Close-up of a woman holding a stack of containers filled with food. Representative only.
A woman was frustrated with the current cooking situation at home with her boyfriend. She had proposed that she would meal prep throughout the week to save some money, and she didn't mind being in control of cooking during the week, as she worked less.
Unfortunately, her boyfriend refused to eat any leftovers of home-cooked food. He preferred it when they cooked something fresh every day, although he didn't have a problem with takeout leftovers. The whole situation left his girlfriend wondering if it was unreasonable to expect him to eat something that was cooked yesterday on a regular basis.
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Am I wrong for expecting my boyfriend to eat food I meal prep?
Hi , I’m 30F and my boyfriend is 34M. We’ve been together for about 5 years and have been living together for the last 2. We’ve never been a couple who cooks elaborate meals every night. Usually one of us grabs something on the way home or we order in, especially when work has been hectic.
Lately, though, we’ve been trying to save more money, so I suggested we start cooking a few times a week instead. I work shorter hours than he does and mostly work from home, so I said I was happy to handle the cooking during the week. I honestly don't mind it. My only condition was that I wanted to cook enough for multiple meals instead of standing in the kitchen every single evening.
The problem is my boyfriend apparently considers anything that isn't freshly made that same day "not worth eating." Last Sunday I made a big tray of baked chicken, potatoes and vegetables. We had dinner, and there was a ton left. I packed some away and figured we'd have it for lunch the next day. The following morning he opened the fridge, saw the containers and immediately asked what else there was.
I told him that's what we had, and he said, "I'm not eating yesterday's dinner." I genuinely thought he was joking. Apparently he's always hated leftovers because, according to him, reheated food loses its texture and "just tastes like fridge." He'd rather make a sandwich, buy lunch, or have me cook something completely different.
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I told him that's fine when we're talking about something he genuinely doesn't like, but I'm not going to start making a brand-new meal every time he gets hungry. We're trying to save money, groceries are expensive, and cooking separate meals all the time defeats the entire point.
He suggested I just make smaller portions, but that's not always realistic. Some recipes come in quantities larger than two servings, ingredients aren't sold in tiny amounts, and I'm not interested in cooking from scratch every night just so there are exactly zero leftovers.
The weird thing is that he has no problem eating the same things repeatedly when they're things like pizza, burgers, or restaurant food. It's specifically homemade food from a previous day that he refuses to touch. Last week I made a lasagna and he ended up ordering wings because he didn't want to eat the portion sitting in the fridge.
I told him I'm not going to police what he eats, but I'm also not cooking two or three times a day because he refuses to eat food that's one day old. He said I was being dramatic and that I'm acting like eating leftovers is some kind of requirement of living with me.
Maybe I'm just used to it because that's how I grew up. At my house, if there was food left from dinner, that's what you ate the next day. We weren't throwing away half a dish because someone decided it wasn't "fresh" enough anymore.
I don't expect him to eat something he hates, and I'm perfectly happy to change the meal plan if there's something he truly can't stand. But I don't think it's unreasonable to expect him to occasionally eat something we already have instead of making me cook again or spending more money.
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Cook and meal prep for yourself and let him fend for himself. Keep your finances separate as well. This is a boyfriend, not a husband.
I'm trying to find some way to defend the guy. Like, some people hate leftovers for a good reason. Perhaps they grew up poor and had to eat bad leftovers and can't get over the feeling that leftovers taste like sadness.
But solution has to be something better than having your partner cook for you or ordering take out. He could help prep ingredients that can be quickly cooked. He could buy meals ready to cook. He could find ways to re-cook the leftovers into something new.
He is 34 years old. If he doesn't know how to cook, it is time to learn.
What is a child? That’s the purpose of leftovers. If he wants freshly cooked meals each day he can get off his lazy behind and do it himself.
Why would you allow him to make you cook new stuff for him each time . You’re not his wife, you don’t need to make new food when there’s already some leftovers. If he doesn’t eat that let him figure out his meals. Your energy is wasted . Unless you share finances, you don’t got to worry if he wants to spend extra money on food
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