how not to be "the mom"

wildflower2176

I have kids & I feel like I have to make food that they want too. They don't like leftovers. I feel guilty about wasting food. How do I not waste food and make the kids happy?

cathipa

How old are your kids? Why don't they like leftovers? In my house if I cook I dictate what they eat and I know my kids so on days I make something they may not like then I modify it for them or they get breakfast dinner (typically eggs and toast).

JeromeBarry1

I read recently that mothers in low-income households cannot afford expensive things for their kids, so they afford snack foods as an expression of love. The same article informs that mothers in high-income households can and do afford expensive things for their kids, so they choose to express love that way and deny the snack foods to their kids.

There's not a lot of information to go with here. What kinds of food are you talking about?

The grumpy old man in me would say that "hungry is powerful motivator", but that doesn't sit so well with today's young parents.


What kind of mom is "the mom", anyway?

flowerhorsey

You could meal prep and cook just for you every three or four days and make kids what will be "happy" with every day... But then eat your own food at meals... Or try to get kids to eat your food

kenyonhaff

wildflower2176 wrote: »

I have kids & I feel like I have to make food that they want too. They don't like leftovers. I feel guilty about wasting food. How do I not waste food and make the kids happy?

Accept that some food wastage is inevitable. Better to toss food than harm your health eating too much.

Get your kids involved with cooking. They will have ownership and less prone to toss food.

Lounmoun

Cook less food? Note how much they usually eat and next time scale down to cook just that amount.
Be okay tossing some things. I'm okay throwing out pasta. I am less fine throwing out meat.
Start composting what you can.

Sometimes leftovers can be incorporated into a new dish like meats or vegetables going into fried rice, soup or a casserole.
Sometimes heating leftovers in the oven or stovetop leaves them tastier than microwave reheating.

Sometimes just tell them this is the food are having.

brandyjt4

When you prepare a recipe and you know you are going to have extra servings, freeze it when it's still fresh! Then wait a week or two, pull from freezer, and it's not technically leftovers and there is no waste. I do this all the time with my husband and twin 5 year olds. Chili, homemade chicken soup, lasagna, casseroles... I often double recipes, like meatloaf, to serve one fresh and freeze the other. Hope this helps!

Ardael

I was raised the way JeromeBarry1 describes and am raising my kids the same way. Food is food. If you didn't finish your plate for a meal you'd get it at the next one. Not hungry anymore? Fine then no dessert. "There are starving people in the world who would kill for what you have." and " Food isn't free, you can waste it when you pay for it " that's what my mum used to say to us all the time. Maybe teaching your kids about responsable eating is something that you need to do though. I mean unless you're vegans an animal has been slaughtered for your needs. If you say grace before a meal that could be a way of raising awareness.

That being said I personally cook to the right amount so as to create very little to no left overs at all. Most leftovers like pasta and rice is used in salads for the kids lunch boxes, meats and veggies are recycled into soups and other one pot recipes. I've done 3meats currys for exemple with leftover chicken, pork and turkey. I blended left over veggies, mash, into sauces for the next meal. I've made pie fillings etc. There are plenty of ways to incorporate left overs into your cooking and others wouldn't even know it's there.

And incorporate the kids into the cooking process as well. I bought a spatula and a apron for each of my kids and I distribute jobs around the kitchen. My 4yo adores it and my 7yo has his own handmade recipe book. Also cooking is not a girl thing.

busyPK

It's me and 3 kids under 8 years old in my house so I just cook less and usually I'll eat the leftovers. If they don't want the leftovers they get simple meals like eggs/toast for dinner, pizza rolls, quesadilla, salad with sandwich. So about every other night they get a nice home cooked meal that they will all eat a portion of then the next night it's simple meal that they help me put together. I don't make my kids eat everything on their plate, I simply ask that they try it and if they don't like it then it's ok.

ACanadian22

You are the "Mom" first, friend second. Teach them young to eat what is given to them. Or else they can get off their butts and make it themselves and do their own dishes.
Trust me, after that, they will love left-overs

quiksylver296

Eat what I cook, or you don't eat. Pretty simple in my house.

amyk0202

I cook one big meal every couple of days & we eat it until it's gone. I have 4 kids. They either eat it, or they make themselves something else. Granted, my kids are now older 19, 16, 14, 12, so that's not a big deal for them. I don't like to cook & I have no problem eating the same thing every day. I will also freeze it if it's getting too old. I put individual servings in plastic cups & freeze them until they are hard & then put several cups into gallon size freezer bags for storage.

I've always been a picky eater myself so I've never forced my kids to eat what they don't like. I remember sitting for hours in front of my plate when I was little because I don't like onions & my mom puts onions in her spaghetti. Biting into an onion, even now, makes me vomit. One of my kids is autistic & had major eating issues when he was little, so I've always had easy things they could pick from as alternatives--cereal, toast, oatmeal, microwave eggs, canned or microwave pasta, chicken nuggets, etc. If they want to make it, I'm OK with it.

mmultanen

menu plan and post it so everyone can see what's for dinner when. Solicit their feedback and input, everyone regardless of age likes to eat what they like to eat. There's nothing wrong with that. If you sit as a family and plan what will be for dinners for the next week, everyone is invested and you can grocery shop so that hopefully, you are making use of your leftovers. Planning well can help reduce food waste.

missemmibelle

I understand this dilemma, I really do.

Worse, my children are all very picky eaters and there are few meals that all of them will eat.

I got pretty tired of it - because I am a trucker's wife and full-time student. I don't have time to make four different dinners every night. My solution is, I make dinner for myself and my oldest child (the least pick eater). I offer that to the two youngest and if they don't want it there's a drawer where I keep cubed cheese, yogurt, sandwich meat, etc and they are welcome to make their own dinner. At first, that drawer saw a lot of action, but less and less over time. Sometimes I will toss some frozen chicken nuggets and fries in the toaster oven. They never seem to get sick of that.

I stopped buying snacks as a regular food option. I buy a certain amount of easy-grab, easy-to-prepare stuff like mac-n-cheese cups and pop-tarts, but when they are gone, they're gone. I stopped buying cookies - which used to be as important as buying milk and we make them, occasionally, instead.

If you're doing ketogenic, you'll find that options for feeding your kids and staying within the plan is pretty simple. You can eat quesadillas (with low-carb tortillas) and overall the options are pretty plentiful in the dessert arena.

Since I generally serve dinner family-style, I can feed tacos to my kids while having a taco salad pretty easily. It's all about portions, not banning everything kid-friendly. Spaghetti is no longer the main entree - and my kids LOVE having their own customized salads with a side of pasta.