Remember when we were talking about ingredients... JAWM

[theelfqueen]

As in there's something in the fridge intended to be a meal ingredient vs. There's something in the fridge fine for you to eat? 

Yeah DH and DS got themselves sandwiches for dinner last night, cause I was not feeling well.... there were  plenty of lovely, open, available sandwich ingredients. So what does DH do? Ignore the open packages of sliced cheddar and colby jack and open the unopened package of swiss which he knows is an ingredient for a meal he ASKED for ...argghhhh 

Its so annoying. And once when I asked DH not to do this he obnoxiously asked if every single thing he might eat was being saved "is this banana for something special? Am I allowed to eat the goldfish....." so I just get to stew on my annoyance 

[bolt.]

Some people clearly don't deserve their share of the requested-Swiss-cheese-meal or English muffin pizzas when the day comes!

[KungFuPanda]

1 hour ago, theelfqueen said:

As in there's something in the fridge intended to be a meal ingredient vs. There's something in the fridge fine for you to eat? 

Yeah DH and DS got themselves sandwiches for dinner last night, cause I was not feeling well.... there were  plenty of lovely, open, available sandwich ingredients. So what does DH do? Ignore the open packages of sliced cheddar and colby jack and open the unopened package of swiss which he knows is an ingredient for a meal he ASKED for ...argghhhh 

Its so annoying. And once when I asked DH not to do this he obnoxiously asked if every single thing he might eat was being saved "is this banana for something special? Am I allowed to eat the goldfish....." so I just get to stew on my annoyance 

Just make his dish with the wrong cheese and see how he likes it. 

[Bambam]

This has been a problem in our house too. My dd made me a "DO NOT EAT THIS" sign to put on things I don't want consumed.

But it usually isn't a problem since some people cannot find anything in the fridge. Or pantry. Or cabinets. 

[*Jessica*]

When the pandemic started and I was planning and shopping for a couple of weeks’ worth of groceries at a time I was having that problem.  I resorted to using a black sharpie to make a large X on anything I didn’t want them eating because it was an ingredient for something specific.  It worked surprisingly well and took me barely any time to do.  It doesn’t help you now, but maybe in the future?  

[*Jessica*]

6 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

Well, you know what you must do! Make him pepperoni and cheese pizzas with cinnamon and raisin crusts! 😇

Eeeeew!  That would definitely make me pay attention next time! 

[Amy in NH]

I'd use the other cheese to make his requested dish.  If it's not as good as he likes then it's his own fault; a logical consequence.

[Rosie_0801]

The only way to stop our father boredom eating our leftovers was to lay a sheet of paper over it with a skull and crossbones draw on it.

[KungFuPanda]

I have moved to a system where I label things with a sharpie and masking tape. It makes everyone’s lives easier. The leftovers in the sour cream container are clearly labeled and dated. People bug me A LOT less now. A label saying “Swiss cheese for cordon blue” Could be an easy fix to an ongoing problem. If your people are like mine, nobody ever remembers me telling them anything about food ingredients. It’s a waste of my time. 

[kbutton]

10 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

It’s only dh and me at home now. The problem we have is that we live out in the country, so I have to be careful not to run out of things. Dh drinks more milk and at a faster pace than I do. I was always finding myself stuck with no milk for cereal. Or no splurge dessert. Just gone. Scoffed up. So we really NEEDED to come up with some sort of plan. We just loosely divide up stuff and keep milk on separate shelves. Sometimes it feels ridiculous that we do this, but it actually helps. If he drinks all his milk, he can’t dip into mine. I do buy him plenty, so if he runs out early, he’s drinking a whole lotta milk. He also knows where the store is if he wants more before I go shopping again. I’m home most days, so it’s just not good to be stuck far from town with no milk or bread for lunch. 

My kids sometimes do this with special things, and I think it's a great idea. 

[katilac]

A strip of masking tape OVER THE OPENING, and no one can claim they did not see it. 

No writing means "see if there is already an open container." 

"NO!" means do not eat this.

If my dh got petty like that with me, I'd cheerfully say that YES, actually, I do need those Goldfish and that banana for a meal. And then I'd serve him a smashed banana garnished with crushed Goldfish. Because I can out petty you, son. Don't even try. 

 

[saraha]

My family learned a long time ago just to ask what can I have for a snack. Every so often someone tests this idea, and they are the ones who end up with the cinnamon raisin english muffin pizza, or the comment at dinner, "Well, we were going to have x (wonderful family favorite), but somebody decided to eat the y, so we are having vegetable soup(which is NOT a family favorite). Peer pressure can be a powerful motivator, haha. I guess it doesn't hurt my dh's manhood too much to ask before eating, even if he did "pay" for all this food.

[saraha]

19 hours ago, theelfqueen said:

As in there's something in the fridge intended to be a meal ingredient vs. There's something in the fridge fine for you to eat? 

Yeah DH and DS got themselves sandwiches for dinner last night, cause I was not feeling well.... there were  plenty of lovely, open, available sandwich ingredients. So what does DH do? Ignore the open packages of sliced cheddar and colby jack and open the unopened package of swiss which he knows is an ingredient for a meal he ASKED for ...argghhhh 

Its so annoying. And once when I asked DH not to do this he obnoxiously asked if every single thing he might eat was being saved "is this banana for something special? Am I allowed to eat the goldfish....." so I just get to stew on my annoyance 

I'm sorry that your efforts are not being appreciated. That stinks. Nobody likes over the top sarcasm.

[marbel]

18 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I have moved to a system where I label things with a sharpie and masking tape. It makes everyone’s lives easier. The leftovers in the sour cream container are clearly labeled and dated. People bug me A LOT less now. A label saying “Swiss cheese for cordon blue” Could be an easy fix to an ongoing problem. If your people are like mine, nobody ever remembers me telling them anything about food ingredients. It’s a waste of my time. 

Same. And same for me - if, say, my husband had grilled a bunch of chicken, and told me that some portion of it was to be saved for something, I'd forget by the next day, and might eat it. So labeling is really helpful.  

But in the case of OP, since the ingredient in question was specifically purchased for something he had asked for... I'd be annoyed too. 

We had a different problem this week. One person (not I) opened a can of salmon to eat in a sandwich or something, and put the rest in an unmarked container. Another person (also not I) wanted tuna; was offered salmon as a reasonable substitute but rejected it because it smelled nasty, so opened a can of tuna, and put the leftovers in an unmarked container... and both got pushed to the back of the fridge where they were forgotten till they reached the point of no return. That made me mad because if I'd known there was open tuna, I'd have eaten it. The salmon, well... 

[ktgrok]

21 hours ago, Bambam said:

it usually isn't a problem since some people cannot find anything in the fridge. Or pantry. Or cabinets. 

Yeah. 

I sometimes call myself the Fridge or Pantry sherpa - in that I'm their guide leading them through the wilderness to the secret path to food that only I can find. Sigh. 

[katilac]

2 hours ago, marbel said:

 and put the rest in an unmarked container. 

so opened a can of tuna, and put the leftovers in an unmarked container

"If you aren't going to mark the container, you might as well put it straight in the garbage and save the trouble of throwing it out and washing the container." Me, too many times to count.