I'm that person who heats and eats an assortment of leftovers for lunch as I can't bear to see them spoil in the fridge. I'm the one who freezes browning bananas, juices turning oranges, toasts the last slice of bread. I'm the crazy person who bakes a batch of cupcakes rather than waste a last bit of chocolate icing. I know!
More often than not I don't enjoy these scraps much (except the cupcakes of course), but I eat them anyway.
Similarly I can't bear to throw away the scraps the girls leave from their meals. I used to think this was one of the top reasons for having a dog - getting her to polish off the plates - but since she's recently been diagnosed with a dodgy pancreas and is not allowed any more scraps, ever, her list of uses has dwindled down to security, finding new ways to try my patience and of course, for laughs ...
So I find myself polishing off bits of full-cream yoghurt, the last quarter of the cheese sandwich, the last few mouthfuls of mac 'n cheese, a stray cracker here, half a sausage there.
And so the wastage slows but the waist she grows ...
What's the solution? Get less precious about the leftovers? Get more fierce about everyone finishing their food (and thereby adding another nag to the endless list of motherly nags)? Get more self-control? Get a pig?
What's your policy on leftovers?
That was funny. Your Friday is very 'snaff-able' in this picture and I would eat her and her leftovers! How about chickens Molly- they would need less space then a pig? My bugbear is water wastage. I go crazy when I see the boys playing at the sink letting the tap run. I am ok with food, but then again I have two hungry boys that seem to always ask for more. We only get left overs when they look like they are about to fall asleep into their food! (I got a little movie of that once. I was reprimanded by my husband that I should have been rescuing the small helpless child rather then running for the camera. Oh well.)
ReplyDeleteThe vast majority of food waste can be composted.
ReplyDeletePlease don't nag them to polish plates--it only perpetuates a cycle of unhealthy eating and obesity, eating not because you're hungry but because it's there. Encourage reasonable portions, small seconds if they like something or are still hungry, sampling everything, but don't force them to finish food. Pass on your genetics to your children, not your hangups.
Chickens and compost - I need to look into both!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks Anon, you've backed up what I've long thought, nagging them to finish is never the right course of action. Now let's hope my growing belly isn't genetic :)
I feel ya. Of course, nursing a hungry porker-baby doesn't count as an excuse to eat my lunch AND whatever is left on Sam's plate...
ReplyDeleteI've taken a little of my husband's advice and started putting less on their plates. That doesn't solve the problem of strawberries going soft in the fridge or heels of bread left to mold-over, but it will keep you from feeling like good food's going to waste.
Also, I've stopped making mac and cheese. I know, I know. WHAT THE EFF?! I couldn't NOT eat it. Like half of the batch. I've noticed that filling up their plates with fresh apples or veggies and dip keeps me from feeling like a blimp for cramming the leftovers into my facehole.
I've been toying with the compost idea, too, so if you get a good idea... Every time I drop a banana peel into the trash I cry a little.
Smaller portions! We don't have a dog, food that has been cooked CAN'T be composted, and no chickens. In the UK pigs aren't allowed any scraps, it's illegal (connected to foot & mouth disease). I rarely polish off their leftovers as they nearly always have a cold/thinking about having a cold and I don't want their germs!
ReplyDeleteThe only way to stop yourself nibbling on leftovers is to cover liberally with salt. But then that's wasting salt. Sigh. x
i'd go with the smaller portions advice BUT i prod my kids to finish their veggies. i remind them that if they don't eat enough healthy things, there won't be any treats the next day. they have that choice.
ReplyDeletehaving said that, there's still plenty of other scraps that either end up in the worm food pile or in my tum.
and of course, this strategy doesn't work with a one year old...
Z
Smaller portions for all! And I like Stephanie's suggestion to just not make mac 'n cheese. Well I don't LIKE it, but I think it's a good one - I just can't resist overeating it... elixir of the gods?
ReplyDelete