The left over food dilemma

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I cook for leftovers, just to make meal planning easier.  The leftover roast beast we had for Thanksgiving became vegetable beef soup a few days later, where I tossed the gravy into the broth.  Roasted leftover chicken becomes chicken pot pie, or green enchiladas, or chicken soup if I get the carcass of the bird on the stove for stock.  

When I lived alone, I did most of my cooking on Sunday, and what I cooked became remade for meals the rest of the week.  I’d also make a pot of soup, so I’d have something to take for lunch.   

[Deleted]

Nov 30, 2022 15:21:03 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Sometimes I try something and it just does not come out. The soup.I made last night was an epic fail.

I've given myself permission to not force myself to eat it till it's gone. Sometimes I just have bad luck.

It's probably wasteful but I'm not keen on forcing myself to eat something just to not waste it I feel like that sets up a new compulsion after awhile.

Totally agreed.  It's important to stop eating when your stomach tells you you've had enough.  I don't always listen.  I never, ever argue with a kid who stops eating because they're not hungry anymore.  Sometimes I wasn't sure how DS got through the day on what little he ate but I never argued with him about it.

[Pink Cashmere]

I actually think some food, particularly dishes that contain tomato based sauces, usually taste even better the day after they were cooked. 

If I go through the trouble of cooking, I prefer to cook enough that I have leftovers to eat the next day, so that’s one less day of concerning myself with what I’m going to eat.

When my children moved out and I lived alone, I had issues trying to cook certain foods in smaller portions for just me. So I often ate the same thing for a few days to avoid throwing it away, but also really because I had something to eat without having to cook again yet.

I do have limits though, I don’t like reheated fried chicken or reheated fish. That’s not to say I absolutely won’t eat it, but it’s not my preference. I don’t like reheated hamburgers either, unless they were charcoal grilled (on MY grill lol), and definitely not reheated French fries. 

Since I don’t like cooking every single day, leftovers are my friends lol.

[chiver78]

Nov 30, 2022 14:57:39 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Studies on food waste show an amazing % of our food never gets consumed. Some products go beyond their "sell by" date in the store, some spoil in transit to the store or warehouses (especially in countries where refrigerated trucks are scarce), some is not sold by restaurants, some is sold but left on the plates. And yes, some is thrown out by the consumer.

I've mentioned this before but my maternal grandparents were survivors of the Great Depression. You did NOT waste food. Wasting food was a sin. Once Grandma packed lunches for us when we went on a kids' outing sponsored by the church. I remember bringing home the portion I didn't eat- she packed too much- and she had fits because she had to throw it out.

It's easier to re-purpose now, with microwaves, big freezers and a ton of recipes on the Internet.

Why people still waste food:

1. Some stuff doesn't reheat well, especially fried foods. air fryer/broiler/sheet pan. fried foods reheat just fine with some imagination
2. Some can't be frozen- mashed potatoes get watery when thawed, for example. cream sauces are best reheated in a pan over low heat with added cream. mashed potatoes are similar - reheat with extra liquid and re-mash/stir if needed. it's not rocket science, not even close.
3. Some people probably don't have the willingness or the imagination to incorporate leftovers into another recipe. I don't think fish reheats particularly well, for example, but I'd throw it into a stir-fry. Others would be likely to pitch it. I'm lucky enough that my dogs eat fresh food, they get any leftover (unseasoned) fish with breakfast the next morning. zero argument here....
4. Maybe people feel cheap asking for doggie bags at a restaurant? I'm not. Most portions are over-seized anyway. This is a particular problem when you're traveling and don't have the ability to keep food cold or to re-heat it. I'm also not shy when I'm home. if I don't have a fridge/microwave when I travel, I won't take leftovers. 
5. And maybe that's how some people grew up- you don't eat it at the meal, you throw it out. I will never understand this. 

someone else has probably already commented on this, I'm late to the thread. but these are excuses from most folks. I recognize some don't have the tools to work with. see above in-thread. 

when I was a kid in the 80s, we were definitely lower working class. Friday night (party? fun?) dinner for our family of 5 was 2lbs of wings from the hot bar at the grocery store I walked to work at in my teens, and a big pot of Kraft dinner - 3 or 4 boxes. my dad back then was in his 40s, so my age now (fuck...) and still actively working construction, hanging sheetrock. and he was eating the same wings and Kraft dinner as the rest of us. 

[chiver78]

Nov 30, 2022 15:04:30 GMT -5 stillmovingforward said:

I found as I became a more accomplished cook with a bit more time on my hands, it's easier to use leftovers.

We used to just eat them as I originally cooked them. Now I transform them into different foods a lot of times. It's easier as there's only the 2 of us now.

I believe throwing away good food is a terrible thing. I know people who do it and it hurts at a visceral level but i try to be good about keeping my mouth shut. Some of my immediate family suffered from lack of food and I've lived in countries where food is not readily available to a large majority.

same. I'll also admit to being better about using 1-2 BSCB worth of cutlets to make a batch of chicken piccata, for example, vs cooking the entire family pack in one spot. and, having switched to fresh cooking for my pups, anything I won't get to by expiry definitely goes in their bowls to waste less. 

but a huge resounding YES to repurposing things. that's huge! 

[minnesotapaintlady]

Nov 30, 2022 15:08:33 GMT -5 swamp said:

Nov 30, 2022 14:57:39 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Studies on food waste show an amazing % of our food never gets consumed. Some products go beyond their "sell by" date in the store, some spoil in transit to the store or warehouses (especially in countries where refrigerated trucks are scarce), some is not sold by restaurants, some is sold but left on the plates. And yes, some is thrown out by the consumer.

I've mentioned this before but my maternal grandparents were survivors of the Great Depression. You did NOT waste food. Wasting food was a sin. Once Grandma packed lunches for us when we went on a kids' outing sponsored by the church. I remember bringing home the portion I didn't eat- she packed too much- and she had fits because she had to throw it out.

It's easier to re-purpose now, with microwaves, big freezers and a ton of recipes on the Internet.

Why people still waste food:

1. Some stuff doesn't reheat well, especially fried foods.
2. Some can't be frozen- mashed potatoes get watery when thawed, for example.
3. Some people probably don't have the willingness or the imagination to incorporate leftovers into another recipe. I don't think fish reheats particularly well, for example, but I'd throw it into a stir-fry. Others would be likely to pitch it.
4. Maybe people feel cheap asking for doggie bags at a restaurant? I'm not. Most portions are over-seized anyway. This is a particular problem when you're traveling and don't have the ability to keep food cold or to re-heat it.
5. And maybe that's how some people grew up- you don't eat it at the meal, you throw it out.

leftover french fries are vile 

The air fryer is magic on leftover french fries.  Any fried stuff really.

[chiver78]

Nov 30, 2022 15:08:33 GMT -5 swamp said:

Nov 30, 2022 14:57:39 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Studies on food waste show an amazing % of our food never gets consumed. Some products go beyond their "sell by" date in the store, some spoil in transit to the store or warehouses (especially in countries where refrigerated trucks are scarce), some is not sold by restaurants, some is sold but left on the plates. And yes, some is thrown out by the consumer.

I've mentioned this before but my maternal grandparents were survivors of the Great Depression. You did NOT waste food. Wasting food was a sin. Once Grandma packed lunches for us when we went on a kids' outing sponsored by the church. I remember bringing home the portion I didn't eat- she packed too much- and she had fits because she had to throw it out.

It's easier to re-purpose now, with microwaves, big freezers and a ton of recipes on the Internet.

Why people still waste food:

1. Some stuff doesn't reheat well, especially fried foods.
2. Some can't be frozen- mashed potatoes get watery when thawed, for example.
3. Some people probably don't have the willingness or the imagination to incorporate leftovers into another recipe. I don't think fish reheats particularly well, for example, but I'd throw it into a stir-fry. Others would be likely to pitch it.
4. Maybe people feel cheap asking for doggie bags at a restaurant? I'm not. Most portions are over-seized anyway. This is a particular problem when you're traveling and don't have the ability to keep food cold or to re-heat it.
5. And maybe that's how some people grew up- you don't eat it at the meal, you throw it out.

leftover french fries are vile 

try broiling them. I broiled some cold Cajun fries from Five Guys, and broke open a dippy egg over the plate. the fries were totally crispy, and the whole thing was fantastic. I've been craving it lately already, it might need to happen again soon. 

[busymom]

I welcome leftovers now.  Less food prep.  Plus, it's a big help with the monthly food budget.  I must be less picky now than I was in my 20's.  

[laterbloomer]

I've always loved leftovers. If I like something I don't mind eating it a few times/days in a row. There are a lot of things I like better as leftovers. If I do end up eating it for most of the week I just don't make it again for a while. We do at least 2 meals a week with planned leftovers and it's considered a treat if there are unexpected leftovers for lunch the next day. I love the phrase "cook once, eat twice"'

Oh! Whoever complained about rubbery steak the next day! You chop that baby up for steak sandwiches!!

[Deleted]

Last time DS and DDIL were here he wanted to make a fish stew. I bought $50 worth of crab legs at Costco and a couple of packages of shrimp. He noted that they were shelled and asked if I could get some IN the shells so he could make a broth with the shells. OK- another couple of packages. The shelled shrimp and the meat we pulled from the crab legs went into the stew, of course, but there was WAY more broth left over and DDIL isn't crazy about seafood, so he told me to keep it. Thank heaven for large freezers. I'm still working my way through that, using it for cooking vegetables.

No way am I gonna throw out the world's most expensive fish broth.

[jerseygirl]

When Jerseyguy does cook he makes big pots of whatever. Preferably he does for holidays when there are many. He tries to make less when just us two but doesn’t succeed. Last was a fantastic seafood tomato stew. Doesn’t freeze well so ate that for 3 days. I don’t complain cause it’s yummy and better than me needing to cook. But 3 days is limit

[raeoflyte]

Nov 30, 2022 15:21:03 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I usually plan for leftovers. I take some lunch and we'll have some the next day for dinner.

I am pretty decent at scaling recipes down so I'm not left with a ton. I just don't have the freezer space to store gallons of soup or broth or casseroles. I aim for 1-3 days worth tops.

Sometimes I try something and it just does not come out. The soup.I made last night was an epic fail.

I've given myself permission to not force myself to eat it till it's gone. Sometimes I just have bad luck.

It's probably wasteful but I'm not keen on forcing myself to eat something just to not waste it I feel like that sets up a new compulsion after awhile.

Either I don't make it again or study where I may have gone wrong so I at least don't make the same mistakes twice.

I made pollock 1 night when house mates still.lived here (we never ate together but 1 kitchen we were all around during each other's meal times). It was so awful I tossed all of it and housemates about died. They were the type that if a kid didn't finish dinner they got it back for breakfast. We were not compatible roommates.

[Deleted]

I thought of this thread today because we both ordered lentil soup at lunch and brought some home. Guess what we're having for breakfast tomorrow? With toast. A local diner makes the best lentil soup in the entire world. The owners are Greek and the cooks are Mexican so who knows what the magic is, but the flavor is amazing

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Dec 1, 2022 16:15:18 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

I thought of this thread today because we both ordered lentil soup at lunch and brought some home. Guess what we're having for breakfast tomorrow? With toast. A local diner makes the best lentil soup in the entire world. The owners are Greek and the cooks are Mexican so who knows what the magic is, but the flavor is amazing

One of the times I made lentil soup, I ate it for a few days and got sick of it.  I gave the rest of the pot to my coworker, who didn't cook much and he raved over it.  After that, I'd make something and share it with him because it's hard to make some things in small amounts for one.  

[chiver78]

Dec 1, 2022 16:27:06 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Dec 1, 2022 16:15:18 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

I thought of this thread today because we both ordered lentil soup at lunch and brought some home. Guess what we're having for breakfast tomorrow? With toast. A local diner makes the best lentil soup in the entire world. The owners are Greek and the cooks are Mexican so who knows what the magic is, but the flavor is amazing

One of the times I made lentil soup, I ate it for a few days and got sick of it.  I gave the rest of the pot to my coworker, who didn't cook much and he raved over it.  After that, I'd make something and share it with him because it's hard to make some things in small amounts for one.  

I fed my dad a bunch when I was only 20min away. anything Acadian, he came over that night for dinner and took at least half home with him. the few Acadian things my mom tried cooking when they were first married were disasters, so she never tried again. I'm actually sending her home Sunday with half the porchetta style pork roast I made on Thanksgiving. I was getting sick of it, so I froze it.

[Pink Cashmere]

Dec 1, 2022 10:09:26 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Nov 30, 2022 15:21:03 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I usually plan for leftovers. I take some lunch and we'll have some the next day for dinner.

I am pretty decent at scaling recipes down so I'm not left with a ton. I just don't have the freezer space to store gallons of soup or broth or casseroles. I aim for 1-3 days worth tops.

Sometimes I try something and it just does not come out. The soup.I made last night was an epic fail.

I've given myself permission to not force myself to eat it till it's gone. Sometimes I just have bad luck.

It's probably wasteful but I'm not keen on forcing myself to eat something just to not waste it I feel like that sets up a new compulsion after awhile.

Either I don't make it again or study where I may have gone wrong so I at least don't make the same mistakes twice.

I made pollock 1 night when house mates still.lived here (we never ate together but 1 kitchen we were all around during each other's meal times). It was so awful I tossed all of it and housemates about died. They were the type that if a kid didn't finish dinner they got it back for breakfast. We were not compatible roommates.

More than once when my children were growing up, I cooked dinner, tasted it, and told them “uhhh, let’s go get something for dinner”.

If it didn’t even taste good to me, I definitely wasn’t going to try to make my kids eat it, so takeout it was lol.

[wvugurl26]

Leftover Five Guys fries in the air fryer are delicious. I had a craving for that one day at work. I literally had no friends in that day to share them with so I brought them home. I got the smallest one but they gave me a whole bag full because I had to wait a bit.

Leftover steak gets gently reheated to be sliced over a salad or it goes on a sandwich or in a quesadilla.

[weltschmerz]

I love leftovers.  I grew up with parents who suffered through the Holodomor, and throwing out food was a crime and a sin.  Even a crust of bread goes to the birds. 
Leftover roast chicken or seafood become Asian soup bowls.
I'm a pretty good cook, but it's hard to cook for one, so i make plenty and freeze it.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Dec 1, 2022 16:46:57 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Dec 1, 2022 10:09:26 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

I made pollock 1 night when house mates still.lived here (we never ate together but 1 kitchen we were all around during each other's meal times). It was so awful I tossed all of it and housemates about died. They were the type that if a kid didn't finish dinner they got it back for breakfast. We were not compatible roommates.

More than once when my children were growing up, I cooked dinner, tasted it, and told them “uhhh, let’s go get something for dinner”.

If it didn’t even taste good to me, I definitely wasn’t going to try to make my kids eat it, so takeout it was lol.

I did that with a pot of soup I was making.  It was so bad the pot went down the garbage disposal and I sent TD out for pizza.  That was my final attempt at butternut squash soup.  

[teen persuasion]

I'm on a planned leftover kick, currently. A couple of days a week I work afternoon/evening, so DH has to do dinner; I try to prep something easy for him - in the summer it was often something he could grill, but it's too yucky right now for that. So yesterday I prepped turkey pot pie from Thanksgiving leftovers (gravy, cubed squash, a turkey leg/thigh) plus carrots/celery/potato. It made a big pan, so we have lots of leftovers from that we will enjoy for lunches (DS5 is weird, and doesn't enjoy it, so he had a turkey sandwich with the last of the white meat).
Weeks before Thanksgiving, I did pulled pork, and put the shredded meat in a big container in the fridge to use all week in different dinners - sandwiches, in spaghetti sauce, chili, etc. And mom said she/dad don't like turkey soup, so she sent me home with her turkey carcass for soup making - I make soup weekly because I love soup with my lunches. So I have quarts of turkey soup in the fridge, even after having soup as dinner one day last week!
Fridays I usually make pizza for dinner (I'm off, have time to make and raise the dough), and we all count on leftover pizza for lunches afterwards - as in, I should have 2 more pizza left - who ate *my* pizza?

Having access to a microwave at work for heating up soup or pizza is a big plus for me. DS4 doesn't have that. DH found it hard to take leftovers for lunch as a teacher, too, but is enjoying cleaning up leftovers now he's home everyday.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Dec 1, 2022 9:07:50 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Last time DS and DDIL were here he wanted to make a fish stew. I bought $50 worth of crab legs at Costco and a couple of packages of shrimp. He noted that they were shelled and asked if I could get some IN the shells so he could make a broth with the shells. OK- another couple of packages. The shelled shrimp and the meat we pulled from the crab legs went into the stew, of course, but there was WAY more broth left over and DDIL isn't crazy about seafood, so he told me to keep it. Thank heaven for large freezers. I'm still working my way through that, using it for cooking vegetables.

No way am I gonna throw out the world's most expensive fish broth.

This is how I start my seafood chowder.  Shrimp and lobster shells get cooked down with clam juice.  It’s a pain in the ass to make, and only done when I can get a good price for lobster, but so good.  First time I made it, it cost about $35.  Last time I made it, the cost was well over $60.  

I think I’ll be making it it again before we leave so will see how much more it costs this time.