Do you throw away food? How do you manage the extra food at home?
By Sreekala
@Sreekala (34312)
India
November 16, 2009 1:04am CST
Hi friends,
Everybody will agree with me that the food is expensive and many people are not getting sufficient food for eating. At our home sometime the foods become extra and I think all of us are keeping the same in refrigerator and using in next time. But some kind of foods we can’t keep in fridge and the only option is to dispose it off.
In the place where I live presently, extra chapattis give to the street cows, which is also good. In my native place also the same practice is going on if there is extra food and it will give to the cows (most the houses are keeping cows/goats as pet). If anybody doesn’t have cows or any other animals at home they prefer to give the neighborhood (house) animals.
Extra foods on functions may be distributed to neighborhood people and beggars so that it won’t go as a waste.
In our tradition food is treating as equal to GOD so throwing away the same is just like a sin and many people are taking care of the extra foods at home. In anybody is passing through at the time of eating time/if a person is coming home and ask food definitely they will get food.
Please share your views on the same topic. You can add your thoughts, opinion, experience etc to enrich the post
.
Thank you and have a nice day to you all.
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Thank you and have a nice day to you all. 15 people like this
102 responses
@jugsjugs (12967)
•
16 Nov 09
If we have alot of food that is going out of date or other food that we can not eat we tend to feed it to our chickens or our dogs rather do that than throw it in the bin.I never throw anyfood in the bin as there will always be a animal some where at mine that will eat it.iF I HAVE FOOD THAT IS OK AND FRESH THEN I WILL ALSO GIVE IT TO ONE OF MY FRIENDS TO TAKE HOME WITH THEM.
3 people like this
@dpk262006 (58678)
• Delhi, India
16 Nov 09
Hi Sree!
Quite an interesting post. When we cook food, it sometimes so happen that at the end of the day, we tend to get leftover. I feel really bad, if the extra food does not get utilized. As you have pointed out everything is getting expensive and wastage of any kind pinches us. We sometimes, use leftover food of night the next day. Giving it to the animals or beggars is not a bad option, rather than throwing the same in the dustbin. I feel that when one cooks, gradually s/he should become perfect so that s/he could cook, as per requirements and no wastage if left behind.
. When we cook food, it sometimes so happen that at the end of the day, we tend to get leftover. I feel really bad, if the extra food does not get utilized. As you have pointed out everything is getting expensive and wastage of any kind pinches us. We sometimes, use leftover food of night the next day. Giving it to the animals or beggars is not a bad option, rather than throwing the same in the dustbin. I feel that when one cooks, gradually s/he should become perfect so that s/he could cook, as per requirements and no wastage if left behind. @Sreekala (34312)
• India
17 Nov 09
Hi deepak,
I agree if a person is cooking regularly she/he can understand the requirement in a day. I know it well how much food we need at home but something happens some days like an expected guest break the promise (I said it an example, there are so many reasons behind it). Earlier I had the habit of throwing food to dustbin without feeling guilty but now I don’t have that habit and I am wiser now. (I did the same much much before)
Thank you very much for the appreciation.
Have a nice day.
Have a nice day.2 people like this
@chaitra001 (3278)
• Bangalore, India
16 Nov 09
Hi Sreekala.. Good Topic you raised.. In my home I try to cook enough amount so that it get finished off the same day.. If it is more and reusable I keep it in frdge and use next day.. or I will give it to my servent lady.. Some times If any beggar comes I will give to them.. There is one dog in our street it comes near my home sometimes.. So I put the food to it also.. Some times I forget to keep in the frdge overnight so it gets spoiled by morning so I need to dispose it off because spoiled food is not good for even dogs also.. so I just dispose it in a cover..
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
18 Nov 09
Hi Chaitra,
You have so many options with the left over food. Yes, if it is spoiled then it is not good to give even to dogs and it is better to dispose it off. I never forget to keep the food in fridge because in summer it is very hot here and we have to keep the same in fridge and it is become habitual for me and in winter too I keep the left over food in fridge.
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Thank you very much chaitra.
Have a nice day.
Have a nice day.1 person likes this
@chaitra001 (3278)
• Bangalore, India
18 Nov 09
its ok sree.. I can understand.. need not have to say sorry dear.. It might be some Javascript error..
1 person likes this
@aerous (13434)
• Philippines
17 Nov 09
If there is an extra food in our home. I'll make sure this is not throw because all of those is important to feed our dog and other pet in our surroundings...Or instead to throw it away we give it to the beggar at the street...Have a nice day!
@reco13 (605)
• Philippines
16 Nov 09
As much as possible, I avoid throwing away food. It came from God and a blessing from Him. There are many people dying from hunger, so I won't waste this blessing from God. I also share the same thing with my friends. Eversince I was young, we were practiced to eat whatever is prepared before us. We should not be choosy in what to eat. Rather, we must be thankful for having the grace. I also have the habit of eating everything in my plate. I don't like my plate to have so many leftovers. It pisses me off when I see people in buffet dining getting everything and then just leave them. I wonder if they realize how many people starve then they just waste those foods.
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
16 Nov 09
Hi reco,
Well said dear friend. There are lots of people living without getting sufficient food. Recently I watched a programm, in that a mother said that they are eating only one time and all of her kids are suffering some kind of illness. I really felt bad on them, really think how much fortunate are we, we have sufficient food to eat. It is the gift of GOD and we are blessed with the same.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Have a great time.
There are lots of people living without getting sufficient food. Recently I watched a programm, in that a mother said that they are eating only one time and all of her kids are suffering some kind of illness. I really felt bad on them, really think how much fortunate are we, we have sufficient food to eat. It is the gift of GOD and we are blessed with the same.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Have a great time.3 people like this
@jhlgrimm (4)
• United States
18 Nov 09
I totally agree with you about the buffet dining, people are so wasteful. I can understand getting something and then not liking it, but this has got to be my biggest pet peeves. If you cant or wont eat it you should not have it on your plate. I was razed to finish everything given to me, because there are worse things to have and worse places to be. God gave it to you, show him what it means to you though the actions that you do.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (137772)
• India
16 Nov 09
Not even a grain of rice is wasted in our house. If there are left overs they are frozen and brought out may be a week later. If food is left in the plates that is thrown into our compost pit along with other kitchen waste. We do not give such left overs to our pets. Pets get their own food specially cooked for them.
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
17 Nov 09
Hi allknowing,
Your pets are lucky they are getting food specially prepared for them. I think those people who are keeping pets at home, are providing food for them specially. It is great thing to have a compost pit at home but all people can't make the same at home especially those are living in city.
I am happy to know that you are taking care of food and never waste anything. Thank you so much for sharing.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.2 people like this
@allknowing (137772)
• India
17 Nov 09
My maids never took kindly to left over food until I also ate with them!!!
1 person likes this
@Banaoang (1)
• Philippines
18 Nov 09
I feel guilty when seeing my friends leaving their plates with leftovers. I sometimes tell them not to order food from a restaurant if they can't eat it all. It would be waste of money.
PS: I feel sorry for the chef for his effort and time in making the food wasted.
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
7 Dec 09
Hi Banaoang,
Welcome to mylot.
In restaurant there is no option to save the food, once our stomach get full. It is good to order less quantity to avoid the wastage. Don't worry about the chef, you are paying for the food and they are getting money too, so they do not bother.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice day.
.
In restaurant there is no option to save the food, once our stomach get full. It is good to order less quantity to avoid the wastage. Don't worry about the chef, you are paying for the food and they are getting money too, so they do not bother.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice day.
@greenfeathers (1206)
• United States
17 Nov 09
Leftovers is the mainstay of our diet, often going thru multiple incarnations! At present there's leftover beef stew in the freezer because there's only me here while Liz is off pet-sitting and I can make my own 'for one' meals. Rarely do we throw food away and then only because it has gone bad.
Even with small amounts of leftovers Liz will toss things together and make it work.
And when I do things like my chili I make it in a large enough quantity with the intention of sharing it out to friends and neighbors..
Enjoy!
@earndeep (168)
• India
17 Nov 09
As you said wasting food is merely a sin according to our tradition. Every time when I start eating I'll have in my mind "not to waste the food". Some times I may be served excess of food and Leave some on the plate, at that time I'll just put it to the street dogs. This wont happen all the time, in some situation I will just get them to the dustbin.
Recently I heard a news that more vegetables(Fresh) are wasted in Mexico city and thrown out. An organization has formed for collecting the fresh vegetables among them and using it for organizations like orphanages. This will be better if the excess vegetables are funded to the orphanages directly.
"I just hard this news from my friend"
@amshugonchikar (169)
• India
17 Nov 09
You must be an Indian, pretty sure about that! Well! I am also of the same opinion as you. I generally do not waste food and I hate it when I go to relatives' houses and they try to make me eat more food than I can and I had to waste it.
2 people like this
@triplejazzm51 (1373)
• Philippines
17 Nov 09
That is my problem too. Every morning i cook rice for breakfast, lunch and supper. But sometimes my daughter does not take her breakfast so expect that her share of rice will be left in the rice cooker and when we arrive home and take our supper we could not consume all the rice. There are times also that i fetch my daughter in school and we eat outside. The rice intended for supper will not be eaten anymore.
I hate to throw away food because its hard to earn money to buy food.Its also hard to estimate how much food will i cook because we dont eat too much and were onkky two. Sometimes leftovers are kept in the fridge for centuries and no one is interested to eat them anymore. So i dont have a choice but to throw it.
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
7 Dec 09
Hi triplejazzm,
I can understand the problem and it is a part of our life and we can't avoid it completely. If somebody does not have the right appetites the prepared food will remain, so don’t worry much on that. I think you can little more observant about the quantity so that you can reduce the waste. Please have try, all the best.
Thanks for joining.
Have a nice day.
Have a nice day.
@goldenteardrops (747)
• United States
17 Nov 09
well spoken and great not to waste. We usually fix just what we think we will eat for it will not go to waste. We take out only what we think we will eat and if want more then get it. but if we take to much and there is some left we do not throw away if we cannot keep it we share it with the animals and birds or something.
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
7 Dec 09
Hi goldenteardrops,
It happens with all of us, sometime we can't eat as we think; sometimes we need more than we took. The point is not to waste or throw it to dustbin and I am happy to know that you are taking care of the left over food by providing the same to birds and animals.
Thanks for sharing.
Have a nice day.
Have a nice day. @loladies75 (1)
• United States
17 Nov 09
We try not to throw anything away. Especially in this tough economic time, if we have extra food after a meal we will put some in the fridge for leftovers and the remainder will go into the freezer to use the next week. At times I like to cook my meals on Sunday and freeze everything until I am ready for it. I find that we save more food that way.
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
7 Dec 09
Hi loladies,
Welcome to mylot.
ou are always adopting the method of freezing, sound great. Yes, I can understand the policy, you prepare the food once in a week and freezing the same and when it finishes then only prepare the next time. So there is no chance of any waste. Thanks for sharing it.
Have a nice time.
ou are always adopting the method of freezing, sound great. Yes, I can understand the policy, you prepare the food once in a week and freezing the same and when it finishes then only prepare the next time. So there is no chance of any waste. Thanks for sharing it.
Have a nice time.
@cosmopolitan (1263)
• India
16 Nov 09
Giving cows chappathis!!!funny,we give grass lol.Ok nice discussion you have got to begin the day with. Wasting food is a terrible sin especially in today's world of food shortage,poverty and economic slump and population explosion and especially when millions live on less than a dollar per day.I am of the opinion that we should place a check on extravagant spending on occassions like marriage etc.My suggestion is that celebrations should be made minimal and what is saved can be spend on at least a day's food in orphanages.That will add to one's virtues and is doing one's bit in saving the economy as well.I hope you agree.
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
21 Nov 09
Hi cosmo,
Nice to see you around. Hope you are doing well.
Here the cows are eating chappatis because there is no grass around.
I agree with your views, but people are happy to spend lavishly on marriages and rarely think to do some virtues.
Have a great weekend.
Hope you are doing well.
Here the cows are eating chappatis because there is no grass around.
I agree with your views, but people are happy to spend lavishly on marriages and rarely think to do some virtues.
Have a great weekend.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
16 Nov 09
sreekala well now I am no longer at home, I am in a retirement center here and i assure you they waste very little. left over food is made into soups and most of them really are delicious as the flavors have melded. they do not use leftovers on the plates as that is against regulations but they are permitted to use left over veggies and meat and make other dishes like meatloaf and soups. I did the same when we had our own apartment. I loved to make different soups and my meatloaf always had veggies diced up and cooked into it too.
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
21 Nov 09
Hi Hatley,
Nice to see you again , hope you are doing well.
I think it is a practice among many people, making different dishes with left over food. Adding the same into soups is also good and can consume the same freshly.
Thanks for joining dear.
Take care. Have a great weekend.
, hope you are doing well.
I think it is a practice among many people, making different dishes with left over food. Adding the same into soups is also good and can consume the same freshly.
Thanks for joining dear.
Take care. Have a great weekend. 
@neelianoscet (9615)
• Philippines
16 Nov 09
hi sreekala,
well, I do have a lots of pets in my places like cats and even the cats, dogs, chicken and guinea pig of my neighbor often comes at the back door in my home kitchen. Then, I have a pets food basin where they could eat the stale leftover food. This is my way to help the animals in my backyard and the good things they almost know when it is a feeding time as they know exactly when is breakfast and lunch they all group in the back waiting to be feed. While during party, we allow some guest who like to bring the extra food to avoid leftover as keeping them would even make the food go to wasted if left uneaten for a days. While in terms of beggars they are few in my places as the authorities most of the time caught those street people and then adopted by the social services department which is responsible for taking care and feeding them and lastly they are also train to become more productive by assigning them to work in areas they like most.
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
21 Nov 09
Hi neelia,
How are you? Hope you are doing well.
I just imagine the scenario, all the pets gathered together to eat the food in the backyard of your home and the funny thing is they know the sharp time. They must be competing each other for eating the food. Thanks for sharing dear. In functions we are also packing some food to those who are ready to take the packet. Food is always expensive and we should save it as much as we can.
Have a great weekend.
Hope you are doing well.
I just imagine the scenario, all the pets gathered together to eat the food in the backyard of your home and the funny thing is they know the sharp time. They must be competing each other for eating the food. Thanks for sharing dear. In functions we are also packing some food to those who are ready to take the packet. Food is always expensive and we should save it as much as we can.
Have a great weekend. 
@hazeldesosa (67)
• Philippines
17 Nov 09
It's really hard to throw away or dispose off food. That's why when we have leftovers we see to it that it should be on the table the next meal time. And if we have some extra food at home we usually share with our neighbors of what we have. And it's nice that people appreciate what we are giving them even a small amount of food. Sometimes I bring some of our extra food during travel for us to distribute to some street children. You can see their big smiles on their faces.
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
7 Dec 09
Hi hazeldesosa,
You are doing a great thing, distributing the food among street children. They must be happy for getting meals for one time at least. I can imagine their smile; we used to give the left over food to the kids coming for begging when we were travelling. They were really happy and ran to finish the same.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice day.
. They must be happy for getting meals for one time at least. I can imagine their smile; we used to give the left over food to the kids coming for begging when we were travelling. They were really happy and ran to finish the same.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice day.
@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
17 Nov 09
Maybe I'm weird, but I usually buy only the ammount of food that I'm going to eat, and the rest is frozen food (that I always end up eating). I think buying lots of food just because something catches your eye in the supermarket or "just in case" is not neccesary. It's also true that I have to go to the supermarket often as I buy just the neccessary, but I feel really bad about throwing away food, as many people can't afford to eat.
If someone comes home and I don't have enough food, I don't find a bother going to the supermarket so we both can eat in that moment.
2 people like this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
7 Dec 09
Hi madteaparty,
Are you purchasing the packed food? Then you should order for the right amount of food. If those people prepare food at home should take care of the cooking amount. But if somebody comes all of a sudden for a visit, it will create problems. I hope you prefer to go out with the visitor and enjoy eating with them.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice day.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice day. @Elderthug (2)
•
17 Nov 09
Very rarely, I do my very best to make the most of what I have. Here in the US we are blessed with an abundance even in this new time of economic instability, I make it a point to be aware of the possibility of lean times ahead. I find it helps to keep a close watch on other countries that are less fortunate, perhaps we'll learn a lesson from them.
