“We don’t do leftovers”

[Anonymous]

Some things really taste better to me as leftovers. Any type of pasta or pizza come to mind.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in an UMC household that didn't do left overs.

My mother would plan out what we'd eat for the week, and that's how much food there was. So, if there were 5 of us, and she wanted to serve chicken, she'd buy a large pack of chicken thighs and portion it out into bags of 5 chicken thighs, cook one and put the rest in the freezer. If the plan was to have apples with our school lunch on Tuesday and Thursday, she'd buy 6 apples, one for each kid each day. There were no seconds, no snacks other than one planned snack after school, and no left overs.

By the time we were teens my siblings and I were hungry all the time, because my mother's idea of portions didn't match what we actually needed. We figured out plans to eat a friends houses, and got jobs really early so we could buy our own food.

I can remember going to people's houses and they'd have seconds, even if it was just a bowl of broccoli passed around the table, and it seemed so luxurious.

One thing you can't say about my mother's system is that it was wasteful.

[Anonymous]

It's not a class thing, some people really do just refuse to eat leftovers. My impression, though, is that the people who refuse them are usually not the people who have to cook the meal.

I cook just for myself now, I bring lunch to work, and it's less hassle and less to have to think about if I make enough on a day off to last the week--I personally do not mind at all. Gives me the enjoyment of cooking what feels like a normal quantity without wasting. Plus if my son shows up to visit (lives near me) and asks if there is food I can give him something.

I will also use leftover whatever to incorporate into something else I'm cooking. I really do try to use up everything.

[Anonymous]

In my experience, everyone has their quirks. I have one friend who's 80-something dad swears you should never reheat meat - not for food safety reasons but he thinks it loses its flavour. Personally, I'll reheat/eat leftovers of almost anything, except I hate hate hate reheated seafood - especially shrimp - to me, it gets rubbery. If I'm out for dinner and order a shrimp dish with pasta that I know I can't finish, I'll make a point of eating all the shrimp so I just have the pasta to take home, whereas if there's chicken in the pasta, I won't be that specific- I'll take home both chicken and pasta.

I do think there's a bit of a class/money in the family of origin to it - if you grew up with money, you don't necessarily feel compelled to eat leftovers (but you might if you think they're tasty). If you didnt, you either refuse to eat them because you had to all the time while growing up,and you're please you've risen above that and don't have to; or you feel compelled to finish them so you don't waste anything.

[Anonymous]

I grew up eating leftovers a lot and just hated it (the taste) so I generally don’t eat them as an adult now. Some stuff I’ll eat, but I won’t eat any poultry reheated (only in soups). I try to cook to avoid there being any.

[Anonymous]

I don’t do leftovers, but DH does. I make 3 servings of all meals so he has one for lunch the next day. Keyword there is one. Nobody wants to eat the same leftovers for a week, and that’s how many (and my own) middle class family/latchkey kids grew up.

[Anonymous]

I hate leftovers. The food does not taste the same (and not better) the second and third time around. Fish often tastes rubbery reheated for example. I’m also a picky eater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is gross to have all the leftovers in the fridge. And Thanksgiving leftovers are seriously carb heavy, turkey and sweets.

Nobody needs days worth of carb overdosing. Nobody likes dry re heated turkey. Sweets are best day they’re made, so they’re not worth the calories it 2-3 days later.

Your use of the word “sweets” is really annoying for some reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Feigned class. The fact that anyone would feel the need to make this statement show they are posers, not to mention wasteful and environmentally unsound.

Exactly what I was thinking.

[Anonymous]

I love leftovers AND Flip Driscoll

[Anonymous]

Stews and soups absolutely taste better as time goes on. For those who don't eat leftovers, you are spending way to much time cooking or way to much money eating out.

I am an excellent cook and baker (host 20+ for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter), and there is nothing better than the few days after when I can eat the same yummy food without the effort involved in cooking.

Most meals are made at home for our family, and we pack lunches for the next day, sometimes leftovers sometimes not. Every week or so we have an EMG night (everything must go) where all the leftovers come out, and that is dinner that night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate leftovers. The food does not taste the same (and not better) the second and third time around. Fish often tastes rubbery reheated for example. I’m also a picky eater.

Reheating fish is gross, ditto pork.

Most other foods reheat perfectly fine -- in the oven or on the stove. Microwaving is what makes food taste like silly putty. I'm confident if you reheated last night's dinner properly, no one would know it wasn't freshly made.

[Anonymous]

Well, I hope you do not eat in restaurants
That is all reheated left over food cooked another day, another location

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I hope you do not eat in restaurants
That is all reheated left over food cooked another day, another location

Lol. We go to Paul and they take that gross old quiche from the case and pop it in the toaster oven and charge $10! And it's good! Just like France.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love leftovers AND Flip Driscoll

Same.