eating food so it is not wasted

[zapzapp]

I come across this fairly regularly. People who had enough to eat but say I will finish that off so it does not get wasted. I don't understand that. People do not want the food thrown away but it is not considered a waste to eat more than you need.

My brother does this with his four kids. If one of the kids does not finish what is on the plate then the other kids have to eat so it does not get 'wasted' even if they are saying they do not want it.

I don't like waste either but I am not going to eat more than what I need just so it does not get thrown away. I would rather it get thrown away than just eaten when not necessary.

What I'm saying is its been ingrained into me not to chuck food away.
I can never understand, to give an example, people ordering a pizza and only eating about half of it. I see that a lot.
And Christmas food - pre xmas trolleys are piled high and you wonder how much will be ending up binned.

But when you order food you can't control the portion size - and you can't order half a pizza. As far as I can see, portions at restaurants are geared to men. I am not forcing down food I don't want to eat for the sake of it. I always get a doggy bag if I'm going to be able to refrigerate it shortly .

You need to think beyond the initial question and consider a longer timescale.

If I eat to finish food off and "not waste it", which I always do, I eat less or even skip the next meal.
So overall no the food is not wasted, it displaces food later on.

Human "dustbin", no, human "larder" maybe

They're not 'geared to men'.

They're geared to people who will go elsewhere if they feel the portion sizes are too small.

And most pizzas come in different sizes.

I'm not sure that works with most people.

The more we eat in one sitting, the more we tend to need to eat in order to satisfy hunger as the stomach stretches.

Packing food into your stomach when you're no longer hungry is unlikely to make most people want to skip their next meal.

Otherwise you'd be able to do nothing but eat for an entire day and then not eat at all the next without feeling hungry.

that's quite a stretch of logic there. Fundamental difference between having a big lunch & eating smaller at dinner time, versus loading for the next day. (After sleep, nighttime, etc, etc where everyone knows the body & mind reset)

I agree. Eating food you don't want or need is also waste. Your brother needs to prepare less in the first place or learn how to store and reuse leftovers.

Is having it for lunch tomorrow somehow not an option?

Even worse, my MIL always insists DH finishes what is left over in the main dish at the end of the meal - you know, when everybody is asked if they would like some more, and if there is still a portion left she will guilt trip DH into eating it. He is overweight FFS, why don’t you eat it yourself! (is what I want to say)

But most people I know can't pack extra food into their stomachs without feeling sick?

Unless they're used to overeating.

If they're used to overeating, I can't see the majority of people skipping their next meal.

Just about every slim adult I know has a smaller appetite than most of the overweight people I know.

It's rare to be able to switch that on and off.

"Unless they're used to overeating."

The advice to "eat up" & "Don't let it go to waste" is exactly how many people get into the habit of overeating. Start early enough giving children these unhealthy messages at mealtimes and ta dah! - you grow people who may well be overeating & overweight their entire lives.

Yes, quite.

And they'll be less likely to skip the next meal because they overate during the previous one.

So if Child A is full, they can stop eating but then Child B needs to eat more because of it?

That is the most bonkers thing on this thread!

I serve food from the kitchen now so the teenagers can chose their portion size. Leftovers are used for lunch (they will happy eat cold pasta bolognese at school for example. I drew the line at them taking cold fish fingers)

Rationing persisted in the UK after WWII into the 1950s for some items, and for certain foodstuffs rationing was worse after the war than during it, so BabyBoomers with working class parents were raised to eat everything because there was no guarantee that the next meal would be sufficient, and no refrigeration - Throwing food away was a moral issue for them, which I can understand in the context of the time.
But times have changed. That isn't how we're raising DC: they get a modest portion, and can ask for more if they're still hungry. If they get served more than they can eat, they can leave it on the understanding that there's no coming back later demanding pudding or snacks. If food is going to be edible tomorrow, we save it. If it's not, we bin it. If I've cooked too much food, that's on me, it's not DC's responsibility to overeat because I can't get my quantities right.
Luckily our parents see the logic, and back us up.

i usually make a dish to last for 2 days, and enough for the next day. Any bread is used up to make garlic bread. Depends on what you cook though and taste preferences. Not much is thrown out here.

Let people serve themselves

Leftovers put in fridge for later

Or freeze for another day.

Simple

Why is it up to the kids to clear their sibling’s plate?

I understand why he looks at leftovers and sees literal money being thrown away but as a parent I dish up a random amount so I don’t feel angry if there’s left overs.

If he’s at a restaurant, can he ask for a doggy bag to take leftover food home ?

I purposely serve up smaller portions to the kids but do insist they finish the meat. If they are still hungry, then they can more or have extra fruit with pudding.

When I overhauled my eating habits, started serving up what I thought I wanted then halving it, so basically plating up a leftover plate ready for lunch the next day and it's really helped get my portioning better.

Dinner plates are just too big these so I've started using smaller plates for myself. I'd rather leave food than stuff it down.

YANBU. We shouldn't feel we have to overeat.
Stopping when you feel full (and ditching the guilt about not finishing what's on your plate) is one of the 'rules' of Paul McKenna's "I Can Make You Thin" regime ( along with only eating when you're hungry, putting your fork down between mouthfuls so you eat slowly, and not doing something else while you eat). After a while you get used to cooking less so there's less left over.

I always think it's like you're a dustbin. I don't want to eat waste.

He does ask for doggy bag if at restaurant but at home all the kids plates need to be clear at the end of a meal otherwise it is a waste.

Kids don't often serve themselves as they can tend to overfill their plate.

Does he eat it?

He used to, yes!
I have talked to him about it and suggested a few ways to politely but firmly decline. He never really noticed it before I made him aware.

My DH will eat until he is physically unwell rather than see food wasted. It’s how he was raised and it irritates me beyond belief. Nothing like an entire evening being wasted because he’s eaten until he cant move his arse from the sofa (he’s not overweight, he just eats until he’s in pain with how bloated he is)