What do you do with leftovers?

I allow my children from a pretty young age to put how much food they want on their plate. I remind them while they are fixing their plate, that they can always have more but not to put more than they think they will eat on their plate. I expect them to finish what they take most of the time. If they leave behind a bite or two, that's not a big deal but I don't think they should load up their plate take 1 bite & declare they won't eat anymore. I always end up cooking more than what we'll eat, the kitchen leftovers become tomorrow's lunch.

Depending on how much is left, we will save it to snack on later or I might take it to work with me. If it is only a small bit we will throw it. It is interesting how the mother feeds her children then eats their leftovers! What about the fathers, do they get leftovers aswell or do they get fed with the children?? I dont have any children but wouldnt do this as, you cant really have a nice family meal as the mother wont be able to eat until the children have had enough! What happens if there is no leftovers??

We usually just put the leftovers in the fridge. At some point in the next day or so we will just have leftovers for dinner, or maybe even a snack.

Hello there limcyjain. I don't quite like to have leftovers and wherever possible, I make it a point to finish my food. However, should there be leftovers, I would either put them on another plate to be eaten later like the next morning or something and heat it up first. If not, I would just throw it, if it looks really not presentable at all. Hygienic factors matter to me as well and if I have eaten them with my hand, I would probably not keep the leftovers because it would be stale the next morning.

If i have leftover i simply eath it the next day! I can't even imagine that I would trow it away! If it's still good why not! Trowing food away is nothing more than like trowing your money outside. If you always have leftovers you should consider buying less food or preparing less. =D lol

Here we refrigerate most let overs, things like chicken meat, lobster meats,etc are used to make salads and sandwiches, and the other leftovers like soups, rice etc,some people freeze it,while others may not, depending on how long it is kept for. I love to eat rice that has been frozen, when reheated it has a fresh taste to it.

Any leftovers on someone's plate are discarded. I used to give my children small portions and if they wanted more another small portion. I never ate what they left on their plates because as you say it can lead to over eating on the part of the mother and lead to weight gain. Any leftovers in the pots or serving dishes are put in the fridg and incorporated into a new dish the next day. A spoonful of vegetables is put in little containers and frozen to be used up the next time I make vegetable stock.

When my husband makes enough food for us to have leftovers, we eat the leftovers the next day, or I eat them for a snack. Food does not go wasted in our household. If we have a piece of meat or something that might be a little too old for us to eat, we'll give it to the dog, so it won't be wasted.

We normally would just finish up the food and my girlfriend would cook dishes just enough for the two of us for a meal. If there's any leftover, we normally would finish it up during dinner. My mom has a habit of cooking alot at one time and she likes to keep leftovers in the fridge for days and even weeks. So i think it is kinda waste keeping good food in the fridge hoping to eat them the next day but then you end up forgetting that you have leftover food from yesterday in the fridge. If you are eating your kid's leftover, you will and might gain weight. But that depends as to what type of food you are preparing. So i guess, if you are afraid of gaining weight because of eating your kid's leftover food, you can try cooking the meals just enough for everyone. You can estimate how much one would eat and if it is not enough, you can just cook it again rather than it being wasted. So, just cook enough and if they feel like they are still hungry, you can always cook as per request. Good luck.

i always put what I do not eat into dishes and save for the next day in my refrigerator. then I can have that for lunch or for a snack.that way I will not overeat.

I thank you for this post... I have a boyfriend, also from India, who enjoys cooking meals. He serves such large portions and has a hard time when I say "no" to him as in... "No I do not want any more to eat. I have had enough. Really." He say, "You can eat more. You will be hungry later..." He tells me that it is like this when he is a guest in other Indian households... so I begin to wonder if perhaps your children would be better at finishing their meals if you gave them smaller portions... mini sized portions... smaller portions of the foods that you know that they hate and larger portions of the healthy things that they like, or, if they are old enough, let them serve themselves. Perhaps then there would be no leftovers on their plates. Here, I live alone and so there are often leftovers. I cover up the plate with plastic wrap and put it into the refrigerator to be reheated in the microwave later when I am hungry or put the leftovers, anything left over from the meal, normally what is stil left in the pot and not on the plate, in a plastic reusable container and serve myself portions from that throughout the week. I do not believe in overstuffing yourself or in having your children overstuff themselves just because of a fear of waste... If there are leftovers, the food can even be fed to the animals outside who would be glad for such an offering. It need not get wasted.

My children can leave leftovers if they wish I will not force them to eat if they are full this is a bad practise for anyone to get into and can create bad eating habits later in life. I dont eat the leftovers either I throw them in the bin, after my 4 and 2 year olds have pushed it around their plates the 2 year old often dribbles thanks to cutting teeth no their leftovers do not look in the least appetising!

We usually try to use all of our leftovers,not the ones from the plates ,but the ones that are left from when we have served the meal.If there are vegetables left I usually make soup from them,or put them all together and fry them in a little nob of butter and make what we call bubble and squeak ,which is good.The leftover meat can be eaten cold..an we can generallly find uses for anything else thats left over too.

I often throw away the leftovers into rubbish.

I agree that finishing off the food from a child's plate has a tendency to add on the pounds. it is my husband who gets the honors here... when the child just simply can not finish and there is not enough to save. either that or it goes to the chickens. I try to serve the children only the amounts I know they can handle, but my judgment is not always perfect.

Throwing away leftovers is not an option.. Although it does happen, you know the plastic container that gets pushed to the back of the fridge.. Well, that one goes to the garbage, along with the green stuff that grows so freely on the items left in the plastic container.. Maybe if you gave the children smaller portions and let them have seconds if they are still hungry, that would work out so much better.. It is not good to force a child to eat, I know some people who do, and that is not good, most doctors say that a child will eat when it gets hungry.. If you are finding leftover food on their plates, just cut down on the portions and everyone should be happy with that.. I do not like to see, nor think of a child going hungry, but I also do not like to see good food wasted..

After my family have dinner, my grandmother and my mother always keep the leftovers into fridge. And the next day we'll use it. We used leftover foods until it's over.

Well. My parents have already induced that habit in me and my sis. If there is anything left over .. We just preserve it n the fridge for the next morning..Then my mother or father usually find something to make out of it.. Its usually some Rice or Rotis. They just mince them and add some spices or left over gravy to make a mix curry kinda thing.. most of the time it tastes awesome.. and I wish that they made this always for dinner or for lunch.. bourne

Hmmm. Well, to be honest we don't tend to eat a lot of leftovers, even though we do put them away in the fridge if there are any. I think what you're getting at is the idea that you need to eat whatever is on your plate. While this is a good thing in a way, it is only good if you take a little, eat that, and then go get more if you are still hungry. The whole 'clean your plate' philosophy does indeed contribute to health issues and a fight over meals and food and eating. While I do expect my 4 year old to eat her dinner, that doesn't mean she eats an overflowing plateful or even has seconds. What that does mean is that she eats some of the main dish, some of the side dishes, and isn't hungry after dinner - so that it's appropriate for her to have a snack or a treat later but isn't filling her tummy with snacks and treats. I also do expect her to eat the same meal, I am not a short order cook and I do not make anything separate for anybody. The meal that is cooked is the meal for everybody, and that is what you eat.... or you can choose to not have dinner. What I have always told my kids is that there is always more. Take some, eat it, if you are still hungry, have seconds. Don't stuff your plate with food you aren't going to eat and then leave it, know what I mean? I don't eat what they don't finish either, it is put away or tossed.

I think rather then just giving them alot to eat, give out only small proportions of food, then if the children wants second they can get seconds.