Stopping wasteful eating - one bite then a toss into the trash. What works?

[Anonymous]

DD15 has times when she will take one bite out of an apple or one bite of a pear and toss the entire pear or apple into the trash. Mainly an “ewww this tastes bad” tosses the food. It’s perfectly good and when she asks someone else to taste it, they will say there’s nothing wrong with it you should save it for later.

She’s always been a nibbler and as a small child the pediatrician would say to leave her plate out and she will come back to it which she always did. A few bites of dinner. Then an hour or so later she’d be back for a few more bites and then before bed a few more bites would be a good example.

When it comes to snack foods she never finished full packages/prepackaged snacks and that’s continued into this sophomore year. There are things she likes to eat — things like bowls full of whipped cream and mainly desserts from places like crumbl where one cookie is in the fridge for a week with her eating it over the course of those days. Those she will finish. Dinner meals she still eats a little over the course of hours and into the next day.

She has a small frame, has always been on the low end for weight so we’ve not discouraged any eating just discouraging the waste of food.

How do you curb the one bite and toss?

[Anonymous]

Prepackaged things can be eaten later. Something that won’t be appealing later, like an apple or a pear, I might say, please don’t start that unless you’re planning to finish it. Or I might share an apple I’m having so they can get the bite or two they want.

[Anonymous]

Cut a piece off the fruit. I rarely eat a whole apple or pear

[Anonymous]

Have her slice a piece off and eat that. If she wants more than she can slice more pieces off - one at a time.

[Anonymous]

Slice a piece of apple, slice a piece of cheese, add a few roasted nuts. This is how she should be eating if she is a nibbler.

I usually chop/slice apples/pears/melons etc up and divvy it up for my family, with a small piece of cheese and some nuts etc. I don't keep cut fruit and so I make sure that it gets eaten by everyone.

I make sure that my family eats at least 2-3 fruits a day and if I don't peel, cut some of the fruit and present it in this manner (with an assortment of cheese, yogurt, jello, nuts, dateballs etc) they will not eat it.

Banana is served with a spoonful of peanut butter and some yogurt and a sprinkling of hemp hearts.

[Anonymous]

Offer grapes or a clementine.

[Anonymous]

That’s always been my food habit. One thing she should know is it’s not good for your teeth to have this kind of eating habit.

As for apples I only like Red Delicious. I find the smallest ones and cut pieces. She should cut them in half, cut one of the halfs into 2 or 3 pieces and put them in a bowl for her. Cover the other half tightly and put in refrigerator. Figure out which type of apples she likes and always get those same type. I’d be the same thinking it taste funny if it’s not my usual.

Cut the huge Crumbl cookie into 4-6 pieces so she’s taking a portion not just picking.

Try to get her to eat units, portions, no matter how small. As normal as possible.

I weighed 100 lbs in college and had terrible eating habits so I know it’s best to try and work on it now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD15 has times when she will take one bite out of an apple or one bite of a pear and toss the entire pear or apple into the trash. Mainly an “ewww this tastes bad” tosses the food. It’s perfectly good and when she asks someone else to taste it, they will say there’s nothing wrong with it you should save it for later.

She’s always been a nibbler and as a small child the pediatrician would say to leave her plate out and she will come back to it which she always did. A few bites of dinner. Then an hour or so later she’d be back for a few more bites and then before bed a few more bites would be a good example.

When it comes to snack foods she never finished full packages/prepackaged snacks and that’s continued into this sophomore year. There are things she likes to eat — things like bowls full of whipped cream and mainly desserts from places like crumbl where one cookie is in the fridge for a week with her eating it over the course of those days. Those she will finish. Dinner meals she still eats a little over the course of hours and into the next day.

She has a small frame, has always been on the low end for weight so we’ve not discouraged any eating just discouraging the waste of food.

How do you curb the one bite and toss?

Cut up the apple or pear vas biting because someone else may want the slices.

[Anonymous]

First, if she doesn’t package it and save for later, she gets charged for the fruit.
Second, she finishes that item before eating something else.

[Anonymous]

Does she have an eating disorder?

[Anonymous]

This sounds like reflux. Has she seen a gastroenterologist?

It sounds like she should stick to dried or canned fruits for a more consistent taste.

[Anonymous]

DS can be “start a new piece before finishing the first one” and I just tell him not to toss food but leave it out (and then I often finish it).
His dad has a rule of plate clearing after meals and then laments how much food goes to waste. I don’t say anything as he isn’t easy to reason with.

[Anonymous]

I’d make her pay for food for a few weeks and then discuss her problem of wasting food.

[Anonymous]

She sounds like she has an eating disorder.

Give her grapes or canned fruit so she can save the rest. I would be charging her if she waste fruits because they are so expensive.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like your child is small and don’t have the capacity for large amounts of food at once. You can manage this. As people suggested, have her cut off a piece of fruit. Buy things in larger packages encourage her to put what she can eat in a bowl. You aren’t likely to change her capacity and if you try to make her clean her plate she could choose not to earn and honestly, it’s pretty healthy to listen to your body when it comes to how much to eat.