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HOW do I keep food in the house....RANT
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 318279" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>The only other thing I can suggest, is (for a short while, anyway) have a food-free home. Do a deal with a neighbour to cook food there, store it there and only bring home the correct portions for everybody's meal. Any leftovers, you store in your own fridge and expect them to get eaten. Yes, it puts everyone on the same restrictions, but until he learns that food (and other people) needs to be treated with respect, you have to use harsh methods.</p><p></p><p>I used to buy snacks and other foods for various purposes - muesli bars for school lunch boxes, single serve ice creams for dessert (because if I bought a carton of ice cream they would take far too much and it would be gone too fast). There were rules - one per person per day - but when they vanished too fast, I would refuse to buy more. This was penalising the kids who didn't cheat, so I refused to buy ANY of this stuff so everybody missed out (including parents).</p><p></p><p>Also when difficult child 3 was an the strict elimination diet, again I stopped buying any processed food that was off the list. We all had to cut back.</p><p></p><p>I found that the best defence against people pigging out on the household food storage, is to not keep any food in the house other than raw materials. Keep it very simple. And spare supplies, keep elsewhere (in the neighbour's beer fridge and don't tell difficult child - let him think you're begging for food from the neighbours and the favours will need to be repaid). If you only have raw meat in the house (until you cook it) then how can he pig out? Or would he cook it himself?</p><p></p><p>If difficult child wants more food, he will have to buy it himself AND be responsible about how he uses food.</p><p></p><p>If difficult child won't accept this, then he knows where the door is. If he says you're being ridiculous, point out that food should not be wasted, it should not be raided then abandoned. To do so is not only selfish, it is thoughtless and wasteful. Totally irresponsible and it is beggaring the family. His thoughtlessness is literally starving everyone else and desperate situations call for desperate measures.</p><p></p><p>If he had Prader-Willi Syndrome, you would need to be even more drastic. Yes, there are families that do live like this. But he does not have this as an excuse. You do not have the luxury of being able to easily afford to replace what he gorges on, so in order to ensure you don't all starve or go broke, what else can you do?</p><p></p><p>I'm an expert at what I call gourmet poverty food. I've shown my kids how I can literally create a tasty, nourishing meal out of scraps that other people would throw away. I have made great soup from a leftover chicken carcass (after we'd picked all the meat off the bones), onion skins (and that outer layer that is too tough to eat), carrot peel and a little salt. And water, of course. I then used that stock to turn a cup of arborio rice into risotto. That chicken soup was a lesson for my kids in how to make a meal out of nothing. Thing is, what I used was stuff that most people wouldn't eat. But I grew up like it was still the Depression and I was taught by a master. And now my kids (especially easy child 2/difficult child 2 at the moment) are struggling financially, they are using the same tricks.</p><p></p><p>The soup recipe above - I actually made the soup while telling the story of Stone Soup (see Jim Henson's "Storyteller" series). I did use a stone from the garden also - a chunk of marble is best, or a smooth river stone. Not granite, not sandstone or shale. The stone is purely for the story. Actually doing this, made the demonstration stick and since then, the kids have been very careful to not waste food.</p><p></p><p>You can survive (thrive) as a family with a fridge containing only raw meat, raw potatoes, raw eggs with rice, plain (all-purpose) flour and salt in the pantry. Anything extra such as pumpkin, carrot, zucchini etc is a bonus (and a healthy one). But those basics could keep you going for several weeks. Keep the freezer for ice. Nothing else. For several weeks, anyway. OK, you can freeze soup and maybe even home-made casseroles. But if he raids them - then don't store them in your home. Store them with the neighbours.</p><p></p><p>I know this is drastic, but it has to be better than going straight to leaving home (either you or him). Maybe this could push him to consider leaving. At the moment he's got it too good and is getting away with it.</p><p></p><p>And if husband whines about it - tell him the same thing. This is the last resort prior to leaving. You are that desperate. So it's time to get real, or get out.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 318279, member: 1991"] The only other thing I can suggest, is (for a short while, anyway) have a food-free home. Do a deal with a neighbour to cook food there, store it there and only bring home the correct portions for everybody's meal. Any leftovers, you store in your own fridge and expect them to get eaten. Yes, it puts everyone on the same restrictions, but until he learns that food (and other people) needs to be treated with respect, you have to use harsh methods. I used to buy snacks and other foods for various purposes - muesli bars for school lunch boxes, single serve ice creams for dessert (because if I bought a carton of ice cream they would take far too much and it would be gone too fast). There were rules - one per person per day - but when they vanished too fast, I would refuse to buy more. This was penalising the kids who didn't cheat, so I refused to buy ANY of this stuff so everybody missed out (including parents). Also when difficult child 3 was an the strict elimination diet, again I stopped buying any processed food that was off the list. We all had to cut back. I found that the best defence against people pigging out on the household food storage, is to not keep any food in the house other than raw materials. Keep it very simple. And spare supplies, keep elsewhere (in the neighbour's beer fridge and don't tell difficult child - let him think you're begging for food from the neighbours and the favours will need to be repaid). If you only have raw meat in the house (until you cook it) then how can he pig out? Or would he cook it himself? If difficult child wants more food, he will have to buy it himself AND be responsible about how he uses food. If difficult child won't accept this, then he knows where the door is. If he says you're being ridiculous, point out that food should not be wasted, it should not be raided then abandoned. To do so is not only selfish, it is thoughtless and wasteful. Totally irresponsible and it is beggaring the family. His thoughtlessness is literally starving everyone else and desperate situations call for desperate measures. If he had Prader-Willi Syndrome, you would need to be even more drastic. Yes, there are families that do live like this. But he does not have this as an excuse. You do not have the luxury of being able to easily afford to replace what he gorges on, so in order to ensure you don't all starve or go broke, what else can you do? I'm an expert at what I call gourmet poverty food. I've shown my kids how I can literally create a tasty, nourishing meal out of scraps that other people would throw away. I have made great soup from a leftover chicken carcass (after we'd picked all the meat off the bones), onion skins (and that outer layer that is too tough to eat), carrot peel and a little salt. And water, of course. I then used that stock to turn a cup of arborio rice into risotto. That chicken soup was a lesson for my kids in how to make a meal out of nothing. Thing is, what I used was stuff that most people wouldn't eat. But I grew up like it was still the Depression and I was taught by a master. And now my kids (especially easy child 2/difficult child 2 at the moment) are struggling financially, they are using the same tricks. The soup recipe above - I actually made the soup while telling the story of Stone Soup (see Jim Henson's "Storyteller" series). I did use a stone from the garden also - a chunk of marble is best, or a smooth river stone. Not granite, not sandstone or shale. The stone is purely for the story. Actually doing this, made the demonstration stick and since then, the kids have been very careful to not waste food. You can survive (thrive) as a family with a fridge containing only raw meat, raw potatoes, raw eggs with rice, plain (all-purpose) flour and salt in the pantry. Anything extra such as pumpkin, carrot, zucchini etc is a bonus (and a healthy one). But those basics could keep you going for several weeks. Keep the freezer for ice. Nothing else. For several weeks, anyway. OK, you can freeze soup and maybe even home-made casseroles. But if he raids them - then don't store them in your home. Store them with the neighbours. I know this is drastic, but it has to be better than going straight to leaving home (either you or him). Maybe this could push him to consider leaving. At the moment he's got it too good and is getting away with it. And if husband whines about it - tell him the same thing. This is the last resort prior to leaving. You are that desperate. So it's time to get real, or get out. Marg [/QUOTE]
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