"Trash Day" Lunches

[coolerifyoudid]

I'll start by saying that I hate throwing food away. Drives me nuts. As a result, I end up with some very interesting combinations for lunch when trash day rolls around. Today's menu is 3 pieces of sushi from last night, a Hawaiin roll sandwich with a bite out of it that my daughter apparently didn't finish, the last few bites of applesauce that had been in the fridge for a questionable amount of time but not yet expired, some grapes and a slice of bacon (I'm not sure how we had one slice of bacon in a baggie in the fridge honestly).

I credit early mornings at Iowa State for conditioning my stomach to handle such events.

Are there any other garbage disposals out there?

 

[IASTATE07]

I admire you doing that. I'm terrible with leftovers.

 

[3GenClone]

You can have my “Worlds Best Dad” mug, because that is most dad-thing I have ever heard

 

[JM4CY]

Hell yeah. I’ve done self calculations and I figured I save several hundred bucks a year.

 

[dosry5]

I'll start by saying that I hate throwing food away. Drives me nuts. As a result, I end up with some very interesting combinations for lunch when trash day rolls around. Today's menu is 3 pieces of sushi from last night, a Hawaiin roll sandwich with a bite out of it that my daughter apparently didn't finish, the last few bites of applesauce that had been in the fridge for a questionable amount of time but not yet expired, some grapes and a slice of bacon (I'm not sure how we had one slice of bacon in a baggie in the fridge honestly).

I credit early mornings at Iowa State for conditioning my stomach to handle such events.

Are there any other garbage disposals out there?

I bet you wear cargo shorts

 

[Cycsk]

Hell yeah. I’ve done self calculations and I figured I save several hundred bucks a year.

In order to avoid leftovers, I used to clean the plates and serving dishes after meals. Now, I don't, so I save money on lunches the next day and avoid extra pounds.

 

[dmclone]

Maybe it's because I've never had kids or maybe it's OCD but I could never eat food that another mouth has touched. I'm fine with sharing something like popcorn but the thought of people sharing food grosses me out.

 

[agcy68]

I am definitely a leftovers guy. I don't usually take partial servings- too cumbersome. However, we end up with a leftovers night once in a while that gets a little interesting with the combinations.

BTW, my wife can tell how good supper was by how quickly I pack up the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

I bet you wear cargo shorts

Where the hell else am I gonna fit all that food?

 

[urb1]

My wife and I both eat leftovers although she gets more picky after a few days. I'll eat some food off of my grandkids' plates, but won't save food that was on a plate and wasn't eaten (besides my own).

 

[Al_4_State]

People who don’t do leftovers are 10 ply, bud.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Maybe it's because I've never had kids or maybe it's OCD but I could never eat food that another mouth has touched. I'm fine with sharing something like popcorn but the thought of people sharing food grosses me out.

Having a kid definitely puts perspective on things like that. When you're laying flat on your back giving your kid the superman ride on your knees and they either puke or drool on your face, you realize that a little nibble off a sandwich isn't too big of a deal.

 

[CloniesForLife]

Since I don't have kids I meal plan and never really have leftovers. But I definitely hate wasting food and when I used to have roommates it bugged me to no end how much food they would throw away.

 

[PineClone]

I do the same thing with leftovers. The lunch i pack for work is often bits of this-and-that that i find in the fridge. This includes salad that has started to get slimy...which tastes fine if you put enough dressing and cheese on it.

At dinner i often tell my wife not to cook for me. I end up eating what is left in the pan and on the kids' plates when we clean up.

 

[4theCYcle]

I'm all about leftovers. Sure saves money by not having to go buy lunch everyday at work. I know some that eat out almost everyday, that would get expensive. I can always tell when our fridge is getting low on food by weeks end or every other week after we go to the store. We try to scrounge anything we can to go a few more days before going back to the store. Not sure I take it to your level, so I applaud you for that.

 

[FOREVERTRUE]

We meal plan for the week in order to actually have enough leftovers each night for me to have for lunch the next day. The few times that we have a meal that we know won't reheat well or won't have leftovers we buy extra lunch meat or something simple for me to have at work. I don't even remember the last time I had to go out for lunch.

 

[Chitowncy]

Maybe it's because I've never had kids or maybe it's OCD but I could never eat food that another mouth has touched. I'm fine with sharing something like popcorn but the thought of people sharing food grosses me out.

I think it's the former. I know it's cliche and everyone says it, but kids do change everything. It's hard to imagine life without them or remember the ease of life before them.

As to the OP, I am the designated trash man in my family. You are not alone and I applaud your efforts. I am also dad. Why, just today I "enjoyed" some left over salad from the night before (the edge of sogginess, but not quite inedible yet), a half drunk bottle of ice tea (my wife was the culprit) and some smelly tilapia from two days before. If we had a worst lunch contest for today, I think I might win.

 

[isufbcurt]

I usually don't have leftovers. If I do I eat them later that night or the next day. If they are leftover more than 1 day I throw it away.

 

[CtownCyclone]

I'm only OK with leftovers. After a meal, I'll get everything packaged up in the fridge so they'll be ready to grab on the way out the door the next day, but my wife often miscalculates how much food to make or how much we'll have for leftovers, so we end up with some really old stuff in there.

On the flip side, my parents are down here visiting us and I found my dad eating a ham sandwich using ham that was 6 weeks past the date.

 

[BuffettClone]

I've gotten to the point where I don't order anything or just a value sandwich for myself from fast food places and just eat the stuff my kids don't finish. Sometimes it makes for some interesting meals