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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not be able to feed 3 extra adults unexpectedly for lunch?

565 replies

ImFree2doasiwant · 01/04/2021 14:17

I'm single, with 2 small children. I do a weekly meal plan and shop once a week.

If 3 extra adults dropped in for lunch, I'd either be able to feed them but have to go shopping again, or not have enough food in to feed them at all.

Its not like I can't afford to, I just buy the food that we, as a family, will eat. I have a small freezer. I could probably manage dinner better.

Am I that unusual?

OP posts:
garlictwist · 02/04/2021 11:12

I don't have a freezer, only a small fridge and barely any cupboard space and also no car, so I walk to the shop about 3 times a week. I could probably rustle something up, even if just a bowl of pasta or some cheese on toast.

bumblingbovine49 · 02/04/2021 11:14

We could definitely do this but we keep a large stock of food. I could feed 20 at short notice along as it was something like a simple pasta dish or a bean/ veg chilli/ stew thing . Anything with pulses or lentils , spices,tinned tomatos and or stock or coconut milk with rice or cous cous could be made at any time for any almost any number of people

thegcatsmother · 02/04/2021 11:18

I could feed three extra without an issue, but then, I am never knowingly undercatered. I have a very well stocked cupboard, fridge and freezers, so they could have soup and cheese with very little effort on my part; toasted sandwiches, or a risi i bisi, omelettes, bacon buggies etc.

thegcatsmother · 02/04/2021 11:18

Butties not buggies!

arethereanyleftatall · 02/04/2021 11:28

'Don't you end up spending a fortune?'

This is what I don't get - you surely must spend more if you meal plan?

So, you've decided on your meal plan you're having salmon with dill and new potatoes for example on Tuesday for example. You get to the shop. None of those ingredients are on offer. Whereas I would have no plan, no list. I'd get to the shop. The asparagus looks lovely, and it's on offer. There's tuna steaks on offer. Great, I'll buy them. It's cheaper!

bumblingbovine49 · 02/04/2021 11:29

Well DS has just had a positive Covid test and we have no issues with food despite the fact that we usually shop on a Sunday so are towards the end of a weekly food shop

My friend who has Covid last month was quite ill and was unable to shop for over 3 weeks as she was so ill. She was even admitted to hospital for a couple of days

Luckily her teenagers could go to the shop after their 14 day isolation even though she was still unwell. However for the 2 weeks they were home they needed food and they weren't confident enough to ask anyone so we're about to break quarantine and go shopping when I told them I would do it for them online .

Having food in for extra days/ people is not 'hoarding' . It is sensible

coogee · 02/04/2021 11:33

I just couldn't live like that - it seems so wasteful (and I suspect you were the ones clearing the shelves at the start of the pandemic last Spring!).

I don't understand the presumption that people who keep their cupboards stocked don't meal plan and waste food. I plan meals based on what I have in stock and as stock gets used up it gets added to the list for the next shop. The only food that goes to waste in this house are the soggy lumps in the cat's food that he won't eat, although my husband has suggested adding them to a curry.

Also, there is never any need to clear supermarket shelves in a panic because I already have a good stock on my shelves at home. My pantry is 13 feet square. The nearest supermarket is a 20 mile round trip and I have got better things to do than waste time and petrol making more trips than I need to.

MyInsidesLoveFrench · 02/04/2021 11:40

Arethereanyleftatall I guess it's just a different way of doing things (that I've never come across before).

There's only been one time in recent memory when a supermarket didn't have an ingredient I needed though (a spice) but I found it in a nearby Indian shop.

I think planning meals around what's in season or on offer or fresh etc is obviously a good idea, it's just this need for a fully stocked larder "my kitchen is like a mini-supermarket" mentality that I don't understand!

SchrodingersImmigrant · 02/04/2021 11:44

Ok. Language barrier I think. When people say "larder" do they mean literally the small room with shelves usually behind kitchen ir is it more figurative and they mean that and/or cupboards?

It's easy to stock up the room larder too ovwr the time. We had one when I was younger for a while and it was always quite full of non perishables which get used regularly so they were bought on offer.
Now I have a cupboard. But large fridge because I live more on fresh food

WolfHunter · 02/04/2021 11:49

I'm very much a shopper for a rainy day. I keep my cupboards stock in case of a sudden drop in income like we did during Covid due to redundancy.

I would be able to knock up a loaf if needed, I keep bread flour and yeast in just in case we can not go out (Covid again) as we have bread flour I could probably make a few pizzas for lunch. I keep my freezer as full as I can again just in case.

I think it stems from being fairly poor growing up.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 02/04/2021 11:49

There's only been one time in recent memory when a supermarket didn't have an ingredient I needed though (a spice) but I found it in a nearby Indian shop.

Lucky! I stockpile my favourite vinegar. I have never seen it in any supermarket and even polish shops often don't have it🙄
Once I flew 8 liters in with me when I had spare space😂 Few more things I never find in normal shops, but usually (not always or I don't like the quality) in foreign shops.

arethereanyleftatall · 02/04/2021 11:57

It's not a 'need' for a mini supermarket as such, more a preference. Benefits are;

  1. Buying non perishables for larder only when on offer (thus cheaper)
  2. Buying meat for freezer only when on offer (thus cheaper)
  3. Daily choice of what to have for dinner
  4. Ability to cater for 3 unexpected adult guests
  5. Always have food in case of an unexpected pandemic
  6. No meal plan chore
  7. Ability to still shop for a particular recipe should ever the whim take me

It is interesting that we all just know what we know iyswim. In the same way you don't know anyone who shops like I do, I don't know anyone who shops like you do.

Peace43 · 02/04/2021 12:10

I could feed an army as long as they aren’t fussy what they get! I have a stuffed freezer and cupboards

SoftSheen · 02/04/2021 12:14

I think it's always a good idea to have a spare loaf of bread in the freezer, pasta in the cupboard etc. This isn't expensive or wasteful and means you can always cater for unexpected guests. Also if you have to self-isolate at short notice!

StartingGrid · 02/04/2021 12:33

Not sure if these have been suggested already but part baked petit pains or baguettes you buy off the shelf in supermarkets have a decent lifespan, you would just need the filling!

carolinesbaby · 02/04/2021 12:34

I have a pretty well stocked pantry and a tall freezer which I keep stocked by buying whatever meat etc is on offer.
I cook for 4 people, don't meal plan and rarely have leftovers, but if I have visitors turn up as I am starting to prepare a meal (my DSD treats us as a restaurant which I rather like) I can always make it stretch. Might be extra veg, potatoes or rice and a smaller portion of meat for everyone, or add lentils and more tomatoes to the bolognaise. Might be a last minute change of plan.

lynsey91 · 02/04/2021 12:55

@MyInsidesLoveFrench

Arethereanyleftatall I guess it's just a different way of doing things (that I've never come across before).

There's only been one time in recent memory when a supermarket didn't have an ingredient I needed though (a spice) but I found it in a nearby Indian shop.

I think planning meals around what's in season or on offer or fresh etc is obviously a good idea, it's just this need for a fully stocked larder "my kitchen is like a mini-supermarket" mentality that I don't understand!

Do you not see that it is sensible to have a stock of food in the house? Things like tinned tomatoes, rice, pasta, lentils, soup etc.

I have been snowed in once (did not live in a remote place), unable to get anywhere because of flooded roads once (caused by so much rain the fields got flooded and the water just poured onto the roads. I actually live at the top of a hill so never thought that would happen. Didn't have to worry about food either tine though as we always have plenty.

Last year the panic buying was obviously mainly people who didn't have food in the house buying up everything. I would have thought that would have made people see that having a stock is sensible.

Also buying things in bulk or large amounts is often cheaper. It is much cheaper for us to buy a big bag of lentils/chickpeas/rice etc than little packs. A 4 pack of tinned tomatoes is cheaper than buying 4 individually over several shops.

We buy big packs of loo roll. 18 rolls for £4.99 and they are just as good quality as the expensive brands. I can't understand why some people buy a 2 or 4 pack when they know they are something they are always going to need.

I know not everyone has masses of room but most people, if they really tried, could find room for extra items. Under the bed, on top of wardrobe, on floor of wardrobe, in the loft, on top of kitchen cupboards.

Elsielouise13 · 02/04/2021 12:58

I think we could provide random catering to thirty plus albeit they may not all get the same thing as it wouldn’t all be fresh.

lynsey91 · 02/04/2021 13:03

@BarbaraofSeville

I don't know why we're bothering lynsey. We're arguing with the people who last March told us that we caused The Great Toilet Roll Shortage of 2021 by buying a pack of 40 from Costco 3 months previous, before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19.
Yes it is like hitting your head against a brick wall!

Being prepared for any eventuality and saving money surely is sensible? Me and DH have had to isolate twice and we so glad we did not have to worry about food (or loo rolls!).

Like, I would think most people who are organised, we didn't have to go shopping when lockdown was announced. We stayed away from any shops for weeks

MyInsidesLoveFrench · 02/04/2021 13:14

I know not everyone has masses of room but most people, if they really tried, could find room for extra items. Under the bed, on top of wardrobe, in the loft, on top of kitchen cupboards.

This is almost pathological behaviour. We're not facing nuclear war...

MyInsidesLoveFrench · 02/04/2021 13:15

Meanwhile, in Africa....

babbi · 02/04/2021 13:27

@MadMadMadamMim

I would always be able to feed an awful lot of people.

But I come from a big family who are used to catering for the masses and I have always got freezer, fridge and cupboards full.

It's been quite handy over lockdown to realise that now there are only three of us at home when I make a huge meal out of habit that I can freeze half of it and we've got a meal for some point in the next couple of weeks or so.

Everybody's circumstances and habits are different though.

Exact same here @MadMadMadamMim. Since lockdown I haven’t been feeding all sorts of random unexpected visitors ( though they are welcome of course! ) And any amount between 10 and 16 guests on a Sunday . I’m only feeding 2 daily and am feeling rich 🤣🤣
stackemhigh · 02/04/2021 13:30

Some people are acting like people are hoarding food like in Extreme Couponing. Having a few store cupboard items (bought on offer) is sensible. See pics for difference.

To not be able to feed 3 extra adults unexpectedly for lunch?
To not be able to feed 3 extra adults unexpectedly for lunch?
FourWordsImMuNiTy · 02/04/2021 13:42

@MyInsidesLoveFrench

I know not everyone has masses of room but most people, if they really tried, could find room for extra items. Under the bed, on top of wardrobe, in the loft, on top of kitchen cupboards.

This is almost pathological behaviour. We're not facing nuclear war...

Buying a couple of months’ worth of loo rolls at a time because it’s cheaper that way isn’t remotely pathological. But it does mean that you have to find somewhere to store them until they’re used.
KirstenBlest · 02/04/2021 13:49

But a couple of dover soles and some part baked baguettes and freeze them. When your unexpected guests turn up you'll be able to feed 5000.