How do you make peace with throwing food away?

must_deflate

I usually eat the leftovers. Even if it's not a "full portion", you can eat it as a snack, or combine several "partial portions" and eat them at the same meal. My breakfasts are often leftovers from the night before.
Or, as others have said, sometimes they can go as an ingredient in another dish.

OhNoABee

camilacreme wrote: »

I have that problem! Now that I weigh everything out not so much, but I still find myself having to physically restrain myself from eating my daughter's leftovers. She might leave say half an egg on toast on her plate and I have this overwhelming NEED to eat it instead of throw it out. . .

This! I generally don't have a problem packing up the rest of my own unfinished meals. But, for some reason, whenever my daughter leaves something on her plate it is like "Game on!" I've been trying to train myself to treat her unfinished meals the same as my own, by immediately putting it in the fridge for her later use. (This happens to also solve the bedtime I'm-suddenly-starving-Mom dilemma.)

ncboiler89

I sell mine on ebay.

Azuriaz

I don't like throwing food out, either. But I'd throw it out if it had gone bad and would make me sick. Being fat makes me sick, too. Therefore, if I can't safely make leftovers out of it or find someone else who will eat it, I throw it out rather than store it on my body.

SuggaD

I still can't throw away food. Doubt I'll ever be able to. So I make sure I only fix or order what I can finish.

cmtigger

I've mentioned before that I do various things- like portion leftovers in single servings or feed leftovers to the critters (cats, chickens, guinea pigs and rabbits), but I als just remembered a habit my parents had to break me of when I was little. I'd always leave a little food on my plate to feed the garbage disposal. Someone must have told me it ate the leftover food, and being a kid, I took it to heart.

Luckily it wasn't an urging to clean my plate, but just smaller portions.

Alatariel75

I figure whether it goes in the bin or down the toilet, its still waste. Difference is, if it goes through me first, it leaves fat behind.

tomatoey

UltimateRBF wrote: »

tincanonastring wrote: »

I don't like throwing food away. I think it's wasteful and, given the massive environmental impact of food production, I generally try to avoid it all costs.

Our family pre-plans our weekly menu with an eye towards eliminating waste; dishes later in the week tend to incorporate ingredients from earlier meals. We often have meals entirely comprised of leftovers. We do a big shopping trip on weekends and then buy meat and produce fresh on the day we're eating it to avoid spoilage.

At a restaurant, my wife and I will split an entree since we're virtually guaranteed a serving size big enough for two people ('Murica). If not, we'll take leftovers home and turn it into a lunch.

At home, I weigh the food going on my plate and eat all of it. It's pre-logged, so I know the whole plate fits my calorie goal and I know I have to eat it all to reach my macros/micros.

I've found that preparation is key. A good meal plan, efficient shopping, and pre-logging have really helped us cut down on the wasted food.

Other than the fact I don't have a spouse or kids, I do all these things.
I hate waste and I have a very tight budget. What I spend on food has to be done wisely. It's ridiculous to throw out food for the sake of it, might as well stand over the garbage can and toss money into it.

I think OP is talking about like 2-3 bites or something, not half a ham.

kommodevaran

ncboiler89 wrote: »

I sell mine on ebay.

Gotta check that out. What's your user name on ebay?

callsitlikeiseeit

its just food, youre not killing kittens LOL

also, learning how to prepare/ dish up less helps

TheopolisAmbroiseIII

Start a compost patch out back. When you work in the garden and find earthworms, transplant them to the compost patch. Simple to make. Mine is actually just a pile out at the back of my property where I border with the woods. You're not putting food in a landfill, you're converting biomass to natural fertilizer. Even if you don't garden, you could just leave it there and it will enrich the soil. Or let your neighbors take it for their gardens.

I do two fold composting. As some others have mentioned, I dump all my food waste into my chicken coop. They eat it (and do a great job of cleaning ham and beef bones). When they're done with it, they deposit most of it on my lawn when roaming, but some of it in their bedding, which I change regularly and then put THAT in a compost pile out back.

The only thing my chickens dont get is chicken and onions. Chicken because, well, ew. Onions because it makes their eggs taste funny, because we eat a lot of onions and they'd subsequently get a lot of onion ends and skins.

The bones they leave scattered around first off makes people think twice about messing with me because the chicken pen looks like I've disappeared some enemies in there. But I also don't like adding them to my regular compost because they take far too long to break down (years and years). I know they're great for soil when they finally do break down, but I just put them, along with the small amount of waste the chickens don't get into my municipally collected compost bin.

Note: If you do have chickens, they love carrot peels and it makes their yolks even brighter.

scyian

I hate waste. I hate finding a load of food in the fridge gone rotten too. This is why I meal plan so I never waste food. I will pre-plan my meals for the week so I only buy what I need. Leftovers or half used ingredients go into other meals that week or I'll do a large meal that can last me 2-3 days or go in the freezer for another day. It saves me a lot of money and I almost never throw anything away.

Eating in a restaurant I'll either save the calories and have a spurge or I'll stick to just the main course.

suziecue20

In Wales where I live the local Council collects waste food from each house every week, which is then composted. Lots of other items are also collected and re-cycled eg plastic bottles, glass, tins, junk mail, paper, cardboard.

I am surprised this does not seem to happen in other countries/places.

mbaker566

Queenmunchy wrote: »

I usually repurpose my leftovers. Make them into soup, burritos, or anything I can freeze easily in a single portion for another day.

this.
or make/get food that is good as leftovers, soup, chili, chicken and rice, beef stroganoff, spagetti, etc

must_deflate

Orphia wrote: »

Have you tried not eating an entree with the meal when you go out? Just a thought, since quite a few people were talking about entrees.

Me, I never order an entree. A main is usually more than enough for me (I often leave some of that on the plate for the trash). Unless I order an entree to have as a main.

I think we have cultural vocabulary confusion here.
In the US, the main dish is called the entree, and the starter dish before it is the "appetizer". ( I don't know why, since obviously "entree" means "Entrance" in French. Us silly Americans. )

CurlyCockney

must_deflate wrote: »

Orphia wrote: »

Have you tried not eating an entree with the meal when you go out? Just a thought, since quite a few people were talking about entrees.

Me, I never order an entree. A main is usually more than enough for me (I often leave some of that on the plate for the trash). Unless I order an entree to have as a main.

I think we have cultural vocabulary confusion here.
In the US, the main dish is called the entree, and the starter dish before it is the "appetizer". ( I don't know why, since obviously "entree" means "Entrance" in French. Us silly Americans. )

Oh! Thank you so much for that! I've been confuddled every time I've read it here, thinking that Americans always eat 3-course meals!

7lenny7

Leftovers don't need to be a full portion to be saved. I love leftover, sometimes even more than the original dish.

That said, I have no problem whatsoever tossing food that is either too old or something I don't like.

ntinkham88

Omg I'm the same exact way!!! When it comes to food on your plate, use smaller plates. You will actually trick your mind into thinking you have more food than you do. I also try to save leftovers for lunch and that prevents me from eating everything at dinner.

MoiAussi93

Don't throw food away...that's very wasteful. I will save even very small portions of food that I don't eat...even if it's just a few bites. I will eat it later along with something else to make a full meal. It can just be a little side dish.