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The Secret Life of Leftovers

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Re: The Secret Life of Leftovers

#11

Post by triceratops »

mc32 wrote: post #6
helpfulmandrill wrote: post #2

As someone who has sometimes used "food waste" as an excuse to overeat, I find the concept of "metabolic food waste" useful. That is, food that you over eat is still wasted food. If you bought or cooked too much food, that was the point at which you made a mistake, and that mistake cannot be undone by proceeding to stuff your face.

So what about people who overeat just to work off the calories later? Is that food waste too? In other words is leisure exercise above that which helps keep the body fit, exercise that leads to food waste?

According to an another article I read on here a few months back, "working off calories" is basically impossible over the long term. The body will adapt to the work and become more efficient in how many calories it expends to do it. Or you'll injure yourself and be unable to do as much work.

Re: The Secret Life of Leftovers

#12

Post by crazygringo »

MrManBooks wrote: post #8
goatcode wrote: post #5

This seems overly pessimistic, and perhaps very myopically metropolitan. I can't imagine wasting food from a restaurant -- I always have taken my leftovers home and eaten them later. Even at home, stuff gets used or I feel shame, and unusable scraps go into the compost.

Quoted post unavailable.

It's absolutely normal in the US at restaurants which emphasize food quantity, which is a lot of them.

If you're dining at a trendy spot in NYC or SF or LA, then you won't be taking leftovers home simply because portion sizes are small, or you're headed to a bar afterwards, etc. It's a different lifestyle.

But if you go out for dinner in most of the country where portions are supposed to be massive, it's pretty normal that after a round of appetizers, you won't be able to finish more than half your entrée. After eating, the server will ask if you want to "take it home" (sometimes using the phrase "doggie bag") and the answer is almost always "of course, it'll be great for lunch tomorrow", and they wrap it up for you. You're just driving straight home anyways.

If it's a business dinner or a fancy first date then maybe you wouldn't... but also maybe you still would. Leaving half of a delicious steak uneaten is pretty wasteful and can be kind of a bad look.

Feel free to browse the Cheesecake Factory calorie contents if you don't believe:

https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/sites/default/files/202...

Their chicken katsu entrée, for example, is 2,520 calories. A regular teriyaki chicken plate is 1,550 calories. Of course you're taking it home.

Re: The Secret Life of Leftovers

#14

Post by elefantastisch »

MrManBooks wrote: post #8
goatcode wrote: post #5

This seems overly pessimistic, and perhaps very myopically metropolitan. I can't imagine wasting food from a restaurant -- I always have taken my leftovers home and eaten them later. Even at home, stuff gets used or I feel shame, and unusable scraps go into the compost.

Quoted post unavailable.

Genuinely curious where in the world taking home leftovers from a restaurant is uncommon.

Re: The Secret Life of Leftovers

#15

Post by ciphol »

helpfulmandrill wrote: post #2

As someone who has sometimes used "food waste" as an excuse to overeat, I find the concept of "metabolic food waste" useful. That is, food that you over eat is still wasted food. If you bought or cooked too much food, that was the point at which you made a mistake, and that mistake cannot be undone by proceeding to stuff your face.

Or as I heard it, "better to destroy your food than destroy your body".

Re: The Secret Life of Leftovers

#17

Post by notacoward »

I don't think I'll go dumpster diving any time soon, but I do take significant pride in using up leftovers. In fact, the poutine example is particularly relevant to me. Just the other night I made a kind of poutine from old pasta, random bits of cheese from the drawer, and leftover KFC gravy. It was delicious. "Daddy casserole" made from whatever I can find in the fridge is not only tolerated but eagerly consumed in my family. I find more joy in doing much with little than in creating extravagant (and often labor intensive) meals.

I think it's a shame that so many young people don't know how to cook at all, and when they do learn it usually tends toward haute cuisine made with only the very freshest ingredients. To the first part, I still remember the early days of the pandemic when many of my Facebook colleagues were panicked about how they'd eat with the company cafes unavailable. The response was a slew of tutorials from the cafe staff (every blessing to them for that) and internal groups devoted to the topic. To the second part, I think there needs to be more teaching of how to cook every day food and not just "occasion" food. Improvising from random things on hand, instead of exhaustively searching for specific ingredients in recipes. A lot of people would be healthier, happier, and less of a burden on the planet if they just had more of the confidence that comes from experience of whipping things together.

Re: The Secret Life of Leftovers

#18

Post by EricE »

Awesome article. If there is one takeaway for everyone from it is the myth of the "expiration date". Boggles my mind that food banks routinely reject *canned* food that is even one day out of date.

Re: The Secret Life of Leftovers

#20

Post by EricE »

Benlights wrote: post #10

Reading about food waste has always bothered me. Growing up in a Jewish orthodox household wasting food was verboten. There is even a mitzvah (commandment) regarding wasting food and or resources[1]. I think that mindset drove me to be named the "leftovers king" by my extended family, as I repurpose leftovers into delicious meals. There are a couple techniques that can help turn fridge leftovers into really good meal…

Leftovers are awesome. I just got done recycling some leftover In 'n Out fries in an omelette this morning (and for those wondering how you can have left over fries - I intentionally bought an extra serving yesterday so I could have leftovers today)
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