wasting food

afeinberg

this one is for all you parents out there -- one of my biggest pitfalls is eating off my kids' plates to avoid wasting food, which i can't stand. I have a 5 yr old and a 2 yr old and their appetites are totally unpredictable - i give them very reasonable portion sizes for thier age and usual appetite but sometimes they eat the whole thing and sometimes nothing at all = I always give them fruit and veggies, cheese, yogurt with their meal and that they eat - but they also get typical kid food - chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, grilled cheese, hot dogs, etc. - especially when we are eating things they won't (salmon, tilapia, tuna, shrimp, etc) and when they don't eat it KILLS me to throw it out (too much of there are starving kids in Africa when i was a kid) and so my husband and I both just pick off their plates - a real calorie killer.

Any thoughts about to combat this.

HulaCoop

Why not place it in some tuperware and save for the kids later, or even for your self? Or start the kids with a small portion and then give them more when they ask for it!
Hope this helps, i know what you mean about not wanting to waste food i know my parents were huge on not letting me leave the table at dinner unless i cleaned my plate!

kmccague

My sister-in-law is so good at this....she saves anything the kids don't eat and has them eat it the next day. She even uses the "adult food" like salmon and cuts it up, mixes it with the mashed potatoes or veggies and the kids love it!

gurlondrums

I have a 2 year old boy myself and I did that ALL THE TIME. The only thing that worked for me was making the effort and knowing I have to account for every calorie I eat on here. If he leaves enough leftovers, I'll put them in a plastic container in the fridge so he can have it later. If not, I force myself to dump it. It's hard at first, and hey, that might not be for you. Just what I do. Good luck!

courtney_love2001

I really struggled with this at first because I grew up in a "clean your plate" family. I always felt like I was wasting if I left even a bite on my plate. It took me awhile to get over it....it was only with an amount of food that was too small to keep for the next day. I love eating leftovers!! I had to just eat until I was full and if I had any leftover, I just had to look at it and think to myself, "This stuff is killing me and the world's not going to end if I throw it out." Then I ran to the sink and poured water on it. It was really hard to get over this, and sometimes I still struggle with it :noway:

Good luck!!

tigerblue

My (very wise) mother told me once when I was struggling with eating just to keep something from going to waste that if you eat more food (calories) than your body needs, then it is still wasted because your body doesn't need it! I remind myself of this when I am eating to "avoid waste".

christyleighlindsay

I just ask myself "would this taste as good as skinny feels?"