Wasted food: How do you deal w/ this in your home?

[Sue G in PA]

My dc (not all of them) have a big problem with wasting food. It makes me sick, especially now that food prices have shot up and we can't afford to buy as much. It bothered me before for other reasons, but it's just compounded now. The worst offenders are my ds7 and ds5. They will fix something to eat, eat half and toss the rest or leave it sit. I typically won't allow them anything else to eat until a mealtime when they do this. They do the same at dinner. Dh and I fix their plates and make sure to put a very small amount of food on the plate...better to ask for seconds than waste, right? Well, ds5 for example will take one bite of say a hot dog and say he's "fulled". :confused: Five minutes later he wants dessert or a "snack". Of course, we point him in the direction of his unfinished dinner. How do you handle this at your house? Is it a big deal to you? I don't like arguing over food b/c I don't want eating or food to become an issue, but I also don't like wasting food!

[Plucky]

If it's a habit I'd just wrap it up for their next meal. Reheat if needed. :)

[Julie Herbster]

If it's a habit I'd just wrap it up for their next meal. Reheat if needed. :)

Good idea.

 

Since I have five ravenously hungry kids, very little food goes to waste around here. I keep snacking to a bare minimum, and usually a "snack" means cereal pieces, a few crackers, cookies, or a piece of fruit--not something that requires fixing/wasting. My 5yo dd has minor blood sugar issues and needs more regular intake than the others, so I let her snack a little more often. As a result, she eats less than the others at mealtime.

 

Like you, Sue G, we don't allow desserts if a reasonable amount of healthful food has not been consumed.

[Remudamom]

Yep, reheat and eat. No more snacks when they do this. No desserts.

[JennifersLost]

We're strict about this because dh was raised to "clean his plate". I never realized how much food I wasted until I met him. If a kid takes too much once in awhile that's fine - I'm not going to force-feed anyone, but on a daily basis they are expected to eat what's on their plate and desserts or snacks are "bonuses", not enough food to "fill you up".

 

The boys are now trying to eat again at bedtime and I'm resisting this mightily - I just don't want to have to clean up the kitchen all over again at 9 pm, ya know?

[Ellie]

My dc (not all of them) have a big problem with wasting food. It makes me sick, especially now that food prices have shot up and we can't afford to buy as much. It bothered me before for other reasons, but it's just compounded now. The worst offenders are my ds7 and ds5. They will fix something to eat, eat half and toss the rest or leave it sit. I typically won't allow them anything else to eat until a mealtime when they do this. They do the same at dinner. Dh and I fix their plates and make sure to put a very small amount of food on the plate...better to ask for seconds than waste, right? Well, ds5 for example will take one bite of say a hot dog and say he's "fulled". :confused: Five minutes later he wants dessert or a "snack". Of course, we point him in the direction of his unfinished dinner. How do you handle this at your house? Is it a big deal to you? I don't like arguing over food b/c I don't want eating or food to become an issue, but I also don't like wasting food!

 

I'm thinking that (1) they would no longer be able to fix food for themselves. More work for you :-( but you could predetermine when lunch would be, fix the food, and all of you sit down together and eat. You divvy up the portions. When they say they are finished, you excuse them from the table, and they get nothing else to eat--nothing--until supper.

 

And (2) when they get down from the supper table saying they are full, they get nothing--nothing, not even their unfinished dinner--until breakfast the next morning. (I don't believe in keeping unfinished meals around to offer later.)

 

There are no arguments in either case. Here's the food; eat it or don't; have more at the next meal.

[Crissy]

I'm thinking that (1) they would no longer be able to fix food for themselves. More work for you :-( but you could predetermine when lunch would be, fix the food, and all of you sit down together and eat. You divvy up the portions. When they say they are finished, you excuse them from the table, and they get nothing else to eat--nothing--until supper.

 

And (2) when they get down from the supper table saying they are full, they get nothing--nothing, not even their unfinished dinner--until breakfast the next morning. (I don't believe in keeping unfinished meals around to offer later.)

 

There are no arguments in either case. Here's the food; eat it or don't; have more at the next meal.

 

With all of the above, I agree.

[Unicorn.]

We handled it pretty much as you-point right back at that plate. Another thing we did at that age(and still do) was to tell them they couldn't leave the table until everyone was finished! That way, they aren't putting play time ahead of meals, and asking for junk later. It also makes them slow down, and enjoy their family!

[gardenschooler]

We have dogs, and they're rather pudgy. :D Actually, I cook a very small amount of food, because I know how my girls will eat. That helps some.

[gardenschooler]

I'm thinking that (1) they would no longer be able to fix food for themselves. More work for you :-( but you could predetermine when lunch would be, fix the food, and all of you sit down together and eat. You divvy up the portions. When they say they are finished, you excuse them from the table, and they get nothing else to eat--nothing--until supper.

 

And (2) when they get down from the supper table saying they are full, they get nothing--nothing, not even their unfinished dinner--until breakfast the next morning. (I don't believe in keeping unfinished meals around to offer later.)

 

There are no arguments in either case. Here's the food; eat it or don't; have more at the next meal.

 

Ellie, are you available for hire? I bet two weeks with you would straighten my girls right out. :)

[Reya]

If it's a habit I'd just wrap it up for their next meal. Reheat if needed. :)

 

Ditto.

 

Of course, my DH, who eats what two teenage boys do put together, typically takes care of any leftovers, anyway. ;-)

 

Added: To put him in perspective, our good friends the neighbors send over leftovers they'd otherwise toss for him. THAT'S how much of an eating machine he is. :-) At 142-155 lbs, I might add...

[Laura Corin]

If food isn't finished at a meal, then there's no snack until the next meal. Any snack that is fixed has to be finished.

 

Laura

[74Heaven]

If food isn't finished at a meal, then there's no snack until the next meal. Any snack that is fixed has to be finished.

 

Laura

 

I really vote against the "offer the meal again or reheat it" advice. I did that for years and it was way too much trouble for the mom. Plus the food often didn't keep or reheat very well and so it wasn't really very appetizing the second time around.

 

We do what Laura does - we've done it for a year and it works like a charm. Even my then 4yo would say, "Mom I don't want to eat this. I won't have a snack later either."

 

And we don't snack very regularly but we do often enough. And I've said a few times, "yes, you can have a snack *if* you finished your lunch." And there is very, very, very little arguing at this point. The rule is so entrenched and enforced.

 

This is one of the benefits of being a homeschool mom. We *know* what our kids eat and when and how much. It is much easier to deny someone a meal or snack if you know they had a good nutritious breakfast and lunch and snack!

 

lisaj, mom to 5

Lisaj

***

[melissel]

I struggle with weight issues myself, so I won't ever force my kids to finish a meal if they're not hungry. However--and I know this will horrify some of you the way it horrifies my mom--we leave the kids' plates on the table after meals. My toddler, in particular, is a grazer, and will keep going back to that plate. She actually prefers her food cold. It eliminates a lot of begging for snacks and dessert, because I can say, "Your food is right there...go for it!" If they're begging for dessert and they've eaten healthfully all day, sometimes I'll even let them have a very small dessert with the reminder that if they're still hungry even after that, their plate will be waiting for them. And for my big kid, it cuts down on the amount of food she's eating, because she can wander off whenever she wants to without feeling like she's got to clear her plate because I'm taking it off the table. 90% of the time, she never comes back for the food that she would have wolfed down if I'd told her to finish up because I was clearing the table.

 

For us, snacks are also a couple of crackers or a little (think baby food bowl) of dry cereal or a piece of fruit, and I am the one who doles them out (in spite of my toddler's best efforts to serve herself!). I push the fruit, so even if they only eat half of it, I don't mind so much, because I'm just happy they're eating fruit as a snack (which I was not raised to do, and I still struggle with fruits and veggies), and they know they'll be seeing fruit again later, so it's not like they're abandoning the fruit and begging for, say, ice cream.

 

I won't make food an issue here for many reasons, so this is our approach. I also hate wasted food, but I'd rather see it go in the garbage than make the kids eat it if they're not actually hungry.

[melissel]

We do what Laura does - we've done it for a year and it works like a charm. Even my then 4yo would say, "Mom I don't want to eat this. I won't have a snack later either."

 

And we don't snack very regularly but we do often enough. And I've said a few times, "yes, you can have a snack *if* you finished your lunch." And there is very, very, very little arguing at this point. The rule is so entrenched and enforced.

 

This is a bit OT, but can I ask a question of the moms who have these rules? What is your thinking behind this? (And I'm not asking to be snarky, I'm just trying to understand. I know lots of people do it, so I always felt like I must be missing the point or something!)

 

I know my kids--if told they couldn't have the fun part of their meal unless they finished their meal, they would eat their whole meal and then eat their dessert, whether they were still hungry or not. Isn't that counterproductive? Do you not find that to be the case? Would your kids really not clean their plate and walk away from dessert?

 

Thanks!

[Marie in Oh]

[QUOTE=melissel;275724]This is a bit OT, but can I ask a question of the moms who have these rules? What is your thinking behind this? (And I'm not asking to be snarky, I'm just trying to understand. I know lots of people do it, so I always felt like I must be missing the point or something!)

 

I know my kids--if told they couldn't have the fun part of their meal unless they finished their meal, they would eat their whole meal and then eat their dessert, whether they were still hungry or not. Isn't that counterproductive? Do you not find that to be the case? Would your kids really not clean their plate and walk away from dessert?

Thanks!

 

How is this counter productive? It only is if there was too much food to begin with. We give our children healthy, reasonable portions for their ages-- 1/4 of a chicken breast, 1/4 of a cup of rice and 4 broccoli heads is a resonable amount of food for a child under 5 to eat. If they can't eat that then no dessert or snack til the next meal. Now, if I were requiring them to eat adult portions and making them finish this would be requiring them to over eat.

 

If it is something a child really hates, I have had them skip dessert. Not very often, but it has happened.

 

People have argued that making a child finish their plate will make them over weight-- it will if they are eating junk and processed meals-- not with good, healthy food. And like I said, it depends with how much they are starting with. Adult portions are not approapriate for the under 5 crowd. By the way, I don't have any problems with this stuff with my kids beyond 5, so I know it works. And most of them eat as much as I do, and they are low (20% and under) on the weight charts.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

We do the same as a lot here, eat the healthy food that was prepared for you, small servings. I always gauge how much a child has eaten against the reasons they seem to want to leave their food. We don't have a hard and fast rule, except that if at all possible food will not be wasted.

 

So, if little brother can only eat half his burger, big brother or dad gets asked if he wants it. But a child who eats a couple of bites of dinner and says he is full doesn't get anything else except more dinner when he is hungry again. "It is more important to eat healthy food than snacks." "Dessert is not a right."

 

We also don't have a regular dessert time after every meal. So my kids don't expect "something better" after dinner.

 

We don't have too many hassles and my kids don't have any food hangups, except that I can't get the younger ones to eat their sandwich crusts yet.

[Kathy in MD]

We have dogs, and they're rather pudgy. :D

 

I was thinking a dog was a good solution too :)

[MomofSeven]

this is usually enough motivation for them to finish.

 

I do avoid giving them something to eat that I know they absolutely hate, but I do ask them to try at least a bite of something new.

 

If my 2 yo absolutely refuses to eat, she has two older brothers who are usually willing to fight over her uneaten food. We actually have a joke in my family about the vultures who have come to feast and start making a "caw caw" sound as they ask to finish off her food.:001_smile:

[CalicoKat]

use a smaller bowl or plate.

 

We've got a problem with one child who fills her bowl to brim with cereal and then only finishes half. -- I changed out the cereal bowls with something way smaller. She can always have a 2nd serving.

 

Instead of using dinner plates, my wasters get the smaller dessert plates. They take better sized servings--less waste.

[Quiver0f10]

I agree with cutting out the snacks and if they don't eat it, reheat it when they tell you they want a snack.

[elegantlion]

This is a bit OT, but can I ask a question of the moms who have these rules? What is your thinking behind this? (And I'm not asking to be snarky, I'm just trying to understand. I know lots of people do it, so I always felt like I must be missing the point or something!)

 

I know my kids--if told they couldn't have the fun part of their meal unless they finished their meal, they would eat their whole meal and then eat their dessert, whether they were still hungry or not. Isn't that counterproductive? Do you not find that to be the case? Would your kids really not clean their plate and walk away from dessert?

 

Thanks!

 

Pink Floyd! "You can't have any pudding, if you don't eat your meat." I have quoted that at the dinner table many times. My ds is a picky eater, he gets that from me. He also eats smaller portions than any child I've ever seen. I dish up his food most of the time. He won't eat more food just for dessert, but we don't do dessert at every meal.

 

To the OP we usually handle the situation based on his attitude. Most of the time if it is reheatable it becomes lunch the next day. If it is a bite or two dad or the dog will eat it. We don't ask him to clean his plate but he is required to try everything he is served.

[Sara R]

We do most of these things too. But sometimes the kids ask why it's bad to waste food. We tell them it's not just because it's a waste of money. It's also disrespectful to the food itself, and to the people who produced it. If it's meat, an animal died to create that food. If it's milk or eggs, an animal worked hard to produce that. Farmers work hard to produce the food. If we just throw that food away that's a waste of all of their work. If we grew it ourselves, we would feel that.

 

I remember hearing the phrase "There's no use crying over spilled milk." I then remember spilling my own pumped milk when I was a breastfeeding mama, and the difference in despair that I felt compared to spilling storebought cow's milk. We feel the waste when we do the production ourselves. So it's important in our habits that we don't waste food, by serving small portions (overeating also wastes food) and encouraging our children to eat healthy food.

[Anne/Ankara]

By 5 and 7, the kids should be old enough to delay gratification a bit, and understand about the crucial importance of food. Certainly I would keep uneaten food and offer it again if the child again asked for another snack. I wouldn't serve it at a meal, but the half-eaten fruit or whatever could certainly be suitable snack if the child really couldn't wait until the next meal... just one idea!

[Ellie]

Ellie, are you available for hire? I bet two weeks with you would straighten my girls right out. :)

 

:grouphug:

It's always easier to say what you'd do with someone else's dc :-)

 

My younger dd used to do the same thing (except we nailed her for it when she was 2): eat 1 bite of everything and say she was full, get down from the table, come back while the rest of us were still there, and say she was hungry. Uh, no. It's not gonna work that way, dearie:D

[Amy in NH]

Would your kids really not clean their plate and walk away from dessert?

 

Yes, actually, they do.

 

And sometimes my oldest would rather have another helping of dinner than dessert.

 

We have family meal times with a few fruit/cheese type of snacks throughout the day. The kids don't "fix" themselves food without my express permission. They don't leave the table until everyone is finished. I know what my kids eat all day, and I don't expect them to eat an unreasonable amount of food at dinner before getting a treat (dessert). The little kids would rather say they aren't hungry, when they really are/have been complaining of hunger before dinner, and then eat dessert instead of their dinner. But our rule is that if they are too full for dinner, they are too full for dessert. And sometimes they really do walk away from their meal & skip dessert too.

 

We are willing to negotiate on the amount of food, especially on things they "don't like". We don't usually insist on a "clean plate", but they must eat at least three bites of those things they don't like. My 6yo, who "didn't like" asparagus, now claims it to be his favorite vegetable.

[Laura Corin]

For us, it's just a recognition that it's up to them to eat as much as their body needs, but at the same time to recognise that food shouldn't be wasted. If they aren't hungry enough to finish up a meal, that's fine: there's no stigma attached. We just take it as a signal that they are not very hungry that day, so probably don't need a snack.

 

Our snacks are not exciting - low-sugar breakfast cereal, crackers, bread, fruit, nuts, home-made yoghurt, veggies - so they are not something to really look forward to. Instead a snack is there for someone having a hungry day.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[skimerinkydo]

I do not cater to children when it comes to dinner, I fix the same food for the whole family and the child may take it or leave it. I have tried various things for encouraging the children to eat and not waste:

 

Recently my children were wasting milk. So I switched to powdered milk for a month, then when I bought "fresh" milk again they were excited about it and less likely to waste it.

 

Another one that works rather well is...if you are too tired to eat your dinner then you may go straight to bed.

 

If a child will not eat dinner, I save it for breakfast, if it is not eaten for breakfast it is save for lunch, etc...with no other snacks allowed. Eventually they will eat it.