To think this is a perfectly fine evening meal?

[IroningThrone]

Had porridge at about 7am this morning and have been busy all day. Have just made myself tea (see pic) and my aunt (who is staying with me for a few days) has made me feel really bad about it - apparently it's too much food and a "greedy meal"

Aibu to think it's fine as an evening meal?

It's four new potatoes, boiled and crisped in the pan with a little olive oil (not how I'd usually have them with a salad type tea, but they were still a bit hard!), two slices of cheese, a tablespoon of fat free cottage cheese/coleslaw, two slices of ham, and a bit of salad cream (plus the salad leaves)

The aunt wasn’t served it, though. That was the OP’s own dinner. The aunt had a slice of toast, presumably by her own wish.

It looks initially like a big plateful (maybe you had a smallish plate) but when you listed what was on there it's really not a big meal! The salad takes up a fair bit of space and the ham looks like very thin slices. And if you didn't have lunch I'd think you were very restrained......

But even if you'd had a monstrous takeaway - how dare she (a guest) be so rude as to comment? Ignore - and enjoy!!

Maybe if the dinner had been better the aunt would have wanted some
Mechanically recovered ham bits reformed isnt everyones bag

Doesn't matter. The aunt is a guest of the OP, she had no right whatsoever to comment.

Nothing wrong with that meal, I hope you enjoyed it, your Aunt should keep her eyes and opinions to herself if she has nothing nice to say.

Yabu because it's more of a light lunch or a snack than an evening meal, but your aunt is very rude to comment because you can eat whatever you want!

If I'd only had porridge all day I would be having something much larger and more substantial and your aunt would be having conniptions!

If you read the OP's posts, the aunt has always had issues around food.

I know a few people like this and they are mostly women of my mothers age, 70+ Pointed comments about how they "Couldnt eat all of that!" Sort of disgust mixed with envy is the best way I can describe it. My mother once said in a throwaway comment that she was envious of my eating disorder as she knows she eats far more than "she should" (her words). She is a size 12/14 75 year old. Its ingrained. To her and many many of her contemporaries, its not what it is that matters but the amount. So mash with 2 sausages and a table spoon of peas is far better "for slimming" than the ubiquitous MN massive salad with a large steak or whole pot of cottage cheese or a whole pack of ham......or indeed all three!

ETA cos I mixed up the mash and peas!

I roll ham around Longley farm full fat for lunch frequently to make cottage cheese and ham tubes- delicious!! 😋

How old is she? My parents ate less and less as they grew older. I went over fur lunch once and the salad they put out for the three of us I would have eaten on my own.
If she's weird about food you just have to ignore her (and quite rude of her to comment).

I absolutely HATE people who give an opinion on food/servings......

fuck off and tell someone who actually is interested - BLOODY RUDE!

OP! YANBU X

I thought it was just me that did this!!

I didn't serve it to her. It was my tea.

If I generally only ate what you have done in a day then I would lose weight over time. I would need more than that for an evening meal if I’d only eaten porridge for breakfast. I think you are being quite restrained!

I eat meals like this every night and I'm a size 6! If I eat any less I'd dissappear, your aunt is being stupid different people have different needs with food. Do not feel bad!!!!

Agree! Op are you on the smaller side? People seem to think it's okay when this is the case.

If anyone told me my meal (that I paid for) was a greedy portion, I'm not sure what I'd do, but they'd know I was unhappy with them. If a guest did it, I'd never invite them back again. What a stupid thing to say!

This reminds me of food I used to see at a canteen in the 90s when I worked there as a uni job. Having immigrant parents I'd never really seen a ham salad with slices of ham, boiled eggs and potatoes with a few green leaves. It's a normal portion but I do think people on this site say either they don't eat a lot or eat lots but are very slim.

Was she alive during the war? Most old people I've met think this sort of this would feed a whole family as they grew up with rationing!

perfect meal op!
a varied and delicious spread. Healthy to boot.

Also, the majority of this meal is salad. Two of the portions are invested with fairly healthy fats and decent carbs, so i would suggest this is a very healthy diet with good proportions.

That’s not normal. She’s obviously got issues. That’s a fab tea!

My mother used to wind me right up with her competitive undereating eg half a slice of toast for breakfast, but since my gastric surgery, I eat less than her! She’s told me to stop losing weight so I don’t look ‘gaunt’

She pissed off the family last year by only taking 4 slices of bread on holiday for 3 days (self catering huge house, everyone takes loads of food and then shares as preferred). Someone took a slice and she was fuming! Just so petty, she’s loaded, it’s not like she needs to stick to a budget.

The “ham” is a bit too plastic/processed for my taste but otherwise a very nice dinner. Your aunt is very rude to criticise.

I had a slice of cucumber for my dinner 4 hours ago and I am STILL FULL.

I'd love it, but from a cost perspective (presuming that your Aunt is older); there are three protein sources in one meal there ( expensive) and a heap of fried potatoes larger than your portion of veg (of which half is covered in mayonnaise).
It was rude of her to comment at all. It looks delicious. It's certainly a calorie dense meal.

My grandparents were young during the war. One of them had a father who had seen things in wartime that made him particularly strict about wasting food. None of them would have questioned that plate of food. Even if you remember rationing, there's been plenty of time to recalibrate your notion of a normal diet.