Does anyone else feel like trying not to waste food hurts their diet?
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Verity1111 wrote: »Put things in the freezer if necessary.
No need for special appliances to make home cooking easier. I mean, make homemade pasta if you want to but it's not any easier than boxed. And an egg poacher is a novelty item; poaching eggs is really easy with a regular old cooking pot.
Overall, though, no I don't find leftovers to cause a problem with my diet. We don't have much in the way of leftovers unless we have planned to have them. We eat pretty plain food, too, so most of our dribs and drabs of leftovers just get mixed in with the dogs' dinners that night.
Oh not easier. I thought it was healthier. It was for when I start getting better, so I can eat healthier again while Im recovering. The poacher plugs into a wall outlet, so I can use it at a lower level, there is no stove needed. Plain food? I dont have a dog to give my food to. Lol. But maybe I need to give my food to someone elses dog..
Lol
By plain food I meant that we tend to eat things without sauces or cheese on them so they are okay for the dogs to have.
How long will you be incapacitated?0 -
I used to struggle with food waste before, when I relied on premade food (I see you have to right now, but it will be better when you are well again) and supplied with fresh food with an "intention" to use it. Of course I wouldn't use it up, because I didn't have a plan, and I didn't know I needed a plan, and I didn't think I could plan, because I was single, and I didn't know how to prepare it to be tasty, and I was used to premade, so I believed I didn't like home cooked. I used to cook large amounts so that I'd be sure to be full, and I didn't know I wasn't supposed to eat until stuffed to be full, so I cooked even more to "be on the safe side", and then I had to throw out the rest, and I felt really bad for doing that, but it didn't occur to me that I could do it differently. I would open a package and forget when I had opened it, and avoid it until I was sure it was old enough to be thrown out without having to feel guilty. It was a mess.
Now... I plan my meals and I only plan for meals I like. I love to cook because I make delicious food. I write shopping lists based on meal plan minus inventory, and then I bring and follow list. I buy only what I am going to cook/prepare, cook just the amount I need, and eat it up. I enjoy eating and almost never have to throw out anything. I combine recipes if I have to buy a larger amount of any food, or I substitute with something I already have. I portion out perishable foods so that I eat some every day until it's gone.0 -
A weight watchers leader once told me that if you don't want to eat it or save it, consider it garbage and throw it away. So many of us were brought up not to waste and to clean our plates...I make dinner, what's left over goes in my husband's lunch, or is dinner tomorrow. If it doesn't fit into one of those 2 categories it goes into the garbage. I'm not holding on to anything longer than overnight because I know it will just go bad. I've learned to be ok with it.2
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I know just what you mean. In my case it's leftovers that my husband is tired of and won't eat. Usually I make meals that we both can eat, but on some occasions not. He'll eat his leftovers for lunch but after a couple times he's had enough. I then freeze them, but he ends up never using them. I now make myself throw them out because it is simply not worth it for my eating to get derailed because of some leftovers.0
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I try to incorporate leftovers so we don't waste food. But if for whatever reason we don't eat it, I have no problem throwing it out. How is extra food in your stomach better than food in the trash? Eating more that you want or need IS wasting food.
I'd read a quote somewhere to the effect that when you over-serve yourself, that was when you wasted the food. It's up to you whether the wasted food also damages you.
Since then, i've been more mindful about portioning, AND i've started eating more slowly and stopping when i'm sated. If that means throwing leftovers away, so be it.0 -
benevempress wrote: »I second the "freeze it if you don't want to eat it" suggestion. You mentioned using a little bit of canned soup for something and then wondering what to do with the rest? Perhaps you could portion the rest into similar sizes to what you used and put it in the freezer until you want to eat it again.
I also second the "give yourself some latitude and forgiveness for not being perfect and do what you have to do to get through the day", especially when you are recovering from surgery and don't have the mobility you need. I too have two special-needs kids that are picky and I'm trying to feed them healthy foods, but sometimes I just can't do anymore that day and as long as they eat something with enough calories to keep them alive I surrender the fight, knowing tomorrow is another day and another chance to get them to eat something nutritious.
thank you. I didnt know I could freeze canned soup. I thought only fresh food could be frozen and safely eaten. ?0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »No, my wife and I prepare what we're going to eat and put appropriate portions of food on our plates. There's nothing wrong with cleaning your plate when it is properly apportioned. We usually make 4 servings for the two of us so that we have lunch for the next day...or the day after that. Leftovers will keep for a few days.
This is what works for me too.0 -
Verity1111 wrote: »Put things in the freezer if necessary.
No need for special appliances to make home cooking easier. I mean, make homemade pasta if you want to but it's not any easier than boxed. And an egg poacher is a novelty item; poaching eggs is really easy with a regular old cooking pot.
Overall, though, no I don't find leftovers to cause a problem with my diet. We don't have much in the way of leftovers unless we have planned to have them. We eat pretty plain food, too, so most of our dribs and drabs of leftovers just get mixed in with the dogs' dinners that night.
Oh not easier. I thought it was healthier. It was for when I start getting better, so I can eat healthier again while Im recovering. The poacher plugs into a wall outlet, so I can use it at a lower level, there is no stove needed. Plain food? I dont have a dog to give my food to. Lol. But maybe I need to give my food to someone elses dog..
Lol
By plain food I meant that we tend to eat things without sauces or cheese on them so they are okay for the dogs to have.
How long will you be incapacitated?
I go to my surgeon on the 6th to see if I can stop all the annoying elevating and wheeling a bit and start putting some pressure on my leg. Until then he wants me in bed as much as possible, to allow all the swelling to go down. I was injured about 10 weeks ago already, but I broke my ankle in 3 places and it was a weeks before they actually did the surgery. I ended up with 8 screws, a plate and a wire in my ankle.0 -
Thank you to everyone for all the advice/ideas and support I was just wondering if I'm alone in this. I am glad that at least some understand and also thank you all for some helpful advice that I read here.
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Almost anything can be frozen.0
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Divide frozen foods before cooking and cook just half.
Freeze leftovers.
Share food with other people in your house. I pack leftovers for my dh's lunch.
Buy or cook smaller portions.0 -
Verity1111 wrote: »
thank you. I didnt know I could freeze canned soup. I thought only fresh food could be frozen and safely eaten. ?
Yes, you can freeze lots of things. Your primary limitation is how much space you have in your freezer. If I open a large can of diced tomatoes and use half, I freeze the other half for later. You can freeze cooked meat (ground beef and turkey work great), beans, bread, cooked rice... the list goes on and on. You can freeze casseroles or homemade soups, either in a family-sized portion for a future meal or in single-serve portions for one person's lunch. You can freeze peanut butter and jam sandwiches. Sometimes the texture of the food changes a little or a lot (dairy, cooked vegetables, uncooked vegetables like onions and colored peppers, fruits, and cooked chicken or ham are examples), but if you are going to cook with it instead of eating it plain, it usually works fine.
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Better to waste food than risk your health by gaining the weight0
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You either waste it or waist it.
What's throwing it out going to do? It's not going to feed starving kids in Africa regardless if you eat it or not. All you really lose is the money you spent on the food. Instead of feeling guilty, look at why you didn't eat it. Did you cook too much? Did you not like the taste? Could you freeze it next time? What can you do next time to change the outcome.2
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