# No leftovers??



## Kellog (Mar 3, 2012)

Okay…I have to share this and see if ya’ll have run into folks like this because it’s so weird to me. Over the past couple months I have run into several people (unconnected to one another) who will not eat leftovers.  Really, I’m not kidding. Is that weird? Most are younger people and none of them are rich…a couple of them (my friend’s son and daughter in law) are on a real shoe string budget. My friend is my age and is equally appalled that they waste food. 
Just today I was getting my haircut we got talking about food and one of the gals commented that if they don’t eat everything in one meal, it goes in the trash. Another said her husband will sometimes eat leftovers the next day for lunch if they don’t “look weird”. Another said that the other night her husband wouldn’t eat something she cooked after he got home late from work because, even though it was only hours old and she had put it in the fridge, the gravy on it had congealed. Another thought it was weird because her grandmother put leftovers in the freezer and it made her nervous to eat over there if granny got part of the meal out of the freezer. :gaah: Obviously these folks have never been truly hungry!! But like I said, these aren’t rich folks - this is a poor county. How can they afford to do this?? :scratch And where did they get this idea? I don't like to go into "these young whippersnappers" mode and call them all spoiled, but dang!! Heck, if it weren’t for leftovers, I’d have to cook every single day…and that ain’t happening! 
On the other hand, :idea: maybe the secret to saving stored food from looting would be to label everything “leftovers”…apparently no one under 30 would touch it.


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## PamsPride (Dec 21, 2010)

Leftovers??? You all have leftovers??? GASP!! There is no such thing in this house! With 3 teenage boys we have to fight them off the last scoop so DH can have some for his lunch the next day!! 

I don't know of anyone that does not save leftovers in particularly because it has never came up. But, I do know several people who do not cook at all and eat out nearly every single meal!! ICK! I could not imagine re heating some of that food up and eating!


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## Possumfam (Apr 19, 2011)

Yep, I've heard both. Wonder if they realize those frozen burritos, easy mac, pizza rolls, etc... are in essence, "leftovers." I intentionally cook extra for tomorrow's lunch and to make easy, convenient, microwave, freezer meals.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Kellog said:


> Obviously these folks have never been truly hungry!!


I think that this part of the quote says it all!

Today, most of the foods we eat are so readily available, some think can afford to toss the leftovers. Their is such an abundance of food in this country that most people tend not to realize that it is a finite resource.

Let motor fuel prices top $8.00 to $10.00 per gallon, one of two things will happen, 1. They will loose a whole lot of weight or 2. They will start eating leftovers.


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## Kellog (Mar 3, 2012)

PamsPride said:


> Leftovers??? You all have leftovers??? GASP!! There is no such thing in this house! With 3 teenage boys we have to fight them off the last scoop so DH can have some for his lunch the next day!!


LOL!! Good point about the teenage food vacuums! Nothing is safe. 
Yeah, there are lots of folks who don't cook and just go out for food these days. One day when I was baking, a gal I know called and said "Whatcha doing?" I said "Making hamburger buns." And she said in this amazed tone:"You can DO that??" like hamburger buns were some mysterious food that could only be manufactured in a state of the art factory in Peoria. :dunno: She recovered quickly and laughed at herself for saying that, but it was interesting the way she reacted. Heck, it's not been THAT many generations since folks had to do lots things for themselves. How soon we forget...


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## Dixie (Sep 20, 2010)

*Making hamburger buns would be a new thing for me too. I think I would like to know how you do it.

I had a Uncle that would not eat left overs. My dad, his twin, didn't have a problem with them. Two people, same family, raised the same, they had biscuits and gravy (only) most days (because they lost their dad in the middle of the depression) as that was all they had. They both went on to good paying jobs. Their early years taught them to manage money but it did nothing to change my uncle's dislike of leftovers. Which makes me wonder.... maybe it is the way they are reheated that gives a distain for them. :dunno: *


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Kellog said:


> Heck, it's not been THAT many generations since folks had to do lots things for themselves. How soon we forget...


It only takes one generation for hundreds of years of "learnen" to be lost. Thats one reason I spent so much time talking to the "Old Folks" that my Grandmother socialized with before she passed on. Those people were a wealth of knowledge that is all being forgotten.

Thats why Stalin almost wiped out an entire generation during his reign in Communist Russia, destroy those who fought for the end of the Czars and leave no one with the knowledge of how it was.


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## neldarez (Apr 10, 2011)

I agree with Kellog, if it wasn't for leftovers I would have to cook everyday! I also know several people who will not, no discussion, eat leftovers. Doesn't affect me, if they stayed with me I guess they would only eat 3 times a week....


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

I honestly think they don't realize leftovers are OK. Im sure they dont know how to keep the food safely, either, so maybe at their house leftovers would be toxic. For sure, things like canning, freezing, etc are alien concepts, and cooking? well, if you call those assembly directions for food actual cooking....they will get hungry pretty fast if their stores experience supply chain failure...poor ignoramuses.


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## Hubie1110 (Mar 18, 2012)

I know a few ppl that won't eat the either, heck I was raised on leftovers. It hasn't been that long since I was a kid (I'm only 21) and my 2 nephews (ages 5&7) won't eat the leftovers in the fridge unless their mom makes them eat it. My girlfriend too, she doesn't like to eat leftovers at all (but she cooks everyday because she is a culinary arts student and loves to cook) but that just means there is more for me.


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## Kellog (Mar 3, 2012)

Wow, I guess there are more "no leftover" folks out there then I thought. Thanks for the feedback everyone...it's interesting. I can understand certain things not being too appetizing after being reheated, (broccoli and asparagus come to mind - but you can eat them cold in salad). And some things do turn into leather when you try to reheat them in the microwave, but the "no leftovers" at all thing just amazed me.

*Dixie* I put the hamburger bun recipe in the recipe section. Holler if you have any questions. We also raise beef cattle so there's nothing like homegrown hamburger on a homemade bun with garden lettuce and tomatoes and some homemade pickles...

*Davarm* Yes indeed, the loss of knowledge from more self-sufficient generations is so sad. I see small parts of it coming back with folks wanting to garden for quality and the local food movement. I hope that grows. It is worrisome to think how fragile some parts of the food distributions systems are. And the waste involved is just awful. Food is not going to get cheaper. We aren't poor, thank goodness, and I think part of the reason is we make good use of what we got. That is one of the many things older folks learned first hand during rough times like the depression.

*Possumfam & neldarez, * I asked one of the gals at the beauty shop: "Well, what if you made soup and put some in the freezer for later? Would that be okay?" Answer: "I don't make soup."  I gave up at that point. They don't seem to realize it saves them work. :dunno: :nuts:

*kappydell* That was sort of the impression I got...lots of "icky" faces...like you said...seemed like a foreign concept to them. It's odd because some of them do cook and most mentioned their grannies. Lordy, I hope none of them ever go to work in a restaurant kitchen or food processing plant. They will get the vapors and never eat again!


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## JoKing (Mar 11, 2012)

I used to smoke leftover cigarettes, if that counts lol.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

DW intentionally makes over-sized batches of a lot of stuff just so I will can it and she doesn't need to cook as often. Works out great. :2thumb:


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

I'm personally glad that so many people won't eat leftovers or take 'doggie bags' home with them from a restaurant because they don't want to appear "tacky" (real statement!   )... I feed my pig(s) for almost-free with the uneaten food from ONE local restaurant/sports bar. It takes five minutes to separate out the non-edibles.


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## Dixie (Sep 20, 2010)

I cook extra, put it on plastic section plates and vacuum seal it. I freeze them and take it to my mother for her meals. At 87, she's tired of cooking.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Dear Daughter and son in law do not eat many leftovers and then only certain things.. I love it when they go out to eat and then come pick up the kids.. DD brings the leftovers home for me.. and she likes seafood as much as me.
We often ate leftovers when she was living at home.. but I worked in restaurant for most of my young life and label everything and after three days it went to the animals or the chickens. or if it went yucky too quick it goes right into the compost. Oh and she has no problem eating leftovers if I reheat them for her. or if I make then into to other things.. like the roast chicken becomes chicken soup the next day or shredded chicken tacos the next day.
I believe that as a country we toss enuf food in the garbage to feed not one but probably several small third world countries.. :gaah:


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## dunappy (Nov 11, 2008)

I have a 2 person household and we rarely make "just enough" for 2 to eat at a time. We normally have leftovers so that I can take the leftovers to work for lunch. I work 30 miles away from home so returning home for lunch each day isn't an option. Additionally "going out" to eat lunch in town is also not cost effective. I'd rather have those left overs for my lunch and save all that money for other things more important.


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## Kellog (Mar 3, 2012)

dunappy said:


> I have a 2 person household and we rarely make "just enough" for 2 to eat at a time. .....
> I'd rather have those left overs for my lunch and save all that money for other things more important.


Yup, same here. We call leftover night "Refrigerator Roulette"...'coz you open the door and take your chances. 
Alternatively, I'll take leftover bits of this and that and make "hash". Start with sauteing onions, peppers, and garlic, (to give it a fresher taste) add the leftover rice or potatoes, add leftover meat and veggies, throw in some fresh herbs and there ya go.

Sooo true about saving money, *dunappy*. I just don't get how people don't understand how much frequent eating out or throwing away good food impacts their budgets. :nuts:


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## mdprepper (Jan 22, 2010)

I always cook more then we can eat. I never know how many teen boys I will be feeding on any given day. What does not get eaten Hubby takes for lunch or I freeze. (I really need to start canning the stuff instead). We have "fend for yourself" nights when I do not feel like cooking. Those frozen meals get eaten then. 

On a side note: I also do OAMC (once a month cooking) for somethings like ziti. I make 2 or three batches at a time and freeze them for a quick and hearty meal. They are also handy to have if someone in the community needs meals brought in (new baby, just out of the hospital, death in the family), I thaw it, write instructions for heating and send a salad along with it.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

mdprepper said:


> We have "fend for yourself" nights ....


That's exactly what we call it, too! LOL 
(I LOVE fend-for-yourself nights...)


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

Kellog said:


> Yup, same here. We call leftover night "Refrigerator Roulette"...'coz you open the door and take your chances.





mdprepper said:


> We have "fend for yourself" nights when I do not feel like cooking.





goshengirl said:


> That's exactly what we call it, too! LOL
> (I LOVE fend-for-yourself nights...)


I call it "Buffet Night" because we pull everything out of the fridge and line it up along the table and serve ourselves. :2thumb:


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

kappydell said:


> *I honestly think they don't realize leftovers are OK.* Im sure they dont know how to keep the food safely, either, so maybe at their house leftovers would be toxic. For sure, things like canning, freezing, etc are alien concepts, and cooking? well, if you call those assembly directions for food actual cooking....they will get hungry pretty fast if their stores experience supply chain failure...poor ignoramuses.


I think you're right. They dont know its OK. Folks have been brought up to sanitize everything and fear everything that doesnt come in a sealed container. Truth is that we could eat A LOT of things that we would consider gross and survive just fine.

As my mom used to say as she would pull something out of the fridge "this is starting to turn green... we better eat it before it goes bad."

As Washington Hogwallop said "I slaughtered this horse last Tuesday. I think it's startin' to turn."

As I now say "we better eat this before it grows bigger, evolves and eats us!"


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## neldarez (Apr 10, 2011)

if its 5 oclock and I'm not puttering in the kitchen, my DH says: am I suppose to graze tonight?? I love grazing....:flower:


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

Ya know, they would probably turn up their noses at the recipes I have collected for 'unmentionable' cuisine, too (you know, recipes for rat...lizard...etc).


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Kellog said:


> Yup, same here. We call leftover night "Refrigerator Roulette"...'coz you open the door and take your chances.
> Alternatively, I'll take leftover bits of this and that and make "hash". Start with sauteing onions, peppers, and garlic, (to give it a fresher taste) add the leftover rice or potatoes, add leftover meat and veggies, throw in some fresh herbs and there ya go.
> 
> Sooo true about saving money, *dunappy*. I just don't get how people don't understand how much frequent eating out or throwing away good food impacts their budgets. :nuts:


We call it "anything goes in the omelet night".. :2thumb:


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

We refer to it as " fend for yourself" night.


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