Discussion Board

It is now some 2 weeks since I started the starch diet. One of my recent challenge is whether to throw to waste prepared food or not to waste and I would like to have your experience and thoughts. Let me explain.
In my househould, I am leading the change and doing all the cooking. So I cook something hoping that the kids might like. I spent all the money and time and then the kids say no. So I end up eating it so not to throw it away.

Were you in a similar situation? How did you deal with it?

The real question is not 'to waste or not to waste' but to waste or to WAIST. If you are cooking McDougall-friendly meals for the family and the kids choose not to eat them, then either freeze the leftovers or portion them up and eat them for lunch the next day. Less cooking or you. If you are making special unhealthy meals for the kids to get them to eat -stop. If all non-McDougall options are removed, they will eventually adapt. Either way, any food left on the kids' plates goes in the garbage. Any non-McDougall food goes in the garbage. Any McDougall food goes in the fridge or freezer. Then the kitchen is closed - for both you and the kids. When my brother, sister and I were growing up we had only one choice - eat what my Mom or Dad cooked or don't eat. Period. In the end, nobody starved.
Kate

Yes, this is very frustrating. I might suggest you don't prepare too many recipes but rather cook the rice, potato ect and let everyone in the family add their own flavoring sauce etc. Or prepare other foods that can be assembled like tacos, burritos, salads, and wraps.

I hate to waste food as well, but I agree with Kate. Overeating on calories just so you don't want to throw it away is not the solution.

Kris

When you begin to look at off plan food as toxic getting rid of it is much easier. If you visualize the food as causing health related problems removing it from yourself and the kids will seem very right. I vote for removing it, what is your health worth?
f1jim

If it's not something my family has tried before and I don't know if they will like it I just serve it to the table and everyone takes a small bit to try out so they don't end up with a large plate they won't eat. For the most part my older kids and us parents will eat one meal we don't like unless we really are just not hungry... but at younger ages the kids all seem to go through periods of 'difficulty' where they will insist they need food but absolutely refuse the food available to them (even though the day before it was their favorite ). If there are a lot of leftovers and no one likes it I will freeze the extra in single servings for 'emergency' meals because someone will eat it if they are hungry enough and there's nothing else or they need to head out for the day fast unexpectedly and need something to take with them. I do pack leftovers from our plates in my husband's lunches. He's always enjoyed finishing off our plates though (he will actually wait out going for seconds of a meal to see if anyone can't finish theirs first). I also sometimes save the kids' leftovers for my breakfast, it's nice to have a hodge podge of a few bites of stuff to eat for myself when I get up before everyone else so I can take my time and make a big breakfast for them, plus I don't really like the standard 'breakfast' type meals that the rest of the family enjoys.

It can definitely be a challenge not to fall into the thinking of just a little bit of food left on a plate which seems like not enough to save for later but would be such a waste to scrape into the garbage but I really try to remind myself that I am always modeling behavior for my children and it isn't healthy to keep eating past fullness. The other day my husband actually caught himself saying to one of our kids, "why don't you finish what's in your bowl, there's only a bite or two left"... why do we do this? Whether someone that is full eats it or it goes in the garbage, since it isn't providing sustenance it's still a waste, better to waste it in a manner that isn't also contributing to future health problems. I have these very small pyrex containers and whenever I find myself tempted to eat something just because there's so little left I just put it in one of those containers and save it for later. It might make it's way into the garbage later anyways, but at least it doesn't get 'waisted'!

I agree with the suggestions here. I just wanted to add: if this food is off plan food, remember you don't know when your last forkful will be before you drop dead. A terrible picture I know. I had a exBF who ate himself to the grave. He had that last one turkey leg at Rennasiance festival, and drop dead there at it. Keeping that picture in mind stops me.

I have no problem throwing away a small amount of something nor if I didn't like the food unless I can think of a way to turn the flavor around.

Thanks all for your generous suggestions and recommendations. BTW, my kids have been vegan for over 10 years and I cooked for them the classical McDougall Veggie Burgers and they will not eat them. They wanted to eat their soya fake burgers, very much as described in chapter 10 of The Starch Solution.

My challenge in my household is changing the kids diet from some what unhealthy vegan which include some junk additions like the fake soya burgers to healthy burgers.

I am not myself keen on soya nor tofu. But in this case, I ended eating them so not to waste them. And as result, I regained all the weight I lost the previous week.

My household has somewhat evolved to a democratic setting with the kids deciding what they want to eat. They were brought up as vegan and they know nothing else. Every member eats favourite dishes. It is very different from the way we were brought up with no choices.