s/o Don't like and/or won't eat leftovers

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oh definitely some stuff is WAY better leftover than other things.  Spaghetti, for example, NOT good as a leftover (other than maybe repurposing it).  But soups, stews, chili, all taste even better later on IMO.

 

French fries..another one that is vile leftover. 

 

But yeah what ticks me off isn't so much the refusal to eat leftovers, but rather the idea that I should want to cook three meals a day seven days a week.  Ugh...  I like to cook, but not THAT much.

 

 

[Barb_]

We've had kids stay here that refused leftovers. These were also ALWAYS the same kids who constantly asked for McDonald's, and were then SHOCKED when we pointed out that practically everything at McDonald's was prepared months in advance, frozen, and then carefully reheated in industrial microwaves. They insist that isn't true. We call a family member who used to work for a company that made those industrial microwaves. Almost all chain restaurants have high percentages of food not made on site, but pre-prepared and frozen.

So, if I partially cook something cool and freeze it immediately, I can heat it up later and not be able to tell the difference. Frozen veggies and dinners are fine and taste perfectly fresh to me. It's not the leftover thing that bothers me, it's the referigerated for 2-4 days that bothers me.

[Barb_]

Oh definitely some stuff is WAY better leftover than other things. Spaghetti, for example, NOT good as a leftover (other than maybe repurposing it). But soups, stews, chili, all taste even better later on IMO.

 

French fries..another one that is vile leftover.

 

But yeah what ticks me off isn't so much the refusal to eat leftovers, but rather the idea that I should want to cook three meals a day seven days a week. Ugh... I like to cook, but not THAT much.

We just eat cold stuff like hummus, veggies, chips and salsa, sandwiches, salads etc

[SparklyUnicorn]

We've had kids stay here that refused leftovers.  These were also ALWAYS the same kids who constantly asked for McDonald's, and were then SHOCKED when we pointed out that practically everything at McDonald's was prepared months in advance, frozen, and then carefully reheated in industrial microwaves. They insist that isn't true.  We call a family member who used to work for a company that made those industrial microwaves.  Almost all chain restaurants have high percentages of food not made on site, but pre-prepared and frozen.

 

Food isn't cooked with microwaves at McDs.  They cook the food on griddles and in fryers.  And then yes make it extra hot in a microwave before you get it, but it's not actually cooked in a microwave. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

We just eat cold stuff like hummus, veggies, chips and salsa, sandwiches, salads etc

 

I do eat a lot of salads, but there aren't too many cold low carb ready to go foods.  And really a good salad is nearly as much work as anything cooked.  So that's not some sort of magical freebie for me.  LOL

 

Which is why I love leftovers! 

[Arctic Bunny]

I totally get different folks having different food preferences, and I also totally get not wanting food battles, if you don't prefer what's on offer, go make a sandwich / get some yogurt.

 

I guess I can't quite get my head around the idea that "leftovers" is a food category. Different foods carry over pretty differently. Slow-cooked things like tangine, stews, chili to me taste better when they've had another day to meld; crispy quick-fried things like potato pancakes or french fries are completely soggy and gross even a few hours later; things like roast meat are lovely cold a day or two later but dried up if warmed. Et Cetera.

 

re repurposing into a different meal:

 

 

I cook, but I don't much enjoy cooking, so I have whole sequences based on this principle -- extra chicken one night, extra rice the next night, chicken fried rice the third... extra steak and potatoes one night, green salad topped with cold sliced steak and potato salad the third, etc.... tacos with extra cooked meat one night, chili out of the leftover meat the next, baked potatoes with chili fixings a few days later... Et Cetera.

 

And OTOH I don't much care if someone goes and makes a sandwich. But OTO I'm unlikely to spend more than 20-30 minutes making dinner on any given night. Complaints about dinner would make me feel much less inclined to make dinner.

Just to clarify *my* DH eats whatever is for supper with no complaints, even if it's leftovers. But if he's packing food for work, he'd rather make a sandwich.

[Barb_]

It's kind of funny, I never realized my physical aversion to warmed over food was a quirk. I just though everyone else was powering through the disgust :lol:

[SparklyUnicorn]

It's kind of funny, I never realized my physical aversion to warmed over food was a quirk. I just though everyone else was powering through the disgust :lol:

 

LOL

 

I bet we all have something like that over something!

[Laura Corin]

It's kind of funny, I never realized my physical aversion to warmed over food was a quirk. I just though everyone else was powering through the disgust :lol:

 

That's like my feeling about running: when I saw people puffing by in the past, I assumed that they were tougher than I was, that they could put up with how miserable running was.  I couldn't really believe that it was pleasurable for them.  Only now that I run myself do I really believe that at least some of them were having fun!

[Katy]

So, if I partially cook something cool and freeze it immediately, I can heat it up later and not be able to tell the difference. Frozen veggies and dinners are fine and taste perfectly fresh to me. It's not the leftover thing that bothers me, it's the referigerated for 2-4 days that bothers me.

Don't get me wrong, keeping leftovers beyond 3 days can bring them into dangerous levels of bacteria.  Label it when you put it in the fridge and throw it away if it's past 3 days.

[SparklyUnicorn]

That's like my feeling about running: when I saw people puffing by in the past, I assumed that they were tougher than I was, that they could put up with how miserable running was.  I couldn't really believe that it was pleasurable for them.  Only now that I run myself do I really believe that at least some of them were having fun!

 

Hah, I have the same thought.  How can anyone actually stand running?!  My throat kills me if I try to run. 

 

I will say at this point at the gym I'm nearly running on the treadmill without a problem.  I don't think I'll ever get into running, but I would not have thought I could do that.

[luuknam]

No to cold pizza. Room temperature for breakfast if left out overnight is fine though. Or reheated in the toaster oven, or *maybe* the microwave (not a fan of the latter, but it depends on my mood and the pizza). A lot of things I cook tend to end up with only 1 serving leftover, so that's breakfast or lunch, or sometimes 2 servings, so that might be breakfast and lunch, or kept for DW and me for dinner while the kids have something else (they tend to hate most everything I cook, even before it's a leftover). Most things I make are same or better as leftovers, some things worse, and sometimes I'll power through the dislike (though only rarely through disgust)(I can eat cold pizza if I have to, but blegh... there just seems to never be a need, since there are ways to reheat it).

[marbel]

I think in my house, the problem is not so much that leftovers are a separate category of food, it's that people don't want to eat the same thing the very next day.  Or, sometimes, even the day after that.  It's the desire for variety, I guess.   That, and has been said, some things just don't hold over well.  Also, some people don't freeze things well.  I can tell when something has not been wrapped properly for the freezer.  It just has a bad taste about it.  

 

I routinely save any leftover bits of meat and poultry for soups or quesadillas.  

 

But taste is so subjective.  I don't think there's anything to understand about the way other people eat.  People eat the way they do out of necessity or because it's what they like.  One of my kids has never liked meat.  A few years ago she decided to stop trying to like meat, and "officially" became a vegetarian.  I like meat, but it doesn't really matter to me to try to  understand why she doesn't.  She just doesn't.

[OneStepAtATime]

Oh definitely some stuff is WAY better leftover than other things.  Spaghetti, for example, NOT good as a leftover (other than maybe repurposing it).  But soups, stews, chili, all taste even better later on IMO.

 

French fries..another one that is vile leftover. 

 

But yeah what ticks me off isn't so much the refusal to eat leftovers, but rather the idea that I should want to cook three meals a day seven days a week.  Ugh...  I like to cook, but not THAT much.

On a side note, I love spaghetti as a leftover.   I sometimes add new things to the leftovers but even if I don't I am so happy when we have spaghetti because I know we will have leftovers to eat for lunch and sometimes DD and I will even eat it for breakfast.

 

I agree with others, each of us is different and has different tastes/interests/issues.  Some people apparently don't like spaghetti as a leftover, for instance.  I still think Sparkly is a fine human being.  LOL.

[OneStepAtATime]

Oh, and to clarify about my DH not eating leftovers, that doesn't mean he comes home demanding freshly cooked full meals every night.  He never has.  I do try to serve a freshly made meal at least 4 nights a week.  That leaves some nights where we either eat take out or we eat leftovers for dinner instead of the kids and I eating leftovers for lunch or we snack or whatever.  If we are having leftovers for dinner, or we are having a free for all and people just get whatever they can pull together, he makes a sandwich.  Or eats a bowl of cereal.  Or cooks up some chicken nuggets.  Or a salad.  He also likes Spaghettios (yuck).  We make it work.

 

 

[creekland]

FWIW, we love any sort of pasta as leftovers here.  I need to make more specifically to have them as leftovers.  Spaghetti sauces with added veggies, etc (the way I make them) are one of those things that usually tastes better the second day even when it tastes "good" the first day.  Stuffed peppers and meatloaf (again, the way I make them) are another.

 

There's very little that doesn't get kept as wanted leftovers here (french fries come to mind - or salad with dressing on it).  Anything in this category goes to our chickens and becomes eggs.  Usually we try hard to not have any of those leftover.

[Barb_]

You could always do what my mil did--throw whatever in a salad! Leftover beef stew--throw it in the salad--cold! Leftover spaghetti--throw it in the salad--cold! Leftover fried potatoes (she fried potatoes for EVERY meal!)--throw it in the salad--cold! It was the most disgusting table I'd ever seen.

Puke.

[creekland]

Puke.

 

I think most of us might gag at that one TBH... or lose a lot of weight!

[Arctic Bunny]

You could always do what my mil did--throw whatever in a salad! Leftover beef stew--throw it in the salad--cold! Leftover spaghetti--throw it in the salad--cold! Leftover fried potatoes (she fried potatoes for EVERY meal!)--throw it in the salad--cold! It was the most disgusting table I'd ever seen.

I think it's safe to say, that would turn anyone off the idea of leftovers!!

[Χά�ων]

I do not like leftovers if we are talking about how my mom would store extra food. I am not a fan of digging through the fridge to find the containers with the various parts of the meal, getting out a serving of each, making sure they are still good, putting the rest away, and heating the food up. Nothing was labeled and many times things would get burried and by the time I would find them they would be moldy.

 

I always make extra. I have black containers with a clear lid and I take the extra food and make individual freezer meals. DH takes them to work and the hobbit eats them for his send breakfast. Obviously, things like salad are not included.

[mellifera33]

You could always do what my mil did--throw whatever in a salad! Leftover beef stew--throw it in the salad--cold! Leftover spaghetti--throw it in the salad--cold! Leftover fried potatoes (she fried potatoes for EVERY meal!)--throw it in the salad--cold! It was the most disgusting table I'd ever seen. 

 

:leaving:  I do this. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

You could always do what my mil did--throw whatever in a salad! Leftover beef stew--throw it in the salad--cold! Leftover spaghetti--throw it in the salad--cold! Leftover fried potatoes (she fried potatoes for EVERY meal!)--throw it in the salad--cold! It was the most disgusting table I'd ever seen. 

 

ewww

 

Lot of stuff works fine in a soup or sometimes omelet...but not in a salad!!

[creekland]

:leaving:  I do this. 

 

Eh, we love you anyway. I can't imagine breaking any sort of relationship up (friend or otherwise) over food. But if we get together for any sort of meal that could include leftovers, let's do something else instead. I'll spring for take out.   :lol:  ;)

[mellifera33]

Eh, we love you anyway. I can't imagine breaking any sort of relationship up (friend or otherwise) over food. But if we get together for any sort of meal that could include leftovers, let's do something else instead. I'll spring for take out.   :lol:  ;)

 

Sounds good. Can I take the leftovers home to put on my salad the next day?  :laugh: 

SaveSave

[AnnE-girl]

We just listened to The Long Winter audiobook as a family on our trip to visit DH's family last weekend. I'll admit that I've reminded my kids several times that at least they aren't living off of the same type of plain bread for weeks at a time when they've complained about whatever food they don't feel like eating at the moment. They are generally good eaters, they would just prefer to be catered to more than I am willing to do.

 

I think the anti-leftovers people can possibly be grouped into a few categories. There seems to be those who think they are too good for leftovers, those who are excessively concerned about possible germs, and those with sensory/physical reactions. I think it's really the first category that I would have little patience for. We don't waste perfectly good healthy food because someone just wants something else.

[Laura Corin]

There are also tricks. I made minestrone yesterday (at the same time as making risotto for that night). I used wholegrain pasta because it's more substantial and doesn't go floppy. We are eating it tonight and I'll take it to the office for lunch tomorrow. Meanwhile, tomorrow night we will have fried risotto balls.

[luuknam]

Btw, I like leftover pasta that's been microwaved. That said, I often microwave it long enough that some of it becomes slightly crispy, and I cook it al dente to begin with (often about a minute shorter than the al dente instructions), so it's not soggy.

[Carol in Cal.]

Peas porridge hot

Peas porridge cold

Peas porridge in the pot

Nine days old

[Zinnia]

My mom doesn't like leftovers, so she cooks the exact amount she needs.  That lead to some wasted food right after she had an empty nest, and sometimes when we visit, she has to add a hefty dessert to even out kid appetites that have grown since the last time she fed us, but for the most part, it works. 

​Because she didn't/doesn't like leftovers, that is how I learned to cook.  My dh is very, very, very easygoing, and he likes leftovers for lunch, so I mostly cook one serving extra for him to take.  If it's something I like leftover (about half of foods), I'll cook 2 servings, and I'll eat it, too.  Otherwise, I eat salads or easy foods for lunch.  

 

We never eat the same meal two nights in a row.  I guess I thought that was the stuff of TV sitcoms.  

[Zinnia]

We also don't have a microwave, so all our leftovers go in the toaster oven or on the stove.  That does make me like them a lot better than the days when I was reheating home food in the microwave at work.  Blech. 

[Guest]

With (at one point) three kids homeschooling, we learned to utilize leftovers. It made lunch the next day easier. Some things we like better reheated.

[Guest]

Double post

Edited August 6, 2017 by tbog

[Frances]

All this talk of leftovers got me wanting some, so I just finished making a pan of lasagne and with twelve pieces, it will be lunch and dinner for me and my husband for the rest of the week. It's been a long time since I made it because it's a lot of work and not very healthy.

[happi duck]

As a generalization, I don't like leftovers.

 

I do think this thread is operating on some different definitions though.

 

To me, leftovers are the exact same food reheated and served a day or two after being cooked fresh.

 

To me, prepping ingredients ahead of time is a different thing and not leftovers. Like cooking extra beans: added to chili one night then in the fridge for salads or burritos later in the week is not leftovers, kwim?

[MaeFlowers]

I eat very, very few things as leftovers. Spaghetti sauce, chili and one or two other dishes. I try to cook to where I dont have leftovers. Luckily, dh and ds will eat some leftovers should I have any.

 

I also don't freeze foods. It either gets eaten or I toss it. Freezer food tastes awful and the consistency gets weird.

[MaeFlowers]

As a generalization, I don't like leftovers.

 

I do think this thread is operating on some different definitions though.

 

To me, leftovers are the exact same food reheated and served a day or two after being cooked fresh.

 

To me, prepping ingredients ahead of time is a different thing and not leftovers. Like cooking extra beans: added to chili one night then in the fridge for salads or burritos later in the week is not leftovers, kwim?

The beans are leftovers as far as I am concerned. Leftovers are anything not cooked that day.

[TX Native]

My former neighbor was like this. Husband and wife both worked full time, three kids. One day I was in her kitchen after dinner, and I saw her throw half a pan of lasagna away... I asked if it was burnt or what was wrong with it, she said her husband won't eat leftovers.

 

GOOD GAWSH LASAGNA IS BETTER THE SECOND AND THIRD DAYS!

 

Leftovers are a way of life in my house. Either intentional extras cooked, or just typical random leftovers for lunches or snacks.

 

We really can't afford to throw food away.

 

I guess if my husband/family refused to eat leftovers I'd at least cook smaller quantities of food, like the neighbor should just make half pans of lasagna.

I wish I had this neighbor. I would just ask her to give the leftovers to me instead of dumping them and then I would have to prep 1/2 the meals I currently prep. A "No Leftovers" policy is a no go here unless the person refusing wants to pay for and cook their own fresh meal. I intentionally make double anything that is a lot of work to fix for the purpose of having leftover nights. However, I do get that some people have more sensitive tastebuds. I freeze a ton of stuff and don't notice much difference in taste when defrosted and reheated. An extended family member that is fine with eating something a day or 2 later as leftovers swears the food never tastes right after frozen and reheated. Edited August 6, 2017 by TX native

[mathnerd]

I never serve leftovers - because I come from a family that cooked every meal from scratch. I also come from a family that never wasted any food. And there are diabetics because of eating all the leftovers even though they were full because it is not OK to waste good food!

So, after cooking dinner, I take out enough portions of food for everyone's meal and immediately freeze the leftovers. That way, I do not have to eat the same thing the next day, but, in a week or two, i would have a delicious home made lunch from the frozen leftovers without any effort at all! It is a win-win situation for me.

[Laura Corin]

I do think this thread is operating on some different definitions though.

 

To me, leftovers are the exact same food reheated and served a day or two after being cooked fresh.

 

 

You're right. We do both.

[Danestress]

Not a left over fan. The majority of foods are not improved by heating and reheating, imho. Stews can the the exception.

 

I tend to cook what we will eat in one night. If I cook too much, most of the time someone will eat it - but sometimes not. I actually do prefer a good sandwich to most leftovers.

[heartlikealion]

I get frustrated when things go to waste. Dh has made food that I did not eat and then insisted on freezing the leftovers which hogged freezer space. I finally said look, if no one is going to eat this why are we saving it?! He hasn't done that in a long time at least. And no, no one ate it. When he initially made the dish I'm pretty positive I tried it (some type of tuna casserole. Not my thing at all). I know in that circumstance we were both part of the problem.

 

Sometimes dh will bring home something like a rotisserie chicken. I want us to start eating it right away so it doesn't go bad. He'll scold me saying it's reserved for xyz meal he's making. But realistically we don't need the whole chicken for that. So right now I haven't touched the new rotisserie chicken and today will make day 3 of it in the fridge. If he doesn't do anything with it for dinner tonight like he had planned, I just know I'm gonna be stuck with this frantic, "oh no, let's save this chicken" moment. I'm going to have to pick the chicken and I don't even know if it's too late to freeze it. I don't see how he could possibly have time to cook with it when he said he has to make another dish for a work potluck tonight.

 

I'm fine with most leftovers. I get mad when people want to eat out if the leftovers need to be used up that day. I don't even always make something fresh to go with the leftovers. Just depends what there is/how much is left. When we stay at my MIL's house she usually has leftovers and we all gladly eat them.

[luuknam]

To me, prepping ingredients ahead of time is a different thing and not leftovers. Like cooking extra beans: added to chili one night then in the fridge for salads or burritos later in the week is not leftovers, kwim?

 

I both agree and don't. The leftover turkey from Thanksgiving is still leftovers if you then turn them into turkey sandwiches the next day. But prepping ingredients is not leftovers. I guess my distinction is whether the thing you're serving was a finished product in its own right.

 

I never serve leftovers 

So, after cooking dinner, I take out enough portions of food for everyone's meal and immediately freeze the leftovers. 

 

 

Yeah, I think those are still leftovers. 

[eternalsummer]

We almost never have leftovers.  Everyone just eats and eats.

 

When we do have leftovers, I love them :)  I don't reheat them.  We don't own a microwave and it seems pointless to heat up the entire oven for just one meal.  I will rewarm beans on the stove usually, although the kids like them cold.

[Rosika]

I don't care for leftovers. But I don't throw food away. I'm more cheap than I am averse to leftovers!

 

I don't like to cook much, either. And I'm not particularly good at it, but I do have it down as to about how much we need for a meal. That said, my kids and husband don't mind leftovers. Neither do my brother, my parents, or my ex-husband, and I see them all every day. If I cook "big" there are plenty of mouths to lap up the leftovers. Sometimes there's even a bidding war. Last week I got a Starbucks for my leftover chili because I promised to save it for my ex-husband instead of giving it to my brother (who showed up early, but empty-handed). 

 

Growing up we were the kind of poor you don't realize until you've moved away. We ate regular but simple meals. They were always fresh because we were on a farm. We still eat mostly fresh. I don't have a spit in my yard, but several of my uncles and cousins do. There is always enough meat to take home for leftovers for the week. I'm the only one who takes a pass! It's illogical that I'd rather buy uncooked meat from the store to cook the day-of than to eat leftover meat from an animal my family has raised, but what can I say. It's a quirk even I don't understand. I just roll with it! 

[foxbridgeacademy]

Dn 16 who lives with us on/off won't eat leftovers so at least 1-3 lunches/dinners a week he doesn't eat.  There's always other things but they usually require a bit more effort than sticking it in the microwave and he refuses to do more than that.

[wintermom]

I like some left overs, and don't care at all if some people won't eat them. There are lots of options to eat. It's not like there is no food in the house. Sometimes the dinner happens to be "scrounge for your own food" with left overs being one option, along with other options (toast, nachos and cheese, cereal). This type of meal happens a lot in the summer when sports activities and heat prevents anyone wanting a big, hot, sit-down meal. 

[TechWife]

I do not care for leftovers that have been stored in the refrigerator. We often cook things such as spaghetti sauce, chili and soups in quantities and  immediately freeze what is not eaten at that meal. However, if there is an extra serving of something and it goes into the fridge, it's up to my husband to eat it. The only exception is pizza, and only certain pizza (homemade pizza, Rosati's and Pizza Hut). We do cook in smaller quantities, but we are a small family and have always done this. It isn't hard to only cook the specific number of chicken breasts or other meat, nor is it hard to figure out how the appropriate quantities for sides. We rarely have casseroles and if we do, I cut the recipe in half and it's sized right for two or three people. If I make a lasagna recipe, I put half of it in a foil pan and freeze it without cooking it. We really don't waste a lot of food in our house even though we don't regularly have leftovers. 

 

 

[TravelingChris]

My dh eats a serving of our dinner the next day at lunch usually.  Not always, of course, like I don't have leftovers of fish and we throw away any leftover fries.  But let's say we had chicken breast with a sauce and green beans and rice- we eat two servings that night and usually have one serving left for him to eat for lunch.  I eat much less at lunch than he does if I even eat lunch so I just eat something else.  

 

But what I really can't understand is not liking to reheat soups or dishes like Boef Bourgenion.  They are usually the same or even better the next day.  My dh likes his leftovers a lot better than he likes sandwiches so he prefers to have those.  Nowadays, if I don't have leftovers for him, he normally goes to the cafeteria and gets something.

[BarbecueMom]

I think everyone here eats leftovers, depending on what it is. I don't eat dinner, so I eat the leftovers of whatever I made for breakfast or lunch the next day, unless it's something I can't eat like pizza. DH takes leftovers for lunch most days, either from the fridge or a frozen individual serving of something (red beans and rice, usually).

 

I don't eat prepared foods from grocery stores, and very rarely at restaurants. I'm not as concerned with germs originating in food as I am with germs from people passed on through food. One of DH's sisters shift managed a Subway once. Her entire crew had the flu and 102+ degree fevers. They were told by the store manager to work or be fired. Yep, they worked. Took turns napping in the back when they could no longer stand. I never ate at a Subway again.

[teachermom2834]

I didn't understand leftovers until I was the one cooking. I love leftovers now!

 

My dad grew up poor and refused leftovers. To him it was something poor people did and he had a decent job and would not eat leftovers. My mom grew up poor and she would eat leftovers long past the time they should have been consumed.