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Lesson Info

Post Type
Social Post
Level
Level 3 / B1
Published
Title
AITA for Wanting Normal Food?
Webpage
https://eslnewsstories.com/smposts/2026-06-21-aita-for-wanting-normal-food/

In this lesson:

  • Warm-up Prediction task and general discussion questions.
  • Vocab List Useful words and meanings.
  • Reading Read the main text.
  • Comment Tone Check Read comments and identify the tone.
  • Listen and Fill Gaps Listen for missing words.
  • Main Idea Choose the overall message of the text.
  • True or False Check understanding.
  • Put Events in Order Arrange events from the story into the order they happened.
  • Multiple Choice Check understanding.
  • Words That Go Together Connect words and collocated phrases from the lesson.
  • Discussion Builder Think about how ideas relate to each other to choose connecting expressions.
  • Discussion Questions Open speaking questions for discussion (or writing practice).
  • Answers Answer key for the printed tasks.

Think Ahead: What do you think the poster is dealing with at home?

a) He is upset because his wife spends too much money on food.

b) He wants more freedom to choose his own food at home.

c) He wants to cook more meals, but his wife does not want him to.

A split-screen illustration contrasts homemade food in a tidy kitchen with a man eating fast food alone in his car.
Eating outside the home.

Ask: (1) Which foods do you eat most often? (2) Who does the cooking in your home?

VOCAB LIST

AITA (abbr.) — Short for “Am I the asshole?” It is used online when someone asks if they were wrong in a situation.
bother (v.) — To make someone feel annoyed or upset.
from scratch (phrase) — Made from basic ingredients, not bought ready-made.
hide (v.) — To keep something where other people cannot see it.
store-bought (adj.) — Bought from a store instead of made at home.
sneak (v.) — To do something secretly, often because it is not allowed.
effort (n.) — The work or energy used to do something.
ungrateful (adj.) — Not showing thanks for what someone has done.
value (n.) — A belief about what is important or right.
asshole (n.) — An offensive word for a person who behaves badly, selfishly, or unfairly.

Reading

I’m 35, and my wife is 33. We’ve been married for five years. Over the last year, she has become very serious about food. She cooks almost everything from scratch now: bread, granola, cookies, pasta sauce, and even crackers.

Her food is good. She is a good cook, and I know she puts a lot of time and effort into it. That is not the problem. The problem is that sometimes I don’t want a homemade version of everything. Sometimes I just want normal store-bought food, like frozen pizza, cereal, or snacks from the supermarket.

My wife does most of the cooking and grocery shopping, so she thinks it makes sense to do things her way. She also says she doesn’t want junk food in the house because it goes against her values. If I want unhealthy food, she says I should eat it outside.

That really bothers me. Now I feel like I am hiding food at work or eating fast food before I come home. I’m an adult, not a child sneaking candy.

When I bring this up, she says I’m being ungrateful. I do appreciate her cooking, but I also want some choice in my own home. So, am I the asshole for wanting normal food at home?

AITA for Wanting Normal Food?

Level 3 Social

Warm-up → Read & Listen → Check Understanding → Language → Use It

A split-screen illustration contrasts homemade food in a tidy kitchen with a man eating fast food alone in his car.
Eating outside the home.
Phil iLikeFries

I’m 35, and my wife is 33. We’ve been married for five years. Over the last year, she has become very serious about food. She cooks almost everything from scratch now: bread, granola, cookies, pasta sauce, and even crackers.

Her food is good. She is a good cook, and I know she puts a lot of time and effort into it. That is not the problem. The problem is that sometimes I don’t want a homemade version of everything. Sometimes I just want normal store-bought food, like frozen pizza, cereal, or snacks from the supermarket.

My wife does most of the cooking and grocery shopping, so she thinks it makes sense to do things her way. She also says she doesn’t want junk food in the house because it goes against her values. If I want unhealthy food, she says I should eat it outside.

That really bothers me. Now I feel like I am hiding food at work or eating fast food before I come home. I’m an adult, not a child sneaking candy.

When I bring this up, she says I’m being ungrateful. I do appreciate her cooking, but I also want some choice in my own home. So, am I the asshole for wanting normal food at home?

likes · 3 comments

Comment Tone Check

Comment Tone Check

Choose the tone that best matches each comment.

  • frizzybanana

    You are not wrong for wanting some choice at home. You can appreciate her cooking and still ask for a few store-bought foods.

    Supportive Critical Neutral Worried

    Supportive
  • catman

    If she does most of the cooking and shopping, you should also help more before calling your food "normal" and hers something else.

    Supportive Critical Neutral Worried

    Critical
  • shade64

    This sounds more like a values problem than a food problem. You both need a house rule that feels fair to each of you.

    Supportive Critical Neutral Worried

    Neutral

Speaker: American Male  Duration: 1:29  Watch on YouTube

Two ways to use this audio:

  • Method 1: Listen for the main idea: what is the article about in one sentence? Listen a second time for more details, then try the Understanding activities below.
  • Method 2: Read the article first to learn the vocabulary and ideas. Then look at the gap-fill sentences to see what to listen for, and listen to fill them in.

Listen and Fill Gaps

Listen to the audio on eslnewsstories.com and complete the gaps below:

I’m 35, and my wife is 33. We’ve been married for five years. Over the last year, she has become very (1) about food. She cooks almost everything from (2) now: bread, granola, cookies, pasta sauce, and even crackers.

Her food is good. She is a good cook, and I know she puts a lot of time and effort into it. That is not the problem. The problem is that sometimes I don’t want a homemade version of everything. Sometimes I just want normal store-bought food, like (3) pizza, cereal, or snacks from the supermarket.

My wife does most of the cooking and grocery shopping, so she thinks it makes sense to do things her way. She also says she doesn’t want junk food in the house because it goes against her (4) . If I want unhealthy food, she says I should eat it outside.

That really bothers me. Now I feel like I am (5) food at work or eating fast food before I come home. I’m an adult, not a child sneaking candy.

When I bring this up, she says I’m being (6) . I do appreciate her cooking, but I also want some choice in my own home. So, am I the asshole for wanting normal food at home?

Main Idea

Choose one answer, then click CHECK to see your result.

Main Idea

Choose one:

  • The poster is asking whether homemade food is healthier than store-bought food.
  • The poster wants some freedom to choose what food he eats at home without hiding it. Correct answer
  • The poster thinks his wife should stop cooking and shopping for the house.
True or False

Answer each question by selecting True or False, then click CHECK to see your results.

  • The poster says his wife became very serious about food over the last year.
    He says that over the last year, she has become very serious about food.
  • The poster says his wife is a bad cook.
    He clearly says her food is good and that she is a good cook.
  • His wife says unhealthy food should be eaten outside the house.
    She says if he wants unhealthy food, he should eat it outside.
  • The poster compares the situation to a child sneaking candy.
    He says he feels like he is hiding food and adds that he is not a child sneaking candy.

True or False

1. The poster says his wife became very serious about food over the last year. TRUEFALSE True

2. The poster says his wife is a bad cook. TRUEFALSE False

3. His wife says unhealthy food should be eaten outside the house. TRUEFALSE True

4. The poster compares the situation to a child sneaking candy. TRUEFALSE True

Put Events in Order

Put the events from the story in the correct order from first (1) to last (5):

  • The wife said she did not want junk food in the house and told him to eat it outside.
  • The poster asked if he was wrong for wanting normal food at home.
  • The poster started feeling that he still wanted some store-bought food at home.
  • The poster began hiding food at work or eating fast food before coming home.
  • Over the last year, the wife became very serious about food and started making almost everything from scratch.
  1. Over the last year, the wife became very serious about food and started making almost everything from scratch.
  2. The poster started feeling that he still wanted some store-bought food at home.
  3. The wife said she did not want junk food in the house and told him to eat it outside.
  4. The poster began hiding food at work or eating fast food before coming home.
  5. The poster asked if he was wrong for wanting normal food at home.

Multiple Choice

1. Which pair of foods does the poster say his wife makes from scratch?

   a) Frozen pizza and cereal

   b) Burgers and chips

   c) Granola and crackersCorrect

   d) Candy and supermarket snacks

2. Why does the wife not want junk food in the house?

   a) She thinks it costs too much money

   b) She wants to save space in the kitchen

   c) She says it goes against her valuesCorrect

   d) She thinks the supermarket is too far away

3. What does the poster say he does now because of this situation?

   a) He cooks all his own meals at home

   b) He hides food at work or eats fast food before coming homeCorrect

   c) He stops eating snacks completely

   d) He shops at a different supermarket every week

4. What does the poster say he wants in his own home?

   a) Some choice about what he eatsCorrect

   b) A larger kitchen for cooking

   c) More time to shop alone

   d) A separate place to eat snacks

Words That Go Together

Loading vocabulary activity...

Words That Go Together

Match each word with the words it goes with:

1. putf) time and effort into it

2. go againste) her values

3. maked) sense

4. sneakc) candy

5. beb) ungrateful

6. appreciatea) her cooking

a) her cooking

b) ungrateful

c) candy

d) sense

e) her values

f) time and effort into it

Discussion Builder

Discussion Builder

Choose the best phrase for each gap:

  1. I usually prefer homemade food some store-bought snacks are nice sometimes too.

    because / so / but / and

    I usually prefer homemade food but some store-bought snacks are nice sometimes too.

  2. The person who cooks should listen too, both people live in the home.

    and / but / because / so

    The person who cooks should listen too, because both people live in the home.

  3. , the poster doesn't sound grateful.

    Also, / For example, / Still, / To me,

    To me,, the poster doesn't sound grateful.

Discussion Questions

  1. Should couples always eat the same kinds of food at home?
  2. Do you prefer homemade food or store-bought food? Why?
  3. What foods are best when they are homemade?
  4. What does the poster mean by normal food?
  5. What advice would you give the poster?
  6. What advice would you give his wife?
  7. Should the person who cooks and shops decide what food is kept at home?
  8. What foods do you think are worth making from scratch?
  9. Have you ever eaten something secretly? Why?
  10. What are you grateful for?

Answers AITA for Wanting Normal Food? / Level 3

Think Ahead: b

Tone:

  1. Supportive
  2. Critical
  3. Neutral

Listening: (1) serious, (2) scratch, (3) frozen, (4) values, (5) hiding, (6) ungrateful

Main Idea: The poster wants some freedom to choose what food he eats at home without hiding it.

True or False:

  1. True. He says that over the last year, she has become very serious about food.
  2. False. He clearly says her food is good and that she is a good cook.
  3. True. She says if he wants unhealthy food, he should eat it outside.
  4. True. He says he feels like he is hiding food and adds that he is not a child sneaking candy.

Multiple Choice: c, c, b, a

Put Events in Order:

  1. Over the last year, the wife became very serious about food and started making almost everything from scratch.
  2. The poster started feeling that he still wanted some store-bought food at home.
  3. The wife said she did not want junk food in the house and told him to eat it outside.
  4. The poster began hiding food at work or eating fast food before coming home.
  5. The poster asked if he was wrong for wanting normal food at home.

Vocabulary:

  1. put: time and effort into it
  2. go against: her values
  3. make: sense
  1. sneak: candy
  2. be: ungrateful
  3. appreciate: her cooking

Discussion Builder:

Hints: 1) Contrast. 2) Reason. 3) Opinion.

  1. but
  2. because
  3. To me,

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