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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are a vegetarian household with an au pair who loves meat. Every week we ask her what groceries she wants and she only ever asks for meat and rice. She cooks only for herself (she doesn’t eat vegetarian food I make and doesn’t cook for my kids), and has started making these elaborate meals and smoothies using up all the fruits, veggies, lemons, etc. in the house. For weeks I’ve been getting extra fruits and veggies (and often different things from weeks prior) and she just adds more and more to her smoothies and meals. I often go to cook for the kids and I’m forced to run to the store to pick up things for meals I’ve planned because stuff I expect to be in my fridge isn’t there. We asked her to make a list of the fruits/veggies she wants so we can get stuff for her without running out of stuff for the kids (and ourselves!) but every week it’s the same ask: pork or chicken and rice. It’s getting really out of hand. Has anyone encountered this? What do I do? [/quote]

For now, add extra fruit and vegetables to the grocery list (same ones you're getting).  Set aside anything for her on a specific (labeled) shelf and post a menu on the refrigerator with an ingredient list for each family dish and amounts required for each one.  She's eating fruits and vegetables, not junk food (completely reasonable to refuse to buy or limit), so I don't think you could or should limit her access to produce.  However, she's not being considerate, so help her learn to be more proactive as well.  Make her aware of what you need for the week in order to make the family's meals and that you will provide a reasonable amount towards her meals and smoothies (smoothies use a ton of produce, so you may want to switch to frozen); if she wants specific ingredients, she needs to let you know what she wants to use before you go shopping.

It sounds to me like she may be used to making chicken or pork with rice and then just figuring out the fruit and vegetable portion of the meal from whatever is available.  She may not realize that you are buying specific amounts in order to make certain dishes from a menu you plan out ahead.  That's how I prefer to cook... it took me a while as an adult to learn to prioritize meal planning versus buying from sales and then figuring it out later.  If you ask her to give you the dish names she'll make for the week beforehand (whether she has a recipe yet or not), do you think that it will get better?[/quote]

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