That's It! Cheese Rationing In Effect!

[my*jck*luv]

We have the cheese issue too but dh is the culprit. I'll buy a 2lb package at Sam's and he will go through it in less than a week and it's only him eating it, he loves his cheddar. The snacks on the other hand, I have to hide or the kids will bug me like crazy to eat them up. It seems as though their grandma let's them have cupcakes for dinner and snacks whenever they want them so they come home expecting it here. What is grandma's response?!?!?! "Grandma's are suppose to spoil grandkids" UGH!

 

[tlens]

Teenage boys eat alot. As long as they're not overweight, be glad they're choosing something relatively healthy. Cut out something else in the food budget and buy more cheese.

 

[In a hurry]

Teenage boys eat alot. As long as they're not overweight, be glad they're choosing something relatively healthy. Cut out something else in the food budget and buy more cheese.

But there is also no harm in saying "no." And having the child respect that. There were other options.

 

[Fizzgig]

Haven't you ever seen those 150-lb babies on Maury???? Those toddlers who can eat a whole pizza themselves do grow up, you know . . . .

Not in my experience... It's the skinny scrawny kids who plow through so much food.

Growing up, my 2 siblings were like locusts. My grandmother just couldn't figure out how they could decimate so much food. Bear in mind when I was growing up, no food with sugar in the first 8 ingredients was allowed in the house. Policy changed with them.

What's even worse, the lowest pantry shelf was so low the DOG even tried to scarf down food! Mom caught him choking on a wrapped Twinkies; she finally got the packaging out of his throat (Twinkie went down of course) and he lunged for another Twinkie! Dog ->

 

[Daydreamer64]

I grew up in a house where food was not taken unless asked for, in case it was planned for a meal. I married into my DH family These people eat everything that isn't nailed down!

I don't understand, and I am always aggravated with my DH. His attitude is if it's in the house, I will eat it if I want to do so.

I'm like, look, I sat down, inventoried our kitchen and then made out the two week shopping list. When you eat it all up, I don't have what I need for meals.

He has now spread this attitude to our teen boys, everyone knows that growing teen boys will even eat the nailed down food! They always say, " But I asked Dad, and he said sure, eat it, we can always buy more--NOT, once I spend the money, uh, duh, it's gone until next payday.

Yes, OK, right, where is so and so?, I need it for dinner. Oh Dad said we could have it.

I don't understand the lack of self control either, yet, somehow. I've raised piglets too!

I have put my foot down, hidden items, not replaced them, and gone without- nothing phases these people for Pete's sake. Eat, eat, and eat some more.

So, for those who don't understand, some of us have to hide certain things. Mine is snacks and candy. The toddler is potty training himself- 5 days and he has mastered it all. It only took a bag of M&M's- two at a time for each success!

If I hadn't hid the M&M's, they wouldn't have been available for the toddler. I use a box in the garage- it's red, just like all of the other Christmas/holiday boxes, however, IT HOLDS A GREAT SURPRISE- all the "stuff" that I need to hide.

We use the garage for storage and don't even go out there for garbage control or toys- strictly storage, so for now, I've gotten them all beat!

As far as saying NO, I do that every day, but as soon as DH is home- it all goes haywire- of course kids always go to the "YES" parent. They're not stupid, I've talked until I'm blue in the face with DH about this and he just shrugs it off. He says that he works hard so we can have the things that we want, and if it's food, then he and the boys will have it.

We've been at loggerheads over this issue for 18 years.

 

[In a hurry]

That must be hard to have to fight that! Good job with the baby!

 

[NMAmy]

Wow! I cannot believe that people lock their food away?!

I'm a bit surprised by this, as well. Neither DH nor DD eats so much that I'd start rationing the food.

However, for those that do, here's a handy hint I picked up back in the olden days when I had roommates. The vegetable bin in the fridge is a great place to hide Oreos. Just a handy tip from me to you.

 

[fiveforall]

As I prepare to go to the grocery store for the second time this week, it's funny to read other folks are experiencing what we call the "summertime eats". I have three active, healthy, thin kids who since Monday have consumed two gallons of milk, two gallons of OJ, one giant block of cheese, a dozen eggs, bag of green apples, and a jumbo box of fudge rounds in addition to regular meals. Milk and OJ are so expensive that I found myself saying, "Don't you want soda instead?" (Then I held my head in shame! )

 

[faindrops27]

I am at my wits end. Really, I'm just done with these boys.

On Saturday I bought a two pound block of cheddar cheese. Five days later I go to get some to make bread and it is GONE. $8 worth of cheese in FIVE days!

Our grocery budget does not allow for that sort of rampant consumption. They know I need the cheddar for bread. They know there are two other kinds of cheese (bought at their requests!) in the fridge. I swear I'm going to go buy another firesafe like the one I keep meds in and start locking up ingredients in the fridge!

Seriously. I had like 2 oz. That means they ate 15 oz. a piece of cheddar alone in 5 days. We also had tuna casserole (2 cups of jack) and I've seen them munching on string cheeses too. Enough with the flippin' cheese already! Have a friggin carrot!

15 oz of cheddar in five days. Hmm, you are lucky. My son. One son. Ate almost 20 oz of cheese in 3 days. Stuff like bread, cereal, fruit, milk, cheese, butter, eggs. Go, within days. I was trying to track my budget. But, it is very hard to. With a teenager in the home.

 

[kafitty]

be thankful it's cheese: i've been known to INHALE a pound of roast beef in oh...12 hours or so.

mmmmm string cheese mmmmmmmmmmmm....goes good with that roast beef!!

 

[Va-bear]

This is making me think of the time my mom came home from work and went to pop the potroast (2lb) she'd made the day before into the oven to warm up for dinner and discovered it missing. My older sister - w/ the metabolism of a newborn - had eaten the entire thing after school as a SNACK!! As my parents yelled at her all she kept saying was "I thought it was leftovers."

 

[extremesoccermom]

This is making me think of the time my mom came home from work and went to pop the potroast (2lb) she'd made the day before into the oven to warm up for dinner and discovered it missing. My older sister - w/ the metabolism of a newborn - had eaten the entire thing after school as a SNACK!! As my parents yelled at her all she kept saying was "I thought it was leftovers."

This is exactly why I have to ration and lock up extra food. I really don't see any reason why my kids should eat an entire box of cookies in the day when 3 or 4 per day should be enough. They are home from school and bored so they eat. Luckily they have amazing metabolisms but come on try a piece of fruit or stick of celery. I know that requires actually opening both the door and the drawer and may not taste quite as good but it will be much better for them.
Our food budget is $400.00 a month to feed myself (can't even look at food without gaining weight, DH (piggy), DS18(piggy) and DD13 (piggy).
Per person:
Juice is limited to one glass a day, Koolaid one pitcher a day and soda only one on Fri,Sat and sometimes Sunday or Tue (picnic).
Two bags of chips a week.
Poptarts, Granola Bars, Cereal one of each a week
Hot Pockets, Pizza Rolls, Taquitos one box each a week or 2-3 sandwiches a day.
Candy Bars, Ice Cream or Cookies one helping per day
Veggies and Fruit unlimited and usually precut ready to eat.
I don't think I am being unreasonable.

 

[JacobsMommy11002]

SWEET CHICKEN, that is hillarious!




GREAT idea! My DH loves oatmeal and just about any kind of cereal. Wish they sold boxes of cauliflower. He will not even look at the stuff. Or maybe I can find some "women's nutrition" product in a box - tell him he'll grow ovaries if he eats it and he'll back off right quick.

OMG, that is the funniest thing I have read.

 

[okeydokey]

How many boys are there? Even if it's two, that's 15 ounces each in 5 days. I actually don't think it's that much.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

In reference to locking food up, I do not lock it up, but I do take some of the snacks and place it so only I know where it is. I do not snack very often, but there is no worse feeling than knowing you bought enough for everyone and "someone" didn't share. I don't need to open the chips or cookies immediately after taking them out of the grocery bag... But I do appreciate having my goodies when I want them. Therefore, I feel NO guilt in hiding them!!

 

[htmom]

LOL this thread is great! My 39 lb six year old polished off an ENTIRE POUND of baby carrots that I had made with a roast yesterday. In two "feedings" I found out when I went to the fridge to reheat the veggies from dinner for DH.
He and DH also finished a gallon of milk and a box of cereal last week when I was away for the day and one night.
Luckily my "junk food" is pretty safe, DS can't have artificial colors so I don't really worry and during the summer I don't keep "lunch snack" stuff. (although during the school year that stuff gets put in the high cupboard so he can't get into it LOL)

 

[Wendy5055]

We have me, DH and DD6.5...and I would swear there must be someone else living there because we go through 2.5 gallons of milk per week (I only drink it in 1 cup of tea per day), one block of cheddar cheese per week and FORGET it if there is Amer. Cheese!!!!

I only buy Amer. Cheese by the 1/2 pound because it will be all gone within 2 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

This reminds me of something my sister used do, she used to get a whole bar of cheese, and then if she didn't finish it she'd throw it in her closest or under her bed, where my mom would find it weeks later while cleaning or something, which at that point they'd be all moldy and disquisting.

 

[Kim1964]

I knew I'd have trouble this summer with the kids eating more than they do during the school year, so I came up with a plan. I have 2 girls, ages 12 and 6. I told them last week that they will each have a snack food budget this summer. 12 yo gets $7/week and 6 yo gets $5/week. With this money, they can buy whatever they want, with the understanding that if they eat it all in the first couple of days, they have no snack food until the next grocery trip, which will be a minimum of one week later.

I took them to the budget grocery store today (the kind where you bring your own bags and bag your own stuff) so they'd be able to stretch their dollars as far as possible. If they can maintain some self control, they were both able to get plenty of snack food to last a week. I bought fresh fruits which they are welcome to eat, as long as they get that when we run out, I'm not going grocery shopping again until the week is up. 12 yo likes to have cereal for a snack. I told her I would buy 2 boxes of cereal for the week. She can have a bowl for breakfast that doesn't count against her snack food money. If she wants cereal for snacks, she'll have to buy her own box.

We'll see how it goes. Today they looked at it like an adventure.

 

[Daydreamer64]

"summertime eats". "Don't you want soda instead?"

In A Hurry: the baby is doing great-we ventured to the grocery store yesterday with no accidents. We let him sleep in big boy pants last night- I woke him up twice to potty- even half asleep he asked for his "handy" ( candy) Of course that meant we had to brush his teeth after his "handy" so he didn't sleep with M&M crusted teeth. Today the candy went missing so he had a piece of dried fruit for a reward, he wasn't so impressed with it and didn't ask for candy the last time he wanted it today but still stayed dry.

We stock all the salad "stuff", fruit, cut up ahead of time by me, nuts, beef jerky and raw vegis with peanut butter and ranch dressing dips that you can fill yourself up on.

They can also have up to 6 pieces of toast or 3 sands per meal of 1 can of tuna each, 1/3 cup PB to spread, and lunch meats have a limit of 2 pieces of meat per sand, for all 3 sands.

You may have one juice box per day with breakfast, I use the large boxes or they would drink the whole bottle in one afternoon and each one picks their own box of cereal for the two week time frame- make it last or it's toast every morning. They can have one 8oz glass of milk with lunch and one with dinner, one individual bag of chips per meal, and no soda or kool-aid at all. I supply 2 doz eggs and microwave sausage/bacon-1 box of 8 slices/patties per week.

Water, water, and more water, for all of your other drinking needs.

I make at least 2 to 3 burgers/ hot dogs each if that's what we are having for dinner. I make loads of casseroles (sp) and so on, for suppers. Our main dinner vegis are all kinds of beans, carrots, and corn- rice and some kind of potatos and usually fish, chicken, and some beef.

I used to cook steak, chops, fried chicken, and ham, but I can't afford for them to fill up on meat any more.

So, I shop for two weeks at a time- when it's gone, it's now gone except for the baby and I as he has to eat and can't serve himself yet and I won't go hungry because Dh and the boys ate all the food over one weekend!

The cost is more for juice boxes and individual small bags of chips but I can control how much they eat this way- until DH is home for the weekend- he works 2 jobs and is gone from the house from 5am until 11pm, DH is off Sat/Sun so it's the weekends that they gorge !

I hit the day old bread store and freeze extra loafs and Aldi's is good for milk prices at this time. I hit the farmer's market for the fruits and vegis.

I'm glad that I only have 2 teen bottomless pits for now.