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The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat?

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Re: The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat?

#31

Post by radicalbyte »

sixstringtheory wrote: post #14
yhoiseth wrote: post #3

As a rule of thumb, I tell myself that it’s better to throw away food than to overeat. (Preparing just the right amount is even better, but more difficult.)

What about saving for the next day, composting or donating? As a former professional cook it burns me to see such a casual suggestion to waste food. I’ve worked for people who would weigh the food you swept up off the floor at the end of the day to illustrate waste.

It's not just the cooked food you're throwing away, it's also the parts of the vegetables that you're dumping.

For years I had been throwing the stem of the broccoli into the compost only to find out that it's not only edible but it's really tasty.

Then I hear that the leaves of radish is also edible, so that gets thrown into a stir-fry / omelette / stamppot / salad for another meal..

Re: The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat?

#32

Post by flaque »

sethammons wrote: post #2

Mom: "There are starving kids in China, eat all your food!". Thanks Mom; kids are still starving there, and now America is fat. --unkown comedian. I was told, as a kid, that it was rude to not eat all the food put in front of you, especially at other people's houses. Other parents would comment on how polite we children were for clearing our plates.

Speculation, but does food waste reduce food prices?

Re: The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat?

#33

Post by pkaye »

johnisgood wrote: post #27
sethammons wrote: post #2

Mom: "There are starving kids in China, eat all your food!". Thanks Mom; kids are still starving there, and now America is fat. --unkown comedian. I was told, as a kid, that it was rude to not eat all the food put in front of you, especially at other people's houses. Other parents would comment on how polite we children were for clearing our plates.

> "There are starving kids in China, eat all your food!" This does not make much sense to me. If eating all your food is the only alternative to throwing food out, it is sort of OK, but even then, it does not solve the issue at all because you are the one eating all the food, not the starving kids in China. Additionally, why come up with such nonsense? This is one of the worst things you could do to your kid. You sho…

I think what they are really meaning is "There are starving kids out in the world. Be grateful you have all this food available and don't waste it."

Re: The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat?

#34

Post by finaliteration »

My wife’s grandparents are very much the “you aren’t leaving until you clear your plate” kind of people and it’s given her mother a lot of anxiety around food and weight. I grew up in a family of 7 where food was scarce and some nights you were lucky to get anything at all for dinner so I’m also inclined to eat way too much at each meal.

Because of this (and for other reasons) we never ever make our daughter clear her plate. If she says she’s full she can walk away. We also keep healthy snacks around the house (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, a very small amount of “junk” food) so she does “graze” throughout the day. But we don’t force food habits on her because I don’t want her growing up with a complex around food or her weight. It’s more important to me that she make healthy nutrition choices overall and keeps in touch with her body about when she’s hungry. I feel like pushing for a clean plate goes against that.

Re: The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat?

#35

Post by Dylan16807 »

dom96 wrote: post #20
sixstringtheory wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about saving for the next day, composting or donating? As a former professional cook it burns me to see such a casual suggestion to waste food. I’ve worked for people who would weigh the food you swept up off the floor at the end of the day to illustrate waste.

For myself at least, saving food for the next day is rather difficult. Mainly because nowadays I very seldom cook food for myself, a lot of my food consumption is through ready made meals that I can just put in the oven or microwave. The packaging almost always warns that this type of food cannot be reheated so I don't save it. I think a lot of people do this. Even if I do cook for myself I am often unsure whether it…

The packaging is lying to you. Reheating is not a danger. Leaving food out for too long is a danger.

The worst case is that reheating doesn't reset the timer. If you put the leftovers into your fridge within a few minutes of eating, you have tons of time left on the timer, and don't need to worry at all.

Re: The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat?

#37

Post by balfirevic »

gumby wrote: post #26

Our household rule was "if you put it on your plate you had to finish it; if someone else put it on your plate you don't have to" (with some parental modulation such as "yes you are having some of these Brussels sprouts" or "finish the beans before you go for seconds"). Parents don't like to see food wasted (it took money to buy and time to prepare and the alternatives aren't good for kids) but these rules were also…

That makes sense as a training mechanism for kids to not just overfill their plates regardless of how hungry they are.

But it is important to realize that food that you force someone to eat after they feel properly full is worse than wasted. Not only have you already spent time and money to prepare it, which you won't get back, but you also just made their stomach ache. And you have taken whatever little agency they have as a kid - now they freaking don't even get to decide how hungry they are.

(This is not directed at you, as you seem to have a reasonable system in place. Your comment just seemed like a good place to plug this rant) :)

Re: The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat?

#38

Post by delinka »

johnisgood wrote: post #27
sethammons wrote: post #2

Mom: "There are starving kids in China, eat all your food!". Thanks Mom; kids are still starving there, and now America is fat. --unkown comedian. I was told, as a kid, that it was rude to not eat all the food put in front of you, especially at other people's houses. Other parents would comment on how polite we children were for clearing our plates.

> "There are starving kids in China, eat all your food!" This does not make much sense to me. If eating all your food is the only alternative to throwing food out, it is sort of OK, but even then, it does not solve the issue at all because you are the one eating all the food, not the starving kids in China. Additionally, why come up with such nonsense? This is one of the worst things you could do to your kid. You sho…

The missing implication, that even parents completely missed, was “you should be grateful to have food, and you show that gratitude by eating all the food on your plate.”

Still completely unhelpful to the starving, and still orthogonal...

Re: The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat?

#39

Post by gnicholas »

The finish-your-plate mentality can be especially troublesome in a household where food disappears quickly. I had an older brother and a dad who ate a lot, so if I didn’t take enough food in my first serving then I might not get any more.

It took me well into college to realize that (especially in a dining hall) I could serve myself a conservative-sized portion and get more later if I was still hungry.

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