Are you a food waster?

[Kahlico]

This weekend I thought I was craving some salad with a nice, homemade blue cheese dressing. I was wrong :rolleyes: I was in the mood for the blue cheese but not for the powerful raw garlic in the dressing(or the actual lettuce). I hated to waste such nice cheese in a dressing that was too powerful for my taste right now. I still have a lot of cheese to snack on though.

I try to not waste food (I gave the remainder of the salad greens to my mom) but if it's something no one else would or could eat and I know I won't finish it, I wind up tossing it out (with a guilty conscience). If however I found someone who would enjoy it, I happily give it to them no matter the cost.

What do you do?

[memartha]

I HATE to waste food, too... sometimes if the kids or DH throws out a bag of cereal THEY think is empty, I will double check to make sure and often pour myself whatever is really left in the bag. That said, however, if I make something dreadful (yeah, it happens... remember the tart cherry cake made with Maraschino cherries?), I pitch it. I also made a reader recipe last week, something with rice, refried beans and taco meat.... it was BAD! It made so much I froze one pan... now I wonder what the heck I'm gonna do with it... maybe use it as an ice pack in the cooler this summer! I RARELY use expensive ingredients, so that's not a problem. But I take such pride in trying to get a low grocery bill, cooking economically, etc. that it hurts to throw something away. Sometimes if I make something that's good but too large a quantity, I give some to my neighbor. My biggest waste, I think, is the occasional rotting produce I have to pitch (bunch of parsley, bag-o-lettuce, moldy lime). Martha

[Nirak]

I voted toss it out, but I can't ever remember making something so awful that I couldn't eat it. However, I always toss uneaten kids portions, no matter how much I love the meal. It is hard to do, but I made a vow never to eat off their plates because I know those are the kind of "hidden calories" that will kill you. Sometimes DH and I joke that we should just serve dd's dinner from the skillet to the sink and not bother wasting a clean plate!

[JHolcomb]

Yes, I am a food waster. I have no qualms about throwing out something if it was gross, no matter how much it cost to make it. For instance, the other week I made this reader recipe from Bon Appetit with squid, tomato, and red wine and it was literally the most disgusting thing either DH or I had ever tasted. Threw out the whole expensive pot of food and went out for dinner. No way could either of us choke that down and the house smelt so bad we couldn't even heat up some soup-we had to go out. Now this doesn't happen very often, though. What I am most guilty of is the occasional rotting veggie and every once in a while I'll forget and let some meat go bad (the meat going bad is the only thing I feel guilty about). And oh yeah, if I have some rice leftover from dinner, I usually toss it. I'm getting better about the produce/meat, though. Well, the meat anyway...

[lhall]

Originally posted by Nirak
I voted toss it out, but I can't ever remember making something so awful that I couldn't eat it. However, I always toss uneaten kids portions, no matter how much I love the meal. It is hard to do, but I made a vow never to eat off their plates because I know those are the kind of "hidden calories" that will kill you.

Same here. I've made a couple of things I didn't like, but I suffered through the leftovers. I don't remember making anything so bad it had to be tossed. Most of the time I throw out the kids leftovers, but sometimes I'll add it to the lunch I make from the leftovers. This really depends on what/how much. Last night DD1 didn't eat much of her spaghetti (how odd!) and there was only a little leftover so we added hers to the leftover plate.

Leigh

[Natasha]

For me, it usually depends on other factors more than cost. Some factors are how much I dislike it, what else there is in the house to eat/how easy it is to go out, and how much it cost. It also depends on how "good for me" the food is. If it's not that great for me anyway, and doesn't taste good, I'm probably not going to choke it down.

It doesn't usually happen that I dislike something homemade that much, though. Once in a while we DO forget about leftovers, though (or just not get around to eating them), and then end up wasting them. :o

Natasha

[lorilei]

I voted for "toss it"... and that's true. I have little qualms about getting rid of something if it's old or less-than-acceptable, regardless of what it is. But, to be honest, I very seldom throw out food.

Usually, if I ditch something I've made, it has less to do with cost or the recipe being a flop -- and more to do with the fact that it's sat around in my fridge as leftovers for WAAAAAAAY too long. :)

I've very seldom made a recipe that is inedible. Usually with a bit of tweaking (I'm a taste/smell as I go sortofa cook), I can get the recipe "up to snuff". It might not be a repeater, but it generally turns out to be edible enough to have one time.

When I find a recipe to be a flop and there happen to be leftovers I will generally try to use them in a new and different way the second time around. This not only prevents food waste, but it keeps my imagination running on high. I find the challenge of using foods in new ways to be exciting and well worth my time.

[MKSquared]

Ummm ... nothing goes bad in my house! Really. Burnt brownies? DBF still thinks they're good. Overcooked pork? He'll scarf it down. Something I think is hideous can stil be salvaged by the human garbage disposal!

On the other hand, there's plenty of food that goes bad on the counter or in the fridge. I don't think this thread's devoted to what happens to moldy limes or smelly fresh herbs ... :rolleyes: :D

[Molli526]

Sometimes DH scares me with the concoctions he makes and calls food. With that said, he will pretty much eat anything. I will try to docto something if it isn't the greatest ;)

[Carolina68]

I don't like throwing food out, but if I make something that is terrible and we won't eat it, depending on what it is, I either give it to our dog or toss it in the garbage. Fortunately there aren't a lot of dishes that I have to toss.

Hubby, is much worse than I am. He can't bear to toss anything. If we have a meal and have a teaspoon of something left over, he wants to save it. If something turns out horribly bad, he still thinks we should eat it. Thank goodness for those days when he is out of town and I can clean out the frig.

[AD]

There are several reasons I end up using to justify throwing things out.

First of all, I can rarely purchase a quantity of ingredients small enough for one single recipe, and if the remainder is not used by the expiration date, it will have to be thrown out anyway.

Second of all, there is no one for me to give most of the food to, especially the more expensive and perishable items. Where I live, there is little need for such donations.

Third, even though I may not be saving money I could have, I am nowhere near in debt or in excess of the money my mother and I have for groceries. Of course, things may change. We still have savings in the bank and would be able to cut down grocery expenses any time if necessary.

Fourth, I often cook or bake things as experiments or entertainment. I NEVER go to the movies or buy many games, or books, and I never go out to eat at expensive restaurants. TV is often terrible these days. I have no big or expensive hobbies or sports. Cooking is how I enjoy spending my time, even though I may care nothing for the end result.

Unfortunately, my mother anad I are the only ones living here and we have very little family and friends to cook for. Even by putting leftovers in the freezer, they would not be consumed in time!

If there is something I decided not to use, and I have not opened it, I almost always return it to the store for a refund or exchange. I try not to make a habit of it since I don't want to be "notorious" for returning things. :o

[LaraW]

Normally this is not much of an issue at our house. Occasionally we will make something that is not as good as "usual". DH is much more picky than I am about eating something he is not totally thrilled with. I am more OK with taking leftovers for lunch if it was something that he was not thrilled with. That's how most of the leftovers get used at our house.

Usually we do a good job of making only enough of something as we are hungry for, and don't have a problem with too many tupperware's in the fridge.

[wallycat]

I try to waste as little as I can, and I too feel that I haven't made very much stuff that isn't at least tolerable for eating once. If it is really horrible though, we pitch it.
The stuff I hate is when you have every good intention to eat it, and it goes bad. For example, I had a canteloupe sitting on the counter for ONE DAY after I got it home from the store...next day, huge, yucky, moldy area....
the occasional herb (cilantro) won't get used up in time or a leftover has been in the fridge for just long enough to make me question it--and we toss.
Any time we toss food out, I feel guilty that I could have managed stuff better...but as they say, when in doubt, toss it out.:D

[emilycat]

I have serious issues about wasting food; it just makes me feel horribly guilty. That said, I can't remember the last time I made something that tasted bad (maybe not a repeater, but still tasty), and I always scale recipes to two servings so that they get used up.
What often does hit the trash can, though, are the huge bunches of herbs that I don't manage to use up before they wither, or the jalepenos I buy and then forget about until I find fuzzy sage-colored things in the back of my veggie drawer. :o

[TLee4]

I was ALWAYS throwing away cilantro and similar ingredients, until someone on this BB taught me how to freeze them! I just did it for the first time last week (felt like a "big kid"!) and I'm looking forward to being able to pull it out of the freezer next time I need it.

Other than that, there's only two of us at home, so we waste an embarassing amount of food.

[Jewel]

I live by the credo Life is too short to eat bad food.
DH lives by another credo: Bad food must be eaten even if it shortens life. :rolleyes:

I have thrown curling lunch meat away only to watch my husband lift it up out of the trash can and say "This is still good! I'll eat it!" He will cut so many bad parts off of a banana that there is only a 2" stub in his hand, but he'll eat it. He will eat 'questionable' meat. He will eat leftover roast beef that was forgotten in the back of the fridge for lunch, even if the last time I served roast beef for dinner was 10 days prior. He will eat frozen vegetables that were fused together by ice chunks, as well as skim milk 4 days after it's expiration date because "there is no fat in it so there's nothing to go bad!" I have to wait until he is working late or out of town before I do a complete clean out of the fridge or freezer. I have never met any other man who is emotionally attached to leftovers.

That said, I try hard to not be wasteful. I scale recipes to feed us for dinner and have maybe enough leftover for either one lunch or two dinners, and I try to remember that I bought a FoodSaver for a reason, so use it! :rolleyes: I will find fresh herbs dried out in the back of the fridge and mooshy bags of peppers or lettuce in the produce drawer and I don't feel as bad...but when I find a $10 hunk o' beef in the freezer that's covered in ice crystals and freezer burned because the FoodSaver bag leaked, I feel really guilty. :( I've just started trying to plan my meals for the week based on what I have in my freezer/fridge/cabinet and hopefully that will cut it down even further, but either way I will still end up throwing things away. And of course, my husband will still dig it out of the trash, cut the green fuzz off, squirt some ketchup on it, and take it for lunch. :confused:

[aggie94]

Like Emily, I also have serious issues about wasting food. When I was a kid, we always had to clean our plates. Period. It's taken me a long time to get to the point where I feel like I don't HAVE to eat everything that's on my plate, especially when I eat out. I feel horribly guilty about throwing food out when it's a dish that just didn't turn out as I expected, but I've finally accepted that I can't waste the calories on something I don't enjoy, no matter how expensive it was to make. I feel less guilty about throwing food away because it's gone bad but that is happening less and less as I'm getting better about planning ahead.

[masimmons]

Like most the others, I really have a problem with wasting food and rarely make something that is just too awful to eat. But, I have and I throw it out without too much guilt. Since I am constantly trying to lose weight, the way I look at it is everything I eat has to be worth it - calories, fat, etc. I guess sadly, for my waistline, I like virtually everthing and really love leftovers for lunch, so I'm not in the position to have to make the "pitch" decision too often. Interesting poll.

[ewatkins]

Since we compost, I don't feel guilty about throwing our the rotten stuff that got stuck in the back of the vegie drawer. It's a great feeling when I go to start my garden in the spring and all that rich black dirt is there! ALso--we've had some great "volunteers", like tomoatoes, and cantelope that I didn't even plant!

[RunnerKim]

I voted toss it - but that rarely rarely happens. My DH will eat almost anything and hates to waste food. In fact, when we try a recipe that I'm not thrilled with, he always says "Looks like I'm getting these leftovers." He quite often finishes the food on my plate and is proud of being a clean plate member (literally clean - no ketchup or sauce of any kind). He's a runner so he seems to be able to get away with this. There's been only 1 dish that he wouldn't eat either - some nasty bourbon, lemon pasta thing. Yech. I wouldn't be willing to try new things if I new I had to eat it no matter what.

Kim
-- Yes the whole composting thing does relieve a lot of guilt! Just started this year and its amazing how much waste goes out there (and I'm just talking the "non-edible" parts of fruits and veggies, let alone when something gets lost in the back of the veggie bin for too long!).

[agoodcook]

I generally eat leftovers, but on the occasional meal I make that I don't care for :D I send to my dad and he'll eat it. (I'm single.) The only thing that didn't work for were the Garlic-Lime Chicken Thighs from last year's CL cookbook. I didn't care for them so I took them to dad for his lunch the next day. Apparently he told mom he didn't like them either. :p

[Ohioan]

I wasn't quite sure which way to vote, because my decision about eating or tossing doesn't have anything to do with cost. It's a matter of how much I dislike the finished product.

From "mnyeh" (wry face but not active dislike) to "feh," I'll probably eat the mess, mostly because it would take too long to fix something else; but if it's really unpalatable to the point of my having to repress a gag reflex, I'll dump it. This usually happens when food tastes too sweet, too salty, too fatty, or too incompatible a mix of flavors.

Wincing even at the thought,
Phoebe

[Gail]

Unsure how to answer here.

I can give you the Standard Goddess Response: If it's bad, zap it with a lightening bolt.

Or She-Who-Breeds-Things-in-the-Fridge Rationalization #26 re: The Wasting of Food: Repeating standard sins-of-wasting-food script, pop offending leftover into Tupperware while vaguely alluding to possibility of consuming leftovers for lunch, then shove Tupperware way back in the fridge and let sit for four or five weeks till either the smell knocks you flat or contents have been rendered fuzzy and unidentifiable. With either gasmark or closepin attached to nose, clean out and disinfect fridge, shrug at contents of Tupperware and chuck 'em down the disposal.

Frankly the lightening bolt is a lot neater and less of a hassle. :p

[JHolcomb]

Originally posted by Gail
Unsure how to answer here.

I can give you the Standard Goddess Response: If it's bad, zap it with a lightening bolt.

Or She-Who-Breeds-Things-in-the-Fridge Rationalization #26 re: The Wasting of Food: Repeating standard sins-of-wasting-food script, pop offending leftover into Tupperware while vaguely alluding to possibility of consuming leftovers for lunch, then shove Tupperware way back in the fridge and let sit for four or five weeks till either the smell knocks you flat or contents have been rendered fuzzy and unidentifiable. With either gasmark or closepin attached to nose, clean out and disinfect fridge, shrug at contents of Tupperware and chuck 'em down the disposal.

Frankly the lightening bolt is a lot neater and less of a hassle. :p
:D

And I know this is horrible, but have any of you ever chucked the offending substance, tupperware and all? I have with a particuarly foul batch of tofu that my then roomate left in the fridge long enough for it to turn pink and start to disintegrate. No way was I opening thatcontainer.

[aggie94]

Originally posted by JHolcomb
And I know this is horrible, but have any of you ever chucked the offending substance, tupperware and all?

Whenever I wonder about the reasoning behind those Gladware reusable-yet-still-disposable containers, my best friend reminds me that they're good for exactly the occasion you've described. :eek:

[Shirley Panek]

Originally posted by Gail
Unsure how to answer here.

I can give you the Standard Goddess Response: If it's bad, zap it with a lightening bolt.

Or She-Who-Breeds-Things-in-the-Fridge Rationalization #26 re: The Wasting of Food: Repeating standard sins-of-wasting-food script, pop offending leftover into Tupperware while vaguely alluding to possibility of consuming leftovers for lunch, then shove Tupperware way back in the fridge and let sit for four or five weeks till either the smell knocks you flat or contents have been rendered fuzzy and unidentifiable. With either gasmark or closepin attached to nose, clean out and disinfect fridge, shrug at contents of Tupperware and chuck 'em down the disposal.

Frankly the lightening bolt is a lot neater and less of a hassle. :p

Count me in with the goddess!

[Wendy w]

I hate wasting food but if it is really bad...out it goes regardless of the cost. Luckily, I rarely have this problem. Gail, can I borrow one of your lightening bolts to use at my sister's house? She is the living definition of She-Who-Breeds-Things-in-the-Fridge.:rolleyes: :eek:

Come to think of it, I think I need to borrow one for the fridge at work too. It gets cleaned twice a year whether it needs it or not.:eek: :eek:

[Peggy]

Originally posted by Jewel
I live by the credo Life is too short to eat bad food.
DH lives by another credo: Bad food must be eaten even if it shortens life. :rolleyes:

And of course, my husband will still dig it out of the trash, cut the green fuzz off, squirt some ketchup on it, and take it for lunch. :confused:

LOL!!!!!:D :D :D Jewel, you never fail to bring spontaneous laughter into my life!!

Peggy:p

[LaraW]

Originally posted by aggie94


Whenever I wonder about the reasoning behind those Gladware reusable-yet-still-disposable containers, my best friend reminds me that they're good for exactly the occasion you've described. :eek:

That reminds me of a story from several years ago when I did throw out the offending substance, tupperware and all - and it was a real tupperware too!

My now MIL/FIL were out of town on a church mission trip/vacation and were gone for a total of about 4 weeks. During that time DH agreed to take care of their yard, mowing, etc. Toward the end of the 4 weeks, we had something to do one evening after he was done mowing, and so I took our stuff for dinner over to his parents house, and I made dinner while he mowed. I opened the microwave to find a forgotten container of macaroni and cheese that had been sitting there for almost a month!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

The smell was enough to make me prepare the remainder of our dinner outside on the picnic table, and I have never since then (knowingly) eaten anything that has been cooked in that microwave. I threw the entire container away in the outside garbage, and could not go back in that day - it was just too gross.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[schuh]

I couldn't find a choice for what I do!

If the said recipe is marginal but not completely awful, I throw it in the freezer for an "emergency." Then in about 6 months to a year, when it is then completely inedible/unrecognizable, I toss it. At least I've made the effort,right?

My most recent such situation was a recipe for a "soup diet" soup. The recipe had lots of veggies and made a ton. It had no flavor and I had no desire to eat it. Well, I put it into containers and popped it into the freezer, thinking I could "doctor it up" sometime. I think I just threw out the last container, none of which got eaten. All I lost on THAT diet was about $20 (spent on ingredients) and a couple hours of wasted time!