To think eyeing up people's food is beyond rude?

[ButteredRadishes]

My uncle will hoover his lunch and then stare at your plate like a hawk, and say stuff like "are you going to eat that roast potato?" Or he'll be looking at your packet of crisps and say "they look nice....". All the time eyeballs on the packet.

He actually made his 6 year old son cry at lunch on Sunday, we were out for a roast,and nephew was taking his toe , went to the loo,and whilst he was gone took his Yorkshire pudding (yes, I questioned it before he ate it and uncles response was "well, he's taking too long" and then he ate it. Nephew came back and was understandably upset.

it's fucking rude. Yes?

I hope the thieving greedy fucker chokes on his next pilfered mouthful and I hope someone stabs him in the hand with a fork when he reaches to their plate one day.

No? Some people really do struggle with it. It’s genetic. Giles Yeo at Cambridge has done some interesting research around it, if you’d like to take a look.

Good idea. He perhaps needs to know how it feels to be food-stolen from.

Better idea than ordering him a 2nd dinner as I think this stems not from hunger but from a power issue. He takes your food / encroaches to see if he can.

So, a co-ordinated 'food stealing from him' & tell him why (good if kid sees too).

He may need counselling to address his issues. Up to him if he will try.

Very hard work to be around though. My exH used to eat the kids Easter eggs if they didn't 'eat them up' in a couple of weeks or so (they often didn't - ASD).
I said that the eggs belonged to the kids - so if they went off we just bought less/ didn't buy next year. Not that they got up one day & Dad had eaten them all up.

@Tortielady I didn't know spinach was a trigger food,I've had gout before I know about the fiery pain not had an attack for years.

I had a (short lived) relationship with someone like this. We were out for dinner and about half way through I went to the loo. When I came back he'd cleaned my plate. Said he thought I'd finished!

My dad did this to me once on holiday. I was fucking furious - I’m vegetarian, and getting anything decent to eat in mainland Europe was not easy in those days. The one good meal I’d had, and when I dare to go to the loo I come back to find him smacking his lips as he polished off the last mouthful. “But I thought you’d finiiiiished!!” Don’t think, fucking ASK!

He still can’t cope if anyone is eating around him and he hasn’t got something. If you dare to eat in front of him he sort of gasps and starts saying “What you got, what you gooooott?!” It’s like he’s terrified he might miss out. If you want food, get some!

My exh had elements of this (though didn’t/ doesn’t eat vast amounts in total). But he simply could be told “that’s not for you” about certain foods. So if the kids had birthday cake or something given just to them in the fridge/ cupboards, he’d almost have to eat it - would go straight for that almost before anything else.

When we lived together pre children and I bought sandwich filling specifically to make my own sandwiches for work (There are few things I like in a sandwich so had got in things I find palatable just for this purpose) it would drive him insane, and he got upset about “your own private source of food” - no one was stopping him getting some too!

My Dad also has elements of it - always wanting to “try a bit” of what other people have - but it’s not as bad.

Oh, there's a very good reason why they always 'thought' you'd finished but never thought to just double-check first.

Your Dad reminds me of a 3yo wailing and in floods of tears because their baby sibling is being given birthday presents and they just can't understand where their presents are.

Joey doesn't share food - that's me & everyone knows it.

It's such a nasty thing to do.

Yes! It always happens when the person has nipped away for whatever reason, and can’t defend their food!

This thread has reminded me of another one from ages ago, where the OP had a 'friend' (or may have been a housemate) who would hover in the kitchen whilst she (OP) was cooking her own meal and 'just have a little taste' - constantly dipping in to the pan and scoffing almost all of the meat and the best chunks before it even made it to the table, leaving OP with pretty much a bowl of gravy for her evening meal.

Apparently, spinach doesn't cause gout, but some people who already have a diagnosis are sensitive to it and could have flare-ups, but others eat as much of it as they like without any problems.

I love spinach - my DH includes it in his veggie lasagne and it's really nice, as well as adding extra vitamins and iron. If I had problems with spinach and couldn't eat it again, I wouldn't be happy.

We have someone like this at work. We will all often take it in turns to buy some pastries to have during morning meetings etc or people will bring some bits in on their birthdays (he never does mind you). We are only a small team so we always make sure there is enough for at least one each, with the intention if someone is on a day off we will save them something for the next day. This guy can’t control himself. He’ll eat one in the morning meeting with everyone else but by the time lunch has arrived the rest have been scoffed. When you confront him about it his response is ‘they were left out, it’s fair game’ who needs or wants to eat 3 crossaints before lunch? It’s just pure greed!

We also had the local McDonald’s drop off a stack of vouchers once. There must have been about 40 sheets of them, all with 6 vouchers on each sheet. Most people took a couple to give to family/friends but there were loads left, had a day off, came in the next day and they were all gone. Just presumed someone had thrown them away as we would never had got through them all - turns out he took the rest. Must have had over 100 McDonalds vouchers that had a 3 week expiry on them, why? It’s just plain selfish and pure greed. It’s like he can’t stand the thought of someone else having a little bit extra than him.

We have to literally lock food away in the managers cupboard now to make sure the rest of the team get something.

I recall one guy tried to scoop cakes for nothing at end of day in an office fund raiser for nothing..the charity was for a children's hospice.. average salary was £63,000 + in the main office 🤮