My wife makes these organic, healthy meals for the children. Often they don't touch the food or barely eat it. We try to eat the leftovers, but they build up in the fridge and I have to throw it out. Our small freezer limites freezing it. I'd estimate I'm throwing away close to forty percent of our food.
That's a good goal for this year. Cut back on the waste.
Getting my girls (4 and 7) to eat real food is such a challenge. When my 4-year old say's "I'm hungee!" and I say "Want some soup?" She says, "No, I'm not hungee for food, I'm hungee for snacks!"
In other words, there's a clear difference in her mind between "food" (i.e. veggies and whole grains) and "snacks" (i.e. crackers, cheese, other carb stuff).
Posted by: jonnybardo | January 10, 2013 at 09:46 AM
One thing parents learn----the hard way----is to not "finish" a toddler's food because they don't want to waste it. I've heard parents say they actually gained weight----5-10 pounds----because they hated to see food go to waste and would just finish anything that looked and tasted good, even if they weren't hungry. My kid blows hot and cold when it comes to eating. Sometimes, he's very hungry and will eat almost anything I prepare. Other times----very picky and will even pass up things he usually loves. I figure if he's healthy and isn't dramatically underweight----I let him eat when he wants to and how much he wants.
Posted by: Angelo | January 10, 2013 at 10:25 AM
If I didn't finish my toddlers' leftovers, I'd be 10 pounds lighter.
Posted by: herculodge | January 10, 2013 at 10:32 AM
As long as you avoid making food a battlefield, you'll be ok. Are you falling into a game in which the girls make the parents (game pieces) move madly around the board (kitchen) searching for magic desirable snacks? Also, if you have leftovers that become soup, your daily lunch is packed. No separate meal prepared = lowered food waste!
Posted by: Bill Bush | January 10, 2013 at 04:01 PM
40 per cent makes your family average in food waste .. http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/22/40-of-u-s-food-wasted-report-says/
Posted by: Ed | January 10, 2013 at 04:39 PM
I refuse to have battles with my son over dinner and I've chastised relatives staying with us for trying to do that. If he's not eating----they start in with "If you finish that, you can play the video games and if you don't, you can't." and all of that nonsense (or at least I consider it nonsense). I refuse to make a punishment/rewards system out of dinners/eating. I will prepare the food and if he eats it, great. And if he doesn't----if there's something very easy to get for him, I'll do that. If not----he can have a bowl of cereal or nothing if that's what it comes down to. I won't have tension in my house over a child's eating habits----and I won't set up a system of punishments and rewards over it either.
Posted by: Angelo | January 11, 2013 at 05:13 AM