Are you a food waster?

I try hard not to throw away too much food, if any. But sometimes I just can't help it, such as feeling like I'm about to explode e.g.
 
I don't generally waste food, no... but I'm hardly going to be anal about finishing what I have on my plate if I don't want any more, just because I 'should'.
 
SlyReaper said:
I have been known to waste food because sometimes I simply can't get through something before it expires. Like some pate I have in the fridge, you're supposed to use within 3 days of opening it. There's no way I can possibly get through all that pate in 3 days. Bread is another bad one because it always goes stale a few days after you buy it, and I can't get through an entire loaf that quickly.

It's one of the downsides of living alone.
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I live alone and have gotten my food shopping down to an art whereby I end up throwing nothing out. I'm serious, my bin has nothing but packaging in it.

Your bread explanation doesn't really work as I manage to keep a loaf of bread from going off for about 9 days although I eat a loaf per week. My milk lasts for 8-9 days as well. I just keep most things in the fridge.

I buy packs of meat (chicken, pork etc) and spend 10 mins splitting them into individual portions, pop them in freezer bags and freeze them.

I think the biggest mistake is people still chucking food out that has "use by" and "best before" dates... Remember, it's "best before" not "poisonous after". Use your nose more, it's the best instrument to check if food is not useable.
 
I know a girl who throws everything out as soon as it hits the 'sell by date'. Including bread and other foodstuffs that you can generally see if they are inedible or not.
 
SlyReaper said:
I have been known to waste food because sometimes I simply can't get through something before it expires. Like some pate I have in the fridge, you're supposed to use within 3 days of opening it. There's no way I can possibly get through all that pate in 3 days. Bread is another bad one because it always goes stale a few days after you buy it, and I can't get through an entire loaf that quickly.

It's one of the downsides of living alone.
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Get a bread bin! I find my bread lasts about 5-7 days. It never goes stale, but will occasionally go mouldy. I tend to have relatively expensive multigrain/wholemeal bread. I don't know if this lasts longer than White or cheap brown bread?

I waste very little food. The most common item I throw away is carrots - I find they go off in my fridge much more easily than anything else for some reason. I did throw away a pack of mince this week. It had go e completely grey, but was within it sell by date. I am sure it was still safe to eat, but it looked so disgusting I couldn't bring myself to cook with it. The fact that I am cooking for my 18month old daughter means I am likely to be a bit more cautious.
 
NinetyOne said:
I think your looking at it the wrong way I didn't say you should force feed yourself or others.
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But you were eating out, what do you. Do ask for a smaller portion?

Anyway I waste quite a lot of food.
Get stuff in to make a certain dish, then decide to have something else, then it goes off.
 
AcidHell2 said:
But you were eating out, what do you. Do ask for a smaller portion?

Anyway I waste quite a lot of food.
Get stuff in to make a certain dish, then decide to have something else, then it goes off.
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Depending on the restaurant- you can normally asks for it to packed away to take home. I would be less inclined to do this in a very posh restaurant, but then the portion sizes are usually much smaller anyhow.
 
Talking about food, why does the smallest cod still have to be incredibly large thus impossible to eat fully? Maybe it's just my local chippie but I don't think anyone could actually eat their large cod.
 
I have a few reasons to why I don't like to waste food.
I have just left home, but talking when I was at home:

1) I didn't pay for it, it is ****ing cheeky to bin it when I didn't go to work to earn the money to pay for it.
2) Food that has been planted, grown, collected, sent to supermarket, bought and then for me to just throw away doesn't make any sense (I am studying environmental engineering stuff as a postgraduate).
3) My parents spent time cooking it, after a long day at work, using their time, their electricity+gas, again which I do not pay for.
4) I have always been a bit of a pig and tend to finish what is on my plate :p.
 
I tend not to, however sometimes I do. It's usually a case of forgetting it's in the fridge, I just threw out a chicken breast and a half earlier because it was buried in the back and I had forgotten about it, or making something else and then ingredients go out of date.
I never pay attention to best before/use by though. My eyes and nose are the best judge. I'll happily have a pan of curry sat on the hob (covered) for 3 days and have that each night.
To the person saying pate has to be used in 3 days? Mine lives for weeks in my fridge, if it becomes mouldy (it rarely happens) it goes in the bin.
 
I couldn't afford to waste food even if I wanted to, which I don't. :p

As for the comments relating to not being able to help being full, and leaving food instead of instilling a habit of continuing to eat regardless... Make and serve smaller portions? If there's enough left to constitute wastage, you're doing it wrong tbh.
 
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