"Mom, I am hungry, but there’s nothing to eat" has to be one of the most infuriating cries one hears, especially when it is being hollered standing in front of a fridge full of SEVERAL things jostling for space.

Of course, a very close second to it is the sound of the doorbell just as you have set the table after a day of culinary experiments to tickle the gastronomic nerve of your family, and a ‘meals on wheels’ delivery person is standing there holding something extremely unhealthy (by your standards) and non-creative!

Tell me an average household that hasn’t experienced this and I will show you one run by a martinet! How does one even deal with a ‘nothing to eat despite the variety available’ syndrome? Well, sending the family on a guilt trip is one, shaming them into not being appreciative of the bounties they are blessed with. Or if you have been down that route often enough and it has lost its sting, you can crack the whip, but eliminating the choices, with a classic ‘take it or leave it’ approach.

Be warned, if the family members are ‘economically empowered’ by way of income or pocket money, and have access to that Satanic device called the cell phone, the scenario II comes into play, as they order in whatever they want. This can be especially frustrating when you have slogged to be creative in the kitchen.

Read also: Men in the kitchen

Lucky are those who have family members who are very restricted in their choice of items on the menu, even if it happens in phases. Like my brother-in-law who would bring the cook to tears as he would want only aaloo gosht, twice a day every day. Yes, it made decision-making very easy, but certainly deadened the taste buds of those forced to give him company. Or like my son who had a phase when all he would have was qeema chamach! No that was not the name of some exotic mince pie… he just wanted to have a bowl of qeema consumed with a spoon; no roti or rice… hence, qeema chamach!

And what if someone suddenly morphs into a vegetarian or vegan (OMG) or a Pescatarian? What is that? Well, one never stops learning, and I have my youngest daughter to thank for teaching me the meaning of a diet minus animal meat but ok with sea food. What about the others in the family who cannot imagine a diet without animal meat? Can you imagine the conversation around the dinner table with people of such divergent views sitting across each other?

For anyone planning the daily menu, such situations may be a part of daily life but it depends on the personality type whether the question becomes a source of stress, or entertainment as it allows a fling with creativity and variety. It also depends if the family consists of members who live to eat, or eat to live for both these categories of people have an entirely different worldview.

If you are the stress type, better prepare several options of menu and warn the family that this is it! If you are the easy-going type, lavish your creativity on those who appreciate it, like yourselves or your friends, and don’t be too hard on the family when the delivery service rings the door bell.

It would help a lot if, after a certain age, all family members are made responsible for rustling up for themselves what they fancy, instead of being ungrateful wretches! If that too is not possible, then try going into the ‘take it or leave it’ mode once in a while to bring them to heel!