Meal prepping has become an essential part of healthy living for many.
All the experts seem to go on about how knowing your daily food menu ahead of time saves money and health.
However, this type of planning can be difficult in a relationship.
Not everyone may enjoy each day’s options.
And that can cause some homelife friction.
Case in point…
Redditor Substantial-Rule6222 wanted to discuss their experience and get some feedback. So naturally, they came to visit the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit.
They asked:
“AITA for making the same food for the whole week and refusing to change it up?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“I live with my boyfriend and I have been meal-prepping.”
“It has been wonderful.”
“I learned I am fine eating the same thing in a week and it actually saves me money.”
“This week I am having salads for lunch and yesterday I made a lot of spicy chicken that I will use for quesadillas and maybe nachos, until Thursday.”
“The problem is my boyfriend hates it.”
“He gets sick of eating it after one or two days.”
“He comes home from work really late also so his cooking isn’t great for it.”
“I told him the quesadilla plan and we got into an argument.”
“He called me inconsiderate for making the same meal every day.”
The OP was left to wonder:
“So AITA?”
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Many Redditors declared OP was NOT the A**hole.
“NTA. He can make his own food if he doesn’t like what you made.”
“That’s how it works.” ~ KronkLaSworda
“This. She isn’t obligated to change her meal prep to his tastes because he doesn’t like them.” ~ Heavy_Sand5228
“I feel like she is obligated to if this is a fair split of chores.”
“If he’s pulling his weight, and this is part of her pulling her weight, she needs to do a reasonable job.”
“Having the same meal every day for a week isn’t what most people would find reasonable.”
“Just like mixing white and colored clothes in hot water laundry wouldn’t be reasonable.” ~ kljbh
“Come on. What’s the dude complaining about?”
“Dude can cook his own chicken or pick up a sandwich on the way home from work if he doesn’t like your food.”
“This is his problem, no one else’s. NTA.” ~ 8inchSalvattore
“Her boyfriend could grab takeout on the way home or make a meal the night before.”
“That’s what a lot of people do who work late and don’t want to cook after they get home.”
“I don’t understand why he doesn’t do that.”
“That sounds more practical to me than expecting OP to change her meals for him.” ~ MsSibylline
“NTA – Don’t complain about the menu unless you want to make your own.”
“He is a damn adult, he can make his own food, or buy some prepared junk to supplement what you make.”
“Sometimes I make stew or curry which my wife and I may eat over the course of a week.”
“I do different supplements like different types of rice or adding different ingredients or a bit of different seasoning to change the taste.”
“Or we will break and have a frozen (chicken strips, burritos, pizza rolls, or something along those lines) one day during the week.”
“I can eat the same thing daily for ages, my wife needs breaks or a different flavor profile every so often.” ~ False-Importance-741
“He can easily do his own meal prep for his work week. NTA.” ~ Mydogsdad
“What I do for mixing things up, is to make different variations of things I use spicy chicken for.”
“You could do quesadillas, pasta casserole, and tortilla or enchilada soup.”
“Same spicy meat ingredient, very different taste.”
“I made beef street tacos last week, and used the leftover meat for a keto taco soup that was fantastic!”
“Leftovers two days in a row isn’t a very big ask.”
“Three days in a row?”
“I wouldn’t be too thrilled about that, but if someone else was doing the cooking, I would modify it if it bothered me that much.”
“I’ve got recipes for tortilla, enchilada, and taco soups that I have no problems eating it three days in a row.”
“If I make enough, I will freeze half of it so I don’t have to eat it too frequently.”
“If your special flower can’t eat the same meal in a row, he’s free to thaw something out from the freezer.” ~ Shazam1269
“I agree with this.”
“He can make his own.”
“Meal prep is the way for me, I use the little food prep dishes and make individual meals in each, so I just grab one and heat it up.”
“My son does the same.”
“You could freeze the individual meals (not salads) and if you make enough each time, they will eventually turn into a variety in your freezer.”
“If it’s something like pasta, and you want to freeze, maybe just freeze the sauce and cook the pasta to go with it when you decide to eat that again.”
“I’m just not big on frozen pasta.”
“Just tossing out ideas.”
“You are still NTA for not making a variety.”
“The frozen dinners helped me with still just cooking once a week and having a variety in the freezer to choose from.” ~ No_Mathematician2482
“This reminds me of my sister’s B[oy]F[riend] who accuses her of only cooking meals that don’t make a lot of leftovers on purpose so he can’t take any to work the next day for lunch.”
“They both work full time and had agreed to a split of the chores and cooking days but his passive-aggressive behavior makes it clear he really thinks the cooking should be 100% her responsibility.”
“The entitlement blows my mind.” ~ Sea-Ad3724
“After work isn’t the only time he can meal prep or do some planning so in my opinion him getting home late isn’t a valid justification for his lack of involvement.”
“NTA. Especially if he makes no effort to do anything about it or communicate about it until after the fact.” ~ InvisibleSoulMate
“I can happily eat the same thing every day for a week, and I also never separate my colored and whites for laundry (and have also never had an issue).”
“I must be an abomination.”
“OP you are NTA.”
“He can offer to help with cooking/meal prep if he wants.”
“He doesn’t work 24/7, so even if he works late he has earlier in the day to prep his own meals.”
“I work shift work and all evenings and I have time to make my own dinner while also prepping kids meals and all my other chores.”
“He can learn how to do this too.” ~ catharsis83
“NTA – my BF and I took some time to learn this mostly because I would feel bad I was making something he didn’t want and then would bend over backward trying to figure out something he would eat.”
“Now he mostly orders takeout salads and I cook whatever I want during the week.”
“He is super healthy and we eat really differently because our bodies are just different.”
“I have been losing a lot of weight eating pescatarian and my BF is actively trying to bulk up and needs a lot of protein but limits his carbs and starches.”
“We are both very happy eating what makes us happy, and we just time it right so we can eat together.” ~ herecomes_the_sun
“NTA. You meal-prep and cook.”
“He can choose to eat what’s available or figure it out for himself.”
“He is your BF, not your child. No time to cook?”
“Tough luck, eat what’s on the table.”
“You do what works for you, for your budget as well as your time.”
“Time (your time) is as precious as money, invest it in things that make a difference to you, and don’t waste it on placating entitled people.”
“Having said the above, I meal-prep for my 3-year-old.”
“I make certain foods (soups, pasta with fresh tomato sauce, baked salmon with steamed veggies etc) for the day and then save 3-4 portions in the freezer and 1 in the fridge so she can have the same thing 2 nights in a row and then switch it with something else.”
“Also works well when I don’t have time to cook.”
“Only the pasta I don’t freeze (takes me 10’ to make fresh), just the tomato sauce because it takes hours to make it with tomatoes from the market.”
“Again, I have a toddler and I care for her to have a balanced weekly plan.”
“You have an entitled bf who can sort out his food if he isn’t happy following your plan.” ~ Cold_Light_299792458
OP had a response…
“I’ve started freezing stuff, that is also a game changer.”
“I get those mini pans and fill them up.”
“I made homemade Mac and cheese and now I have three pans in my freezer for when I want.”
“I’m trying it wilt soup also!”
“It is so great.”
Reddit continued…
“NTA. It’s not your chore.”
“He wants to ride your coattails and then complain about how you’re doing things.”
“If he wants you to cook his meals as well and to take his preferences into account, then you should be relieved of some other household chores that he should assume responsibility for.” ~ Healthy_Meal1485
“NTA. He’s grown and can make his own food.”
“Goes back to when I was a kid, you ate what was put in front of you and if you didn’t like it you could either starve or make yourself something different and clean up after yourself.” ~ tayjenksoh8
“Dude, if you weren’t living together he’d need to figure out his food regardless of how late he gets home. “
“NTA, and don’t ever let a grown person unwilling to make their own dinner call you ‘inconsiderate’ again.” ~ vmt7
Well, OP, Reddit is with you.
Your BF is capable of cooking for himself if he wants something different.
Sounds like you’re making enough for everyone, which is considerate.
Maybe a little couple’s counseling could help.
Otherwise, keep cooking with your health in mind.