“We don’t do leftovers”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Doesn't bother me at all. In fact if cooking for one, it would be wasteful not to. I cook one round of lunches for my work week and eat the same thing 4 days. The fifth I buy a salad or the like.

[Anonymous]

My family wouldn’t eat most nights if they refused leftovers. After work, school pick ups and running the kids to their activities I can’t manage to get a new protein on the table unless it is something super quick like a burger. I make fresh veg and rice/beans/pasta every day, but that takes ten minutes.

What do you non-leftover people do if you cook a roast or a lamb shoulder or something? Or do you just make single serve things like a chicken breast?

[Anonymous]

I grew up with 8 kids in my family so we actually never had leftovers, but now, I kind of enjoy them. It means one less day of cooking. We try to "re-purposes" them to make them look nicer and taste better. We are pretty rich now but I still don't like to waste things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My family wouldn’t eat most nights if they refused leftovers. After work, school pick ups and running the kids to their activities I can’t manage to get a new protein on the table unless it is something super quick like a burger. I make fresh veg and rice/beans/pasta every day, but that takes ten minutes.

What do you non-leftover people do if you cook a roast or a lamb shoulder or something? Or do you just make single serve things like a chicken breast?

I'm one of the non-leftover (the one who makes my kid cook his own second helpings), and those things are beyond me. I either cook things that are single serving like pieces of fish, burgers, chicken pieces, steaks, or I cook things where you can make any portion, like omelets, or sausage with pepper and onions, or a pasta dish.

[Anonymous]

Well, what do we mean exactly by leftovers? I mean, I make versatile components of stuff because you can make a million things out of rice or quinoa or what have you, and I’m not doing it daily if I don’t have to. My time is precious. And we don’t have the fiscal wiggle room to waste food like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A friend doesn't do them because she grew up eating them for days on end and vowed not to when she was grown.

My in-law nieces and nephews born into UMC families and refuse to touch leftovers when they visit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are squarely middle class.

My kids won’t touch leftovers because they don’t like food reheated.

I, otoh, love leftovers

What does this even mean? Where do kids even pick this up? Nobody is born with such an aversion. Hungry people eat.

[Anonymous]

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

Pizza is not in any way better reheated. Shit, it’s not even great delivered after it steams in a box for 30 minutes. It’s best when it never touches a box, 5 minutes after coming out of an oven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend doesn't do them because she grew up eating them for days on end and vowed not to when she was grown.

My in-law nieces and nephews born into UMC families and refuse to touch leftovers when they visit.

You dug up a 7 year old thread for this?

[Anonymous]

Do the anti leftover people also refuse to buy and/or eat anything at like the Whole Foods prepared food aisle and deli? ex cooked but cold salmon filets, cold mashed potatoes, meat loaf slices, quesadillas, enchiladas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend doesn't do them because she grew up eating them for days on end and vowed not to when she was grown.

My in-law nieces and nephews born into UMC families and refuse to touch leftovers when they visit.

You dug up a 7 year old thread for this?

My no leftovers nieces and nephews just stayed with us for a week. I almost made a new thread but first used the search to see if anyone had discussed this topic before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“I don’t do leftovers” can be a preference the same way “I don’t recycle” is a preference. You’re free to feel that way but we’re free to express our disapproval because it’s wasteful. These are the same people who buy a new water bottle every time because reusable bottles are “yucky.”

I also am just not getting how everyone can taste the difference in something that has been reheated. We eat a lot of soup and pasta dishes that taste identical the next day. Other things like pizza or fried foods taste great reheated in a toaster oven.

Not recycling is wasteful. Just cooking what you plan to eat is not wasteful. If you cook large quantities of food, and then throw it away, of course that's wasteful, but it doesn't have to be.

I'm not much of a cook, the things i make are simple and fast. So, it's not a big deal to prepare the right quantity of food every night.

Do you have kids? How do you know how much everyone will eat in a given night. I have two teenagers and quantities are not always consistent. Sometimes 1 burger sometime 2...occasionally 3!

This! Sometimes they eat a small amount, sometimes they act like they’ve been starving. I’d hate for my kids to be hungry bc I didn’t make enough. I take leftovers for lunch, tho. Not spending my $ in DC buying overpriced, mediocre food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Pizza is not in any way better reheated. Shit, it’s not even great delivered after it steams in a box for 30 minutes. It’s best when it never touches a box, 5 minutes after coming out of an oven.

I like it reheated in cast iron or the air fryer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend doesn't do them because she grew up eating them for days on end and vowed not to when she was grown.

My in-law nieces and nephews born into UMC families and refuse to touch leftovers when they visit.

I won't eat 99% of leftovers. There are a few things I will eat but in general I don't eat leftovers. UMC by DCUM standards. My husband on the other hand will eat leftovers way past their prime.