Okay, so here’s the situation. I (26F) live with my boyfriend (27M), and we both work full-time jobs. We try to meal prep on Sundays because we’re both exhausted after work during the week. I also love cooking, and last weekend I went all-out and made some amazing stuff: baked salmon, quinoa salad, roasted veggies, and a couple of homemade sauces. It took me like 4 hours.

My sister (32F) is going through a rough time — recently divorced, two kids (5 and 7), staying with our parents for now. She asked if she could swing by with the kids for a bit because she “just needed adult interaction.” I said sure, of course.

While she was here, the kids got hungry. My sister didn’t bring any snacks or food for them, and I guess she assumed I’d just feed them. When I said I didn’t really have anything kid-friendly, she opened the fridge and saw all the meal prep. She immediately said, “Oh perfect, this looks great!” and started heating up two portions of the salmon.

I stopped her and told her that was for me and my boyfriend for the week. She rolled her eyes and said, “It’s just food, and they’re just kids. You can cook more.” I told her no, that it wasn’t fair — especially since she didn’t ask. She got pissed and said I was being selfish and made the kids cry.

She ended up leaving in a huff, and now my mom is saying I could’ve just “shared a little” and that family should come first. But I don’t feel like I should be expected to give up our planned meals just because she didn’t come prepared.

Update: Thanks for all the responses — I wasn’t expecting that many people to weigh in, but it honestly helped me feel a little more sane. And for those asking: yes, the salmon was expensive. Like, $42-for-two-fillets expensive. I almost passed out when I saw the receipt, but I figured, “Hey, it’s a treat, and we’ll get a few meals out of it.” Joke’s on me, I guess.

This actually isn’t the first time something like this has happened. A few months ago, I made a big batch of soup from scratch (stock and all) and froze portions for the week. My sister came by “just to talk,” and while I was in the shower, she helped herself to two containers from the freezer because “I had so much.” She texted me after the fact, like it was no big deal.

I love my sister, I really do. But there’s a pattern here — she shows up unprepared, expects me to cover for it, and then makes me feel guilty when I set a boundary. I get that she’s stressed, but it’s starting to feel like my time, energy, and money don’t matter as long as her needs are being met.

For now, I’m taking a bit of space. And I’ve labeled everything in the fridge just in case.

(also again, for those asking, my nieces are allergic to ALOT of foods, so I wouldn’t have been able to give them anything without an epipen on standby.)