to not want to go on holiday with DH as he’s taking Pot Noodles?

[Astridastro]

Hear me out on this, we are off to Italy in a month, a lifelong dream of mine, I had visions of long leisurely lunches and dinners, great Italian food and wine aplenty.

Food on holiday has always been a contentious issue for DH, he believes eating out is a waste of money and would rather sit in the hotel room with a Pot Noodle (seriously). On one holiday he actually went to a supermarket and bought all these pound noodles to try. Now I’m not for blowing money on fancy gourmet dinners but I like to eat nice, good healthy food. We’ve gone all inclusive and that’s usually a great compromise.

So this time I was informing him of the Italian tradition of eating late and it being an event, courses taking a while etc etc and he’s been so annoying about it saying he wants to go to McDonalds or he’ll just have Pot Noodles. He like to eat at 12 noon for lunch and 5pm for dinner on the dot, he eats very fast too. He says he’s going for the sights not for the food.

So I’m contemplating leaving him with his sad Pot Noodle and just taking the DC put for a nice meal on my own. It’s the way he keeps going on about it to get a rise out of me.

Just to say to a previous poster, my family is Irish and my husband's is part Irish. We eat late usually - 7.30 pm would be early for us - and we do eat foreign food. I think I tried a pot noodle once and never again - it was the sort of chemical liquid swilling around that put me off for ever. The OP's husband sounds a bit tedious. I certainly wouldn't be joining him with the pot noodles.

There is also beautiful American food. I have had one of the most expensive and delicious meals of my life in New York. The food was beautifully cooked, the portions were not enormous and it wasn't oversweet. I agree though that cheap American food is not that appealing but I think you can say that about most countries.

Do you honestly think that’s all there is to eat in Italy? You need to get out more! You sound as bad as the OP’s DH!!

OP I would hate hate HATE to be with a man like this.

I came within a hair’s breadth if marrying a vegetarian. I convinced myself it didn’t matter.

Every time my husband and I enjoy a steak or roast chicken or schnitzel or slow-cooked lamb together I thank my lucky stars that I came to my senses before it was too late.

Does he expect your children to eat noodles every day?

The food is a big part of a holiday

No it isn't, to everyone. It's a bit of a waste of time sometimes, when there are places to go and things to do. (I'm not going to start eating Pot Noodles in hotel rooms, though.)

In 2009 I was in my late twenties and had recently been made redundant. I had been with a boyfriend for a year and he was also out of work. We booked a cheapo holiday to Corfu, but were both conscious of spending our savings and having no money coming in.

One day we were lounging round the pool and there was another young English couple who were chatting in the pool. They were probably early / mid 20s. The girl was saying ‘Well we’ll have the pot noodles tonight, the Gingsters pasties tomorrow and I’ve got some Muller Corners for afters. Don’t forget we have half a tube of Pringles too.’ They didn’t eat out at all!!! I was just dumbfounded that you’d come on holiday and bring food from home to eat. They weren’t even self catering apartments. whilst we weren’t rolling in it back then, we ate out every lunch and dinner.

Anyway, 15 years on me and my now DH still talk about the pot noodle couple in Corfu. At the time we took the piss out of them but I spose it was quite cute, they were only young and was probably their first holiday and just couldn’t afford to eat out.

Would your DH mind if he knew people were taking the piss out of the Neanderthal English bloke with his pot noodle? Or wouldn’t he care? I’d just be mortified. It suggests you can’t really afford to be going if you can’t pay for food. I’d be tempted to leave him at home.

@Astridastro I have actually had some fantastic meals in California and a few excellent ones in New York too - but to eat high end def isn't remotely 'reasonable'

You cannot go to Italy and not enjoy the local food. Its amazing .
Take your kids and enjoy !
Leave him and his pot noodle to it

he’ll eye up a gorgeous carbonara or something steal a bit of mine then order his own, then declare it’s amazing and he wants to come back every night!

Jeez this would boil my piss even more! So closed minded until he actually puts it in his mouth. You're a patient one OP! 🤣🤣

@Astridastro I’m an Aussie and I had worked and saved up for so long to travel to the UK & Europe. On my first day in England many light years ago, (1990?) I went for a pub lunch with friends. I was eavesdropping and absorbing the many accents with excitement. One woman was debating ordering a spaghetti bolognaise (pronounced “BoloGnaysie”) and her husband said “Oooh, I dunno Deidre… Sounds a bit forrin’ innit…”…. I knew I was really finally there.

Alternate nights?

I feel this is massive. I am a foodie. I love to eat out, especially on holiday. No way would I be with someone who wouldn't join me in doing it.

I am interested in flavours from around the world, both to taste and experiment in cooking. I collect recipe books and have files of passed down recipes. I actively plan out which new things to try out every week.

I could never, ever be with someone with no appreciation of good food.

That’s not far off the authentic Italian pronunciation of Bolognese! certainly much closer than the English “Bollonays”

He sounds miserable! That is half the point sometimes, to eat delicious local cuisine. Leave him to his sad pot noodles.

When I met the dm of my future dh, she informed me of all the foods he didn’t eat/didn’t like/made him sick (e.g. didn’t like potato soup, as had been sick with it when he was a toddler 🙄). She also informed me of all the foods he did like (e.g. fish & chips/sausage & chips/pie & chips/beans & chips/egg & chips, i.e. had to be with chips, oh and also had to have Heinz tomato sauce as well). I did say (which she wasn’t very impressed with me about) that he had better be able to make these himself, as there was no way I would be making him those things!

He was an absolute nightmare for the first few years we were together, because he didn’t know how to cook anything, not even frigging chips! If I asked him to try something new, he just said he didn’t like it, even if it had his favourite ingredients in it. When I insisted he try it, he would but a piece up to his lips, then said it was horrible and he couldn’t eat it (note, I said put a piece up to his lips, he still wouldn’t taste it).

His mother was the same, didn’t like anything new and told me she was allergic to garlic (she wasn’t…..she survived every time I put it in the food I served her).

Dh did eventually eat (and liked) the food I cooked, because he had to eat it, or starve! He did draw the line at garlic, until he came home one day and asked if I had put garlic in the previous evenings food, as one of his colleagues had said they could smell it on his breathe. 😇 I did point out that he had said how much he had enjoyed his evening meal, so I guess he mustn’t hate garlic after all!

I honestly think that the majority of those who would survive on rubbishy food (pot noodles/chips etc.) are this way, because (like my dh) they weren’t fed healthy nutritious food as a child.

@HotCrossBunplease I speak Italian. “GN” has the same “NY” sound as “Onion”. It’s pronounced “BollonNyehseh” (there is no shwa on the Apple keyboard that I can find).

What the OP says about this guy does not sound like food anxiety or neurodivergence or anything like that. She says he moans about food, then nicks bits of hers and says he likes it, after insisting he won’t! That is not food anxiety, that’s just being a bit moany and stuck-in-the-mud.

To go to Italy and eat only pot noodles is a travesty!

Their late dinners are a pain though, especially as we (my family) are used to eating at 6 and try dealing with tired and hungry kids. We usually had to look for good restaurants that opened earlier and be their first seating. Sometimes we'd have a light snack in the hotel to pad our stomachs before heading out.

Sorry for laughing at this, I'm not big on pot noodle but if you're British you can't beat home comforts so I'd probably do the same. I'd take a much loved British item of food or drink on holiday lol... probably frozen curries.

Has to eat Pot Noodles by 5pm on holiday of choice in a Mediterranean country? Then, if he’s forced to eat out, tries and likes the food you’ve ordered? Sounds like a crap date and an even worst holiday companion. Quite inconsiderate. Incredibly dull/fickle. Has he always been so set in his ways? Do his charm and wit make up for his lack of joy in food and eating together?

Enjoy the food with your DC if you can afford it and you’ve been looking forward to it. His loss.

But maybe consider the compromise of staying in a flat or house next time, so he can make the foods he likes at home when he likes to eat. You could still eat out for every meal if you wanted. Nice cafe for breakfast coffee and pastries etc.

I can't tolerate anything with sesame seed flavor's so all Chinese food is out for me. It is for this reason that I will never go to China!

Some people are a bit weird about food, and yes, it is really frustrating. However, it sounds like he is consistent about this so in this case I think you are being unreasonable to have those expectations.

Go on holiday with someone else next time/

This.
I'd just let him get on with his pot noodle and take the kids out for a meal.
Everybody happy.
(If he's not, tough shit, he either comes with or does his pot noodle or McDonalds and meets up with you later.)

Yes, leave him with his pot noodles, the saddo.

What a wet blanket.

This.

I'm Irish too, and we always eat "late", and all sorts of cuisines.

I live in the US and can confidently state that a huge amount of American food is great - even (or maybe especially) the cheap food.

There are chains that do fabulous food. Thinking of Popeyes, Steak n Shake, and Culver's from the midwest alone, and all sorts of local cheap and fantastic independent burger, hot dog, or sandwich places in most cities of any size, with regional BBQ specialties too.

I am less than ten minutes from several superb independent restaurants/ diners / burger joints where you could feed a family of six for less than $50, a bar that serves fantastic Italian food, several ethnic restaurants, superb Mexican restaurants (some chains) and lots of local pizza places, all cheap and all a million times better than Domino's.