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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not cook for my DH

43 replies

Witsendagain · 30/04/2019 22:23

So bit of background, we are a family of 3, me, dh and 1dc. I do all of the cooking for the family, every night. I cook from scratch and we rarely have processed foods.
I'm vegetarian and have been my entire life, I also have 2 different allergies to consider.
DC is little and needs loads of carbs, easy eat food. He is also mostly vegetarian as I'm not confident cooking meat. DH is a meat eater. So there are a few dietary requirements to take into account already.
About 3 years ago during a really stressful time dh had IBS symptoms, although the diagnosis was never confirmed. It all settled down again but he moans about his digestive system constantly, if he has wind, acid reflux, or whatever he goes on for hours and hours.
The problem is he seems to change what he can/can't eat on a daily basis but expects me to just know.
In fact it's worse than that, we do the weekly shop together, he won't suggest any meals, he will see what I put in the basket and won't say anything. Every night I'll say that I'm cooking such and such if that's OK, he says yes. But when I put the food in front of him he rolls his eyes and complains about whatever he can't have or, failing that, the portion size being too big (but then complains he's not eating enough for his weight). He pushes his food round the plate and I end up scraping his half eaten meal into the bin. If I dare to get angry because I checked with him he basically says he wasn't listening to me and I should know what he can't eat.
So, first, aibu to get annoyed about this? (not the digestive problems but his refusal to help me help him so to speak). Second, aibu to tell him to buy and cook his own food? My DM told me I was BU and as he was in work all day and I was 'only' at home with the toddler it was my job to do all the household tasks and cooking for the poor dear so I think I need some impartial advice!

OP posts:
Cath2907 · 01/05/2019 09:47

My ex husband was very much like this. It was anxiety for him and at various points he was lactose intolerant, allergic to chicken, steak, any brand of crisps not walkers, peppers, garlic, onions, seafood, many vegetables (mostly anything not a potato or a carrot). He wouldn't stick to a diet plan and his requirements changed weekly. I used to throw away about 50% of everything I made for him and he lived off snack bars and crisps. I stopped cooking for him (mostly by leaving him but that was for bigger issues) and it made my life SO much easier. DD eats a lot better too without her Dad's bad example at the table!

BlackPrism · 01/05/2019 09:48

Well he either needs to make a list of what he can't eat or stfu. If he won't /can't do that then you should point out how therefore are you to bloody know!

Home77 · 01/05/2019 09:49

I tend to ask when doing the weekly online shop what he wants and get a few ideas and go from there. keep it easy though so if not eaten you haven;t gone to a fuss cooking.

interestingname · 01/05/2019 09:50

My dad was very similar - tummy would act up out of nowhere and he couldn't figure out what it was.

He was recently diagnosed with diverticulitis and now he knows what foods to avoid to avoid a flare. It's changed his life!

Ellisandra · 01/05/2019 09:53

Fuck that.
Meal plan together one day a week, then tell him to STFU.

thelastgoldeneagle · 01/05/2019 09:56

You've been putting up with this for years?? Dear God.

Take it in turns to meal plan for the week. Ask for his input. If he doesn't have any ideas, then you cook for you and ds, and dh does his own thing. He's acting like a baby. And don't go shopping with him - do internet shopping. Much nicer.

If he has anxiety rather than actual food issues, he has to deal with it. He's setting a bad example to ds apart from anything else.

Gatehouse77 · 01/05/2019 09:57

I'd menu plan. With him.

We do this is a family now but even when the kids didn't have an input DH did. Partly because he'd often cook at weekends.

Alternatively, suggest batch cooking and he can help himself from the freezer depending on his mood.

downcasteyes · 01/05/2019 09:58

He's a grown man and there is literally no way you can predict what he wants on a given day. Let him do his own cooking!

MadAboutWands · 01/05/2019 10:06

If he has some digestive issues and some foods are settling off the symptoms then he needs to go and see a nutritionist to help him pinpoint exactly what is causing an issue and how he shouod be eating.

As someone who is ‘sensitive’ to food (aka some foods make me feel crap/in pain/exhausted) I get why you want to eat certain foods and not others. But it’s not manageable to then expect people to bend over to met expectations that have never been expressed!!
If I’m uncharitable, I would say it nearly feels like he is moaning because it’s not what he fancied rather than the food being unsuitable....

EKGEMS · 01/05/2019 10:14

Your Mother's advice is straight out of the Stepford wives! Has your spouse been to a gastroenterologist for help?

TinklyLittleLaugh · 01/05/2019 10:17

Get him to make a list of what he can eat, bearing in mind if he has an IBS flare up then foods that he is usually fine with can cause a problem.

In our house DH and DS struggle with dairy. DD1 has ibs mostly triggered by anxiety, but onions are a big problem too.

Does he have a back up meal that he’s pretty much always okay with, even if it’s something like scrambled eggs?

AnnaMagnani · 01/05/2019 10:19

Has he actually gone and got a diagnosis or is this a self-diagnosis of IBS and he is randomly making connections with foods and changing his mind everyday?

Because as @interestingname says, he may have another condition such as diverticulitis and knowing this would be really important and help sort out his diet. He might be coeliac, he might have a number of other gut problems - at the moment he is just a whingebag.

He needs to go and have a proper diagnosis. And then if it turns out he does have IBS, he can see a dietitian for proper advice on FODMAPS, not just wind you up.

Damntheman · 01/05/2019 10:44

If he cannot be considerate, helpful and polite about your meals then he can make his own. Don't put up with this nonsense! It's rude AF.

formerbabe · 01/05/2019 10:46

Yanbu. The thing is you are willing to cook for him ..it's him who is being difficult.

mbosnz · 01/05/2019 11:04

I wouldn't be cooking for him. Not if he can't be arsed even doing me the courtesy of telling me what this week's dietary prejudices and whims are.

In our family people learn very quickly not to bitch and moan about what is on their plate. That is because the option of eating it is removed, along with the plate, and it is all binned.

Langrish · 01/05/2019 11:07

No yanbu

PregnantSea · 01/05/2019 12:12

YANBU.

Just tell him that you have no idea what he wants to eat and he never eats what you cook so he needs to come to you before food shopping day with a list of things he can eat for dinner that week. If it happens to be unsuitable for you and DC then he will need to prepare that meal himself and you'll cook for yourself that night. If he doesn't do this then he eats what you all eat or he doesn't eat. End of discussion.

Stop putting up with his ridiculous behaviour.

CheshireChat · 01/05/2019 12:46

It sounds to me like he's not sure what's causing him discomfort so he's blaming it on you.

Definitely suggest he freezes some meals for when he wants something different.

I stopped cooking for DP for a long time for a similar reason. He wasn't as bad either!

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