Curse of the expensive puddings!

HappyIdiotTalk

MATH wrote: »

who wants to eat the same pudding four or five nights on the trot to 'use it up' ?

I would be more than happy to do that! Infact if anyone has any puddings they need eating up please just drop me a line! :rotfl:

seraphina

Does your dad know how much each one of his puddings costs you?

I would go for things that are made in little pots anyway - creme caramel (which is a doddle - just a baked egg custard), creme brulee etc. I think that some of the Gu puddings come in glass ramekins that you could reuse.

Jasminda

MATH wrote: »

and as most recipes serve 4-6 people who wants to eat the same pudding four or five nights on the trot to 'use it up' ?

Really good point (though apparently it depends on individual taste!), so far I've been making BIG puddings simply because that's what the recipes are for... so yep he obviously does get tired of them.

Thanks for all your suggestions, some great ones there, I'm going to be busy in the kitchen

Jasminda

seraphina wrote: »

Does your dad know how much each one of his puddings costs you?

TBH I'm not sure. However he sits and checks the grocery receipts with a calculator and complains about the cost of food these days, which is why I'm trying to get this sort of thing sorted! I'm not sure he's looking at the individual prices though.

To give an idea, last week's shopping included: Taste the Difference Tiramisu x 2 @ £1.95
Chocolate truffle mini cheesecakes x 2 @ £2.49
Cadbury's Trifle x 3 @ £1.58 -though I did have one of these myself!!
Custard tarts x 2 @ 59p
total cost: £6.61

PasturesNew

I can see why you don't want him buying expensive shop-bought puddings. But can you explain why?

e.g.
Why you're living together.
If you're trying to clear a debt.
Whose debt is it.
Why he doesn't seem to care/notice.

I mean, if the sole household income is his and it's your debt you're trying to clear, then it would seem unreasonable.

But if you've moved in to sort out their finances because he built up debt then he's being unreasonable if it is your income being spent.

What's the basic background to this dilemma/request. As the different scenarios would require a different approach to be taken perhaps.

You say he sits with a calculator. What he needs to see is the cumulative cost of food groups. So can you spreadsheet it, or use spendingdiary and religously group every item purchased and show him the charts? Have PrettyPies as one of the categories.

champys

Really good point (though apparently it depends on individual taste!), so far I've been making BIG puddings simply because that's what the recipes are for... so yep he obviously does get tired of them.

Exactly - that is why I am so interested in the idea of the freezable single portions in muffin tin. If i could have a few different ones like that it would be ideal. I have the same problem with my OH: I only rarely make puddings, because he needs to get his weight down, and then we eat whatever it is for a week. That is a whole week of puddings, so after that we go without for a bit. And then....... dear OH also slips the fancy desserts into the trolley 'because i never make puddings any more!'.
I already freeze single portions of cheesecake - but I am keen to learn about other options.

Jasminda

Thanks for your suggestions PasturesNew, I may well use the spreadsheet option.
At the end of the day it doesn't affect me personally if he overspends, it is simply out of concern for him and mum. I'm in my early 20s and just back from University so I'm still living with them at the moment but will probably be moving out soon. I'm paying rent and contributing a set amount to groceries on top of this (what we'd worked out that I eat, and this has been agreed upon). No one is in debt (unless you count my student loan!)
The concern is that dad retired about a year ago, and from what I'm hearing from him and mum, the food bill is higher than had been expected. It's not the only area where he seems to be having trouble sticking to the budget he set when he made the decision to retire, but it's one I felt I might be able to help with.

Fen1

You could also appeal to his vanity. "ooh, all those extra little puddings, all those calories by the end of the week. A man of your age has to be so careful... looks... diabetes.... heart disease...'

JenniO

Tell him they're made with those bad trans fatty acids and genetically modified ingredients to make them taste extra rich. Tell him to just LOOK at those ingredients and then show him the ingredients in your homemade version and ask him which he'd prefer to put in his body!

champys

I've tried that one - didn't work. I always ask OH to read out the ingredients of his bought puddings to make him realize what he is eating. He does this, and then usually says: oh, so that's not too bad then, for a bought pudding!