meals' is so weird. The point where our DC become financially independent isn't the turn of 18. It's dependent on many factors, but age really isn't one of them.

I have one who at turning 18 had been financially independent for a year.

I have one who will be financially dependent until 19 at least.

There is no magic number.

She can make that judgement when she's paying for it. Teenaged pronouncements like that are best ignored if possible

And here we have the exact opposite view - treat them like toddlers!

I think if she wants to do her own evening meals, work out roughly what your evening meals cost per week per person - and give her that amount. Then she can do her salad and see if she can manage to make the money last a week.

if you were feeding a family on a fiver a day, your dd is taking up 2/3 of the budget, and a fiver a day is reasonable imo

Depends on your budget, we spend about £100 a week for 2 adults, don't really budget, just get what we like within reason and it sounds the sort of thing I would have if DH wasn't in one evening, so fairly average price for what it is.

No that's not a cheap dinner for one.

I'd be delighted to have a dd who was so easily pleased. It sounds horrid though but that's up to her.

Our dinner is at least £10 a night for us 3
If not a lot more to be honest when we account the fruit etc that's eaten after
Ask her to contribute
It's like £30 a week, less I think that's not expensive ..

No-one’s saying that the DD should buy her own food ‘because she’s an adult’ more that if she wants different food that is too expensive for the OPs budget that, as she is 18 and able to get a job, then one option is that she can pay for the different and more expensive food herself, which isn’t an option if she was 13 for example.

£3.25 for a meal at home isn’t ‘quite cheap’, on the contrary, it is a lot and more than it needs to be if there are budget issues, probably due to the pre-prepared chicken.

It's all very well posters saying that their family meals cost more than £3.25 ‘because they prioritise good food’ but on a family meal per portion cost basis, that really is quite expensive and above what a lot of people can afford, as it would mean a weekly cost for a family of 4 of £91 just for the evening meal, before you’ve added the cost of breakfast, lunch, snacks, cleaning products, toiletries etc etc.

From the “only likes a particular hot and spicy chicken” comment, it does sound like she’s eating packet chicken every day. So no wonder it adds up!

I agree with a PP that this girl’s reference point will be meals out.

I don’t see that much of an issue with the same meal every day is any missing nutrients are coming from other meals.

The change I’d make here, is work out what you want to budget in your total food shop for her meal, and get her to make it according to that. So she’s going to need to batch cook her own marinade hot and spicy chicken, and realise that a bottle of Caesar dressing has to last a week, not 4 days (or whatever).

Grow/get her to grow cut and come again lettuce on the windowsill, will save you a lot in salad leaf costs.

Caeser salad every night, how unhealthy is that??

Whatever it costs, I wouldn't be indulging this. When mine were that age we liked sharing a meal together, all the same thing whatever it was. It's a shame your DD won't do this.

I would find that an expensive 'treat' one off meal for someone at this house. There are 5 of us so if I paid that for every person for every meal it would totally blow the budget.

We tend to have a few cheaper meals with mince/frozen fish, then one or 2 expensive meals with salmon/steak.

I'd think it was selfish for one person to be using the lions share of the family food budget.

Pick your battles.

I wouldnt be making seperate meals. At that age I think she should be buying her own food and making it, If she didn't like our family dinners.

Not that cheap. Sainsbury basic lasagne is £3, feeds 2(but may need salad or veg). Think she should buy ingredients, a whole chicken is 4 or 5 portions, surely should be able to get it down to £2 a day including fuel to cook it.
Providing she eats a varied lunch it's ok, but she needs proper veg, salad is mostly water.

For a family of 4 that would be £12 per evening meal.

Tell her she will be malnourished.
has she always been like this?

but on a family meal per portion cost basis, that really is quite expensive and above what a lot of people can afford

that's why posters are saying that it's all relative. The OP should compare with the cost for other family members, no one else can know how £3.25 measure in her budget.

For some it's high, for others it's quite reasonable or even cheap.

I think its expensive.

I treat myself to a Gousto box once a month which works out at about £13 per meal for 4. However, I often get it to stretch into 2 meals as we often have leftovers as the portions are so big. For example they sent us 12 sausages - we only had 2 each leaving sausages for breakfast on Sunday morning. Our normal meals probably cost £5-6 for all of us unless I've decided on a big roast.

I don't mind doing the odd individual meal but to be honest I wouldn't be spending £3.25 a meal for one person on a regular basis let alone every night.

What spices are on the chicken she likes? Could she (NOT YOU) roast a whole one and marinade pieces in something similar then freeze in portions

She does not have a job, she is doing a levels right now.

Well the salad is easily £3.25.

Lettuce
Croutons
Cheese
Chicken
Caesar dressing

Thank you for the replies! Have been quite divided

Yes, she has that EVERY night. I make batch family meals, all variety and she doesn't want it, always wants the salad.

I think it's expensive especially as it's every night of the week.
It works out at 100.71 for a month (of 31 days).
I'm single and that's approximately how much I spend for the whole month for all meals and snacks etc.

At 18 I had already been living independently for a year and had to buy/eat what I could afford and there is no way I could have afforded that every night of the week.

Is she working or still at school/college? If she is already earning does she contribute towards the food bill? I would say that if she is earning and doesn't want to eat the family evening meal then she should buy, pay for and prepare the food she does want to eat.
If she isn't earning then you can't expect her to pay for her own food but she should eat what the rest of the family are eating - you shouldn't be having to fork out a lot extra every day (once or twice a week ...ok) What if everyone in the family suddenly decided they wanted a particular meal all the time and it was expensive?

Expensive for one person, yes. Equates to over £22 per work for one meal of the day. Is she leaving to go to uni in September? She’ll have a sharp shock if so.