Those with kids, how to keep from eating their leftovers?

I can't afford to throw food away. I throw leftovers into a casserole, soup, omelets, stir fry. I guess it depends on what you are feeding them.

Get a dog. They'll eat anything.

Any vet will tell you that "people food" is not good for a dog. Just throw their leftovers away. As others have said, it's not any more wasteful in you (and on your hips) than in the trashcan. One thing that always motivates me is something I learned a long time ago from Weight Watchers, "your body is not a trashcan, so don't put trash in it." For some reason, that was "permission" I needed to throw away food. Hope that helps.

Get a dog. They'll eat anything.

Any vet will tell you that "people food" is not good for a dog. Just throw their leftovers away. As others have said, it's not any more wasteful in you (and on your hips) than in the trashcan. One thing that always motivates me is something I learned a long time ago from Weight Watchers, "your body is not a trashcan, so don't put trash in it." For some reason, that was "permission" I needed to throw away food. Hope that helps.

Lol...I'm a vet tech and from experience can tell you feeding left overs to your dog is a no-no. It can cause obesity, pancreatitis, diabetes, allergic reactions, deficiencies, heart disease...etc. All too common

I'm going to echo the people who say that eating it yourself is wasteful also. You're either throwing it into the trash, or throwing it into your body fat. One is more beneficial to your personal health.

Toss it...kids are going to be kids. I've seen my niece down a ton of pancakes at age 5 in one meal and the next day refuse to eat anything but something the size of a Susan b Anthony dollar coin. They are either hungry or not hungry. At that point, no unhealthy snacks if they refuse to eat. The reality is kids are testing foods at this point and are wishy washy about stuff. One day, they only eat hot dogs...the next....they loved this dish...the next day...they hate it....

Monica

P.S. My sister stopped doing that because she discovered it's an easy way to spread viruses among family members...that unseen disease that suddenly pops up.

Agreed on both counts!!! My kids can eat like HORSES one day, and nothing the next. I let them do what they choose, and do not force them to eat things. And, dessert only comes once in a while, and only people who finish their good stuff and/or all their food get dessert. I'm pretty happy how well they eat most days, and the girls love their veggies, and the boy loves his protein.

And, as far as eating leftovers DON'T. We have been SO SICK because of this. Or sharing drinks or anything. I'm still sick after about 6 weeks, I'm sure from someone sharing even something like a straw or munching on a carrot left on someones' plate.

Oh, and our dog doesn't get the leftovers (who wants a farting dog? lol).

I don't have kids, but I do have a guy that eats like a picky child. Sometimes he eats a lot, some times he just eats a few bites. He never eats vegies (except potatoes and corn) and his fruit consists of grape jelly and orange flavored vitamin water or orange gatorade. When I was growing up we just didn't waste anything, it is still hard for me to throw anything out. If there are leftovers he MIGHT take some to work the next day for lunch. If it is in the fridge for more than 24 hours he won't touch it. So.... I fix a leftover lunch and put it in the freezer. Sometimes he gets hungry after I have gone to bed and he can either fix a PBJ or have one of the lunches in the freezer. Every couple weeks I clean out the freezer.

It never fails, the day after I clean out the freezer he asks where they went...

I never assumed that the food was junk. I was simply saying that if she felt guilty about eating what they didn't want, then to make sure it was not junky food. If my kid wants an apple, I don't feel bad if I finish it, because its an apple. Or if we are serving baked salmon and he does not eat it, then I will finish it. I have served boxed macaroni and cheese and done the same thing.. And it's junk food that really none of us should be eating. Which is why I prefaced my comment to say that I hoped it did not come across as rude.

I stall with making my own plate until kids are finished eating. Whatever they didn't finish I combine together, add some more if needed and eat up. This works for most part. Other times I just trash it and you should too

I have the same problem with my 2 year old she eats tiny amounts and I've learnt to only give her a small amount, she also won't eat the left overs if there is any in the following meal but she did eat them some times the following day for her dinner if it had been her lunch the day before.
she didn't do it many times and most of her left overs end in the bin more now but this was the only method i found that worked next to giving her just tiny amount..

You can compost any fruit/vegetable/grain products. This way, it's not going to waste, it's not filling up landfills, and it's free fertilizer for your yard and garden. You don't need fancy equipment, just an out of the way area in your yard where you can start a pile.

Obviously this advice is useless if you're in an apartment.

I hope this doesn't sound super rude, because that is not my intent, but don't feed your kids junk. My husband and I at least did right by our children and only allow them to have cereal, cereal bars, cheese, yogurt, etc. We saved the super crappy junk food until after bedtime.. My three year old will clean his bowl every single time I give him a salad. Also, portion sizes are key with little ones, try to start small and increase if they eat all of it. At least then you aren't wasting much.

Sorry, where did you get the impression she was feeding her kids junk?

Don't mean to be rude (English is not my first language), sorry if I unintentionally am. There's a saying in Portuguese that goes "if you eat something that would have otherwise been thrown in the trashcan, who becomes the trashcan?"

Since I read that, I never ate leftovers again.

Not Rude at all, in My Opinion!! I will be Adopting this!!!!:drinker:

If the waste really bothers you...depending on what the food is, of course, you can save bits of this and that in the freezers until you have enough to make soup. Small amounts of veggies or meats or pastas can all go in a container together and then added to broth later.

Also what I do is give my child smaller portions. If she is still hungry then I can always serve her more and I won't have to throw it away or eat it.

I was the "garbage can" for leftover food for many years....it doesn't bode well for weight control, as I'm sure you know. For me, part of the answer was to just say "no thanks". You simply can't eat more without the pitfalls. Since you have the responsibility for making the food, it is even more a challenge for you. Some of my thoughts, over the years, are:

1. Make a little less overall for the meal but have some type of nutritional fruit / desert if someone not fully satisfied. Possibly even have some type of sandwhich meat available as backup. Even if not the best thing for family to eat (desert), shares the load :-).
2. Try to make foods that do keep for a few days, and then eat them as leftovers...make a lot of things you, the cook, also like to eat.
3. Simply say "no" , but at same time, don't ask others to eat it.

As I said, I was "garbage can" for years...it didn't help, and probably increased my overall "need" to eat more.