Wasting Food

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  • Lindsay375
    Lindsay375 Posts: 49 Member
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    I always felt that I HAD to get "value" out of free lunches at work. A co-worker said to me " its costing you something in the long run", since then I find it much easier to say no thank you, or to eat only what fits within my food budget. Monetary value isn't the only consideration.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,344 Member
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    There was one year where a person at our work for some reason every friday was able to get everything and I mean EVERYTHING from the bakery part of panera bread and she would bring it in for us. OH GOD THE HUMANITY. Breads, Pastries, Cookies, Brownies the dieting HORROR. as I said I hate wasting so instead of that I would freeze it or take it to friends and family for a little treat.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
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    Freezing stuff seems to reduce or change its flavour and texture though. Having a dog, a goat and some chickens helps to deal with the leftovers.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,344 Member
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    Gamliela wrote: »
    Freezing stuff seems to reduce or change its flavour and texture though. Having a dog, a goat and some chickens helps to deal with the leftovers.

    I was gonna say a dog is great for this, just gotta be careful what you feed them.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
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    No chocolate, chicken bones or raisens for the doggies!
  • 2snakeswoman
    2snakeswoman Posts: 655 Member
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    I only put on my plate what I can eat for that meal, no more, no less. I package leftovers for future meals; they're great to grab and go.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
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    My husband is that way. He can be already full, but he'll force himself to eat the last 1/4 cup of beans or 1/2 a potato so that it doesn't go to waste. He's getting better about it, slowly, because being pre-diabetic has forced him to reconsider what and how he eats. In our area we have an excellent 'green waste' composting program that takes food scraps along with the garden waste, so it's not like it's not getting recycled if it doesn't get eaten.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Its called the sunk cost fallacy. Once you prepared the food you can't get a refund so it is a sunk cost. If your choices are only eat it or toss it, then the choice shouldn't be decided based on the sunk cost. The choice should be based on if you are going to benefit from eating it or tossing it.

    If you are hungry and enjoy the food and have the calories, then eat it for maximum benefit. If you don't have the calories, or even just don't like the food, then toss it for maximum benefit. Eating the food when you really don't want to doesn't maximize your benefit in fact, it may cost you even more (more time spent trying to lose weight).

    However, with food there are sometimes extra options like freezing/fridge or giving it to another person who does want to eat it.

    So, while I hate wasting food, I focus on reducing the amount I prepare to the proper amount, not on making sure my plate is clean when I finish. For example, I'd rather serve my kids 2 small bowls of cereal than 1 large bowl and toss half of it.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I don't waste food that much. I don't feel responsible for eating food someone else bought just because it is there. I don't feel bad if it is thrown away. I would take free food home if it is tasty to share with my family or save for later. Dh will bring home food from work sometimes to share with dd or me because he thinks we might enjoy it.

    I plan meals carefully. I prelog my food for the day. I measure my portion and put it on my plate so I eat all of it.
    I cook or buy less food or save food for later. I have dinner leftovers for lunch a lot. I'm not wasting a lot of food personally.
    I was not made to clean my plate as a kid through guilt or force so I don't have that baggage.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,671 Member
    edited March 2016
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    OP I understand what you're saying. It's the "there's starving kids in Africa" mentality that those of us of a certain vintage had drilled into our heads. I have a hard time moving away from that mentality too, but I'm getting better. I find that weekly meal planning is very helpful. I've also moved away from one big grocery shop once a month, to one smaller shopping trip each week. At meal time, weight and measure out your plate so that you don't take too much.

    ETA: I also feel less guilty since our city enacted new laws that ALL food scraps must go into the compost. At least I feel like the plants are getting yummy food instead of the landfill :lol:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    I finish my plate...I put an appropriate amount of food on my plate, and I eat it...this is where learning what applicable serving sizes are for you. Also, we usually make double food for dinner in order that we have leftovers that we take for lunch the next day...leftovers always get eating within at least a couple of days either way.

    I don't feel that's it's wasteful to pass on free food at the office...I didn't prepare it...it didn't buy it...I'm not wasting it.
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
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    I used to, but I realized this mindset of false economy was what was helping to keep me fat, so I worked on getting over it.

    Now I just don't eat things simply because they are free and they are there at work or anywhere else unless it is something that is VERY special that I can't easily get anywhere else. That pretty much never happens though. Almost all the treats are crap I can get at the grocery store any day of the week. None of those things are worth the weight gain to me.

    I try not to waste food, but I am not going to eat a bag of chips I found I don't like out of principle. That's dumb. Either take them back to the store or throw them in the trash. But eating something that isn't necessary to eat is a waste of money when it makes me fatter and I have to buy new clothes, have health problems, etc, etc.
  • megzchica23
    megzchica23 Posts: 419 Member
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    It doesn't bother me. But my fiance eats whatever I don't eat. He won't even let me put it in fridge. If there is anything left, he eats it all. I keep telling him that just because it is there, doesn't mean he has to eat it. But he won't stop. His stomach is a black hole... It tells him he is hungry as long as he can see food...
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    I get it. I struggled with that for a long time. Intellectually I appreciate sunk costs, so I've focused on that.

    It's not so much a problem with my food as it is with my kids' food. A burger with two bites taken out of it, of a piece of chicken with most of the meat still intact, two bites of food left that aren't worth refrigerating, etc. I used to be the family disposal. Not any more.
  • Hovercat
    Hovercat Posts: 43 Member
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    Free food at work is crazy tempting! My old job did donut Fridays. Since I was on keto I passed on them every single week but knowing there was a free perk in the corner sucked. It wasn't that I was craving the donuts. My carb cravings were long gone by then, I just wanted a free snack. It's weird to explain. On the plus side I passed on about 60 weeks of donuts so 5 boxes of donuts! Probably 10 boxes worth if I go back to 2013's me and my double helpings and lack of self control :D Easier for me to say no than "okay, just one."

    I also found that I waste a lot less food now that most of it is homemade. I used to buy big family sized bags of chips because they were a better deal but I'd probably toss 20% of the bag after a couple of days once they've lost their "freshness" (and then feel bad about the waste) so I wasn't really saving anything.

    I portion everything now. Costco trips are separated. 12 sausages get air sealed at a time. 4 for both of us and 4 for his lunch. Oh that's another thing! Boyfriend just eats anything I couldn't finish for lunch the next day. He's way more active than me so he burns it off throughout his day. I've very rarely had to toss food. Usually it's because we didn't eat produce fast enough but I tend to buy clearance produce so it's already crying at the end of it's life.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    It's against my personal religion to pass on free foods and drinks.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    This is where "leftovers" comes into play. If you don't want to eat it all, save it for another meal.

    If there's free food at the office, either work it into your calories, save some to take home and have later or forego it altogether.
  • Rawr1978
    Rawr1978 Posts: 245 Member
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    I made a bowl of mac and cheese, ate a few bites, and my pre-schooler wanted the rest. Thanks for the help hahaha
  • starwhisperer6
    starwhisperer6 Posts: 402 Member
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    my guy throws everything away and it makes me crazy! I spent a week with him last month and I put all the leftovers in the fridge, when my plane landed in my town he called and said, "I'm shipping your leftovers out to you tomorrow, for those starving kids in Africa." The brat. It all ended up in the trash despite me. I need to work on that.
  • she_lived_wholly_forevermore
    she_lived_wholly_forevermore Posts: 179 Member
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    I totally understand. Growing up In a family of nine I quickly learned you never pass up when food is offered to you or you might not get to eat for a long time. Leaving any food behind got you in trouble because there wasn't always enough to go around so you might "affect the starving children in Africa". As a grownup I still fight the wasteful thoughts so I personally make enough for the meal at hand. I can't make extras and freeze them. I just can't do it. Kudos to those who can though.

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