Au pair meals

[katieks]

Just asking for some opinions please.

We have a new au pair. Everything seems to be going well, but there's a slight issue about meals. In our job advert, I put that the au pair can eat meals with us and I put examples of what we eat as well (having had previous au pairs who made smoked salmon risotto for lunch, etc, when we ate our cheese sandwiches!). I put that it would be fine for au pair to cook her own meals if she preferred but that she would then be expected to buy her own food if it wasn't something that we usually ate/bought.

So to the new au pair - she is a vegan and eats organic food. We eat meat and buy almost everything from Lidl/Aldi and non-organic. She's asked whether she can give me a list of organic food things that I need to buy from the local health-type shop. I objected about buying organic things as they cost more and said she could have as much fruit and veg from normal stuff that we buy. We've never bought organic as it costs more and we buy 'standard' fruits, eg. we buy apples, oranges, bananas rather than cranberries and kiwis. She pointed out that as she didn't eat meat, what we saved with that would be equivalent to what she required spending on organic and unusual foods/fruits/nuts.

She has a point in a way, but I am worried about this becoming very expensive. It's Tuesday and we're almost through our usual weekly fruit supply because of her smoothies. I asked her to give me the list and I'd have a look at how much things were. What do others think? What would be a good compromise? I know part of the deal is free board and lodging but I did specifically list examples eg, cereal/toast for breakfast, sandwiches/noodles/soups for lunch, then typical (by UK standards) evening meals. I knew she was vegan before she started, but I figured if she wanted tofu, etc. then she would buy it herself as it wasn't something we usually ate and the role advert was clear on that. We didn't specifically discuss who would pay for non-standard (in our household) foods at interview.

Just in case - NO offence intended to anyone who might take any - I have nothing against organic/vegan/religious/atheist/etc/etc. people.

Did you know she was vegan and likes organic stuff only ?

I think eating with you as a family and buying her some extra non organic fruit and tofu is a compromise

She shouldn't have to buy her own food but if he eating habits aren't the same as your famillies you need to think what to do for the next year or how long her contract is for

We had a vegetarian AP for 10 months - not vegan and happy with non-organic, although we do buy some organic anyway.

We made sure we had more cheese and eggs and veg than normal, she bought a lot of her own stuff too though. We ate things like vegetarian chilli and vegetarian curries more often.

But specialized foods were her own responsibility.

Aldi and Lidl have good ranges of organic fruit and veg which is really not much more expensive than non-organic. Lots of nuts and seeds are now available in supermarkets.

Perhaps get her to come with you doing the food shopping this week, to see what is available here as opposed to at her own home, and to get a better idea of the quantities you need to take account of her needs. But also, it's a balance of compromises needed - you have a budget which needs to include feeding the AP and which has covered feeding previous APs, and she also has a different diet that needs some levels of accommodation by you.

What a pain. I would get a new AuPair. She sound too much hassle. We only go for I eat everything Au Pairs. We provide breakfast and evening meal which they cook for them and the children. They have input into the menu which is planned weekly so if they dislike cauliflower or something we just plan for them to make an alternative. We give our au pairs £20 a week extra to buy their own lunch and snacks. In their room they have their own fridge.

How did you get on OP? My family has been egg/dairy free for a while due to allergies, but not vegan so we are obviously okay on the protein front. But we have had a few vegan meals as a result. There's a GoodFood vegan cookbook that's good.

I would think she could do some nice stews and things relatively cheaply if willing. Do you have a slow cooker? The no sugar thing makes it difficult.

Things didn't work out. In the end the kids didn't like her at all as she was so strict and hardly ever smiled. It was ended during the trial period of the first month. Then it went terribly wrong but that is a whole other story...

In terms of food, we agreed that we paid her money and she bought her own but she still ate some of ours anyway. When I spoke to her about it she said £30/week was too little for her food (she still got her £90 pocked money) so she had to use our stuff still. That didn't make me feel any better, but as she was leaving anyway, I left it.

Next time, don't choose anyone with special dietary requirements.