Dealing with extra treats sitting around the house for the holidays?

MelodyandBarbells

Oh, goodie! "Unhealthy and greedy diet", I just know I'm about to read a truly objective article!

Hmm... I'll keep this clean. The article was actually pushing towards less processed food and consuming a plant based diet. Which is interesting, because the items that go bad in my house are fruit that have to be stored outside the fridge, and items like potatoes. The meats are stored in the freezer and I've eaten some that are um... not too new because they keep quite well and thaw nicely. Sodas and many other packaged foods pretty much don't go bad, ever

Lots of talk about developing countries in the article. Coincidentally, I was chatting with an African doctor who now practices in the USA about illnesses seen in children. They still mentioned kwashiorkor as being a common one in poor areas, due to them mostly consuming the very plant based carbohydrates such as rice

I don't know - the article wasn't really discussing this topic and was a bit, well, all over the place

kshama2001

kae612 wrote: »

There have been so many good suggestions & points here! Thanks

One point a number of ppl made was that if it's not mine to throw away, it's not mine to eat. Tbh, that's something that I've struggled with. I have stolen other people's food at various times, most recently my Dad got a package of chocolates as a gift and I ate them all when I was home alone. My Dad can hide food effectively when I ask him to, and I've asked him to hide the cookies but he hasn't. I've probably had about 9 each day aka I ate them until I felt unwell. I'm guessing this behaviour is disordered, as long as there's snack food "available" somewhere I'll pretty much always eat it. The more I resist the more "distracted" I become by it, I get irritable and snippy, it's hard to think about much else. Then after I eat it I feel intensely guilty.

I would very much prefer we didn't buy so many treats for the two small dinner parties we had. If it were me, I would have chosen to get only one of the many options we had, so that it would be gone after the parties, or only have a few small leftovers. Unfortunately, my parents worry that people need options. I think vanilla ice cream is pretty much a crowd favourite, so only having that would have been fine. But the cookies are still here, the panettone is still here, the Christmas cake is still here, etc. The rest really goes to waste either way, because it's open. I don't agree with the culture of excess around Christmas, but again it's not my choices to make at this point. I opted to get a donation for a charity for Christmas this year instead of a big present, so if I did throw away half of a box of cookies I hope it would balance out.

I'm thinking I will ask my Dad again to hide the cookies, and show him that I've eaten too many already. He's the kind of person who can have one cookie (or even half a cookie) and not think about the cookie box again for a couple of days.

I spend a good part of my day following up with people, reminding them to do things. It's worth it to get the results I want!

Maybe next year remind your parents of all this year's excess in the hopes of cutting down?

kshama2001

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

fishshark wrote: »

lisalsd1 wrote: »

Throw the extra in the trash and put something gross on top of it...so you aren't tempted to save it. It's not super wasteful if it isn't a habit.

how is wasting food ever an option? dont eat it.... maybe i was brought up to never waste food due to the millions of starving people in the world.

I've never understood that logic (as a child or as a parent). What you eat or don't eat has no effect on anyone starving ANYWHERE (unless of course its someone in your own home/vicinity). Flawed logic at its best, and surely must be a contributing factor to so many people being overweight (both adults and kids) - after all, you 'have to' finish everything on your plate. no you don't.

I have no problem throwing away food. it's food. not killing puppies.

While the "Clean Plate Club" message I received from my mother as a child did me no favors, the larger message about waste is still valid.

Let's take recycling. Sure, my own recycling efforts are insignificant. But statewide, we recycle so much that the opponents of the proposal to add water bottles to the bottle bill were able to defeat the measure using the recycling stats.

Also voting. I could say that my vote doesn't matter, and not vote. But when the electorate as a whole is motivated, change happens.

The same is true with food waste. Sure, my efforts are insignificant, but if as a culture we value reducing food waste, change will happen.

kiela64

kshama2001 wrote: »

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

fishshark wrote: »

lisalsd1 wrote: »

Throw the extra in the trash and put something gross on top of it...so you aren't tempted to save it. It's not super wasteful if it isn't a habit.

how is wasting food ever an option? dont eat it.... maybe i was brought up to never waste food due to the millions of starving people in the world.

I've never understood that logic (as a child or as a parent). What you eat or don't eat has no effect on anyone starving ANYWHERE (unless of course its someone in your own home/vicinity). Flawed logic at its best, and surely must be a contributing factor to so many people being overweight (both adults and kids) - after all, you 'have to' finish everything on your plate. no you don't.

I have no problem throwing away food. it's food. not killing puppies.

While the "Clean Plate Club" message I received from my mother as a child did me no favors, the larger message about waste is still valid.

Let's take recycling. Sure, my own recycling efforts are insignificant. But statewide, we recycle so much that the opponents of the proposal to add water bottles to the bottle bill were able to defeat the measure using the recycling stats.

Also voting. I could say that my vote doesn't matter, and not vote. But when the electorate as a whole is motivated, change happens.

The same is true with food waste. Sure, my efforts are insignificant, but if as a culture we value reducing food waste, change will happen.

I've really liked the way this thread turned, thanks for all of the helpful & insightful ideas everyone! I feel like this Holiday Season has been a big learning experience for me. While I personally cannot control what my parents buy, I can bring up suggestions, like just picking one or two deserts we know we like, and maybe avoiding the cookie platter that never really gets eaten by guests & we end up with an insane amount of leftover cookies that neither I (obese) nor my mom (diabetes) should have access to. My Dad enjoys them, but doesn't eat them in such vast amounts to validate buying so many. Even a smaller cookie selection would be better. I will bring this up, and mention food waste like so many of you have mentioned.