i CANNOT stand left over food

velveture

Is this normal? I've tried to google it, but no help.
Basically, i absolutely loathe left over food (breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks) Like, i will not ever have left overs. I know this is not good for me, because if i get a big meal (going out or staying at a friends) i will eat until it's all gone, and thats not good for my diet/weight loss.
I make sure if there is stuffing, i'll pick it up and eat it.
Am i the only one? haha

MaitreyeeMAYHEM

That is me as well, my mom was never a great cook and we were always stuck with left overs. So when I ate them again it was even worse and I think that's why I don't like that. Now that I cook and I have been given some professional cooking training I am able to re-heat and prepare them properly. It's a bit better but I still don't like left overs.

megsmom2

Ok..so you're hurting your diet and your budget. Up to you, I guess.

dt3312

I learned to take a container to the restaurant and have an icechest and ice pack in my car and take home leftovers. When I cook, I can cook the correct amount I want to eat; or I often choose to cook more and refrigerate or freeze the leftovers. I keep telling myself, "Stop eating when full." I think I read that the Japanese have a proverb that says something like, "Stop eating when 80% full".

Instead of using the food available to control what I eat, it's been a big help to me be in touch with how full I am and not to eat beyond full. Also, it helps me not to overeat because I know I will need to log it on MFP. Maybe an accountablity partner would help you or you could join a group and have an open diary.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

amwoidyla

First world problem.

Yup.

My boyfriend dislikes leftovers as well, so he will rarely take them to work with him. I will eat leftover until they're gone and some things even taste BETTER the second/third day. I hate hate hate wasting food, so I won't throw something out unless it's really bad. Food is (mostly) expensive, so throwing food out is like throwing $krilla in the trash.

I_Will_End_You

First world problem.

Get over it. It's food.

^ Yep.


I love leftovers. I always cook more food than we need so I can take it to lunch the next day.

tress29

I keep telling myself, "eat the food that's already paid for." If I take my leftovers for lunch, I may not be the most happy, but I didn't just spend $8 going out for lunch...

SezxyStef

yup get over it.

I love leftovers esp pizza, pasta, soups etc where the flavors meld better. As well it makes lunch planning a whole lot easier.

asdowe13

Me? I love left overs!
Most of my lunches are left overs from last nights supper.

AlliSteff

There are some things that just do not re heat very well...we have made an effort to figure out what WILL reheat well, and we make those items for the week on Sunday. Then we can pick and choose our lunches and dinners (I get home from the gym much later than my husband, so we rarely eat dinner together).

This week we made turkey chili and a chicken stirfry, both reheat quite well. I also have invested in good BPA free food storage containers, and those have made a huge difference in the quality/taste of the reheated food

auddii

My sister-in-law hates leftovers and so my brother gets them all.

Get a togo container, and give it (plus some plasticware) to a local homeless person. I'm sure they'd appreciate what you just throw away.

StraubreyR

I understand not liking leftovers. Growing up, we never had anything leftover, so I was not used to eating them. As others have said, you get used to it eventually. I still don't like eating the same thing over again, but thankfully, freezing portions takes care of that!

RenaTX

I really don't understand the problem with leftover foods. If you eat frozen dinners or quick meals then it's pretty much the same thing.

Amandawith3kids

experiment with taking leftovers and turning them into a new dish. you dont have to throw a pork chop on a plate and re-heat it. make something new! chop up that pork chop and make homemade egg rolls. or whatever. take the leftover chicken and make soup, or chicken pot pie, or put into a salad, or use it in a stir fry.

FireOpalCO

My husband has the same problem. I think honestly part of it is due to his father, who is very touchy about having grown up poor. So my husband grew up in a house where his dad pushed people to not only finish what was on their plate, but pushed any remaining bits from the serving dishes onto people, even when they were still working on what they had already taken!!!

First are you properly storing your leftovers? Those take home containers from restaurants are not meant to hold the food long term. Transfer the food to Tupperware as soon as you get home. Proper food storage (and reheating) will really improve the taste and texture of leftovers. Leftovers should also be eaten promptly, not days later. Some foods definitely reheat better than others (and only reheat what you plan on eating). Salad isn't a good leftover food, stew on the other hand is awesome.

But if you really hate leftovers, make smaller batches of food.

vatances

I don't like leftovers either, I don't think you have to get over it.
I give my leftover food to the dog or my husband.
If it's food I really like I don't mind how much I pay for it, it's the experience of it.
Yeah I eat too much pizza when we get it because I can't reheat it, but I only get it every few months as a treat then.

breeshabebe

First world problem.

Get over it. It's food.

This.

I hate throwing away food. Every time I clean out my fridge and find rotting vegetables I feel bad. If I spent $10-15 dollars on a meal at a restaurant, you better believe I would eat the left overs from it-- even if it didn't taste as good.

janetay01

First world problem.

Get over it. It's food.

^ Yep.


I love leftovers. I always cook more food than we need so I can take it to lunch the next day.

This in a nutshell. We have food containers so all leftovers go into them, they get refrigerated and taken to work over the course of the week for lunch.

SarahNicoleW94

I love leftovers!!

MrsB123111

First world problem.

Get over it. It's food.

^ Yep.


I love leftovers. I always cook more food than we need so I can take it to lunch the next day.

Yes... All of this. I couldn't imagine not eating left overs.
I do batch cooking for the week. It's both time and budget friendly, and has made my life SO much easier!

tress29

The only problem I have with leftovers is when my kids don't eat something, then they go their dad's house. Since I don't eat meat, the dogs end up with the leftover chicken nuggets and "gasp" sometimes steak...

TriNoob

I love leftovers and I love any food cold...so, added bonus of not having to spend money on the electricity/gas to reheat items.

ninerbuff

Is this normal? I've tried to google it, but no help.
Basically, i absolutely loathe left over food (breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks) Like, i will not ever have left overs. I know this is not good for me, because if i get a big meal (going out or staying at a friends) i will eat until it's all gone, and thats not good for my diet/weight loss.
I make sure if there is stuffing, i'll pick it up and eat it.
Am i the only one? haha

This is the MAIN reason why 65% of the US is overweight. Over consumption. Feel free to join them if you don't learn how to control portions.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ncl1313

I don't like most leftovers either, but thankfully my husband does so we don't end up wasting food. Most often when eating out with my friends or husband, I split with someone and then let them take the leftovers if there are any. My husband and I usually split an appetizer, entree, and dessert so we can have a 3-course without feeling overstuffed and rarely take anything home.

And, as another poster said, if you're cooking at home, find things that you like leftover. For instance, I'm not a fan of reheated pasta or bread or most meat, but I'll eat leftover chili, soup, gumbo, jambalaya...most of that stuff actually tastes better after a few days of hanging out in the fridge or freezer. I also don't mind eating reheated shredded chicken or pork or even seasoned ground beef (like taco meat) so I make some of that on Sunday and then can use it all week for quick meals.

I don't understand the "get over it" attitude. Everyone has foods and food preparations they don't like.

ETA: I grew up in a "clean your plate" household where we weren't allowed to leave the table unless we'd eaten everything on our plate. If we refused, we got to eat that meal for breakfast. We kept getting it until we ate it. I don't like to put blame on my mom for things, but that created a very bad relationship with food for me, and the mentality of an empty plate or else! is really hard to break.

Missjulesdid

I adore left overs when eaten either the same day or the next day. I also like to repurpose left overs... left over baked chicken becomes chicken salad... left over asparagus gets chopped up and tossed into eggs...a half of a left over hamburger (sans bun) gets chopped up and tossed on a salad with bacon and gorgonzola cheese.

My secret to left overs is I get everything on the side and deconstructed. Then I put together exactly how much I'm going to use and the rest goes straight into the left over container before I even start my meal. That way I don't have a soggy burger to bring home, but rather a nice half of a quality beef patty, a crisp slice of bacon and a few crisp veggies.

Back in my pasta eating days, I always thought left over pastas were better the next day anyway. I'd usually just mix a little water in with it and microwave it and the flavors were so much better on the second day in my opinion. Other foods are horrible microwaved and should be warmed in the oven or toaster oven. A nice piece of crusted fish for example, is disgusting microwaved but delicious when re-heated in the oven. Same goes for a good steak. I order my steak rare plus and eat the thinnest portion at the restaurant.. then when I reheat the left overs in the oven, it is still delicious and not overcooked at medium to medium rare... Microwaving it is a horrible idea and ruins it. Maybe you don't hate left overs as much as you think you do.. maybe you are just ruining them by reheating them incorrectly.

scraver2003

If you don't like lieftovers - then don't eat them. Who cares? (I don't mean that in a snarky way - just really - what does it matter if you don't eat left overs?) Only cook what you eat. And if you want to lose, you need to get over eating more than a portion just because you don't want left overs. Better to throw food away in the garbage than to throw it away on your body.

Now... if you have finacial problems and can't afford to not eat left overs - then you need to get over it.

chubby_checkers

First world problem.

Yup.

My boyfriend dislikes leftovers as well, so he will rarely take them to work with him. I will eat leftover until they're gone and some things even taste BETTER the second/third day. I hate hate hate wasting food, so I won't throw something out unless it's really bad. Food is (mostly) expensive, so throwing food out is like throwing $krilla in the trash.

This is how we roll in my house as well. As long as it smells fine and there's nothing growing on it, I think it's ok. He will eat the "good" leftovers (like pizza), but not really too much of anything else.

WendyTerry420

For me, leftovers are awesome because it means I have something easy for lunch the next day. For you, OP, tweak your recipes or just invest in more garbage bags.