Have you served your family recycled food?
By eileenleyva
@eileenleyva (27562)
Philippines
June 26, 2009 5:56pm CST
Now that recession has gripped America, and inevitably the rest of the world who had relied on this once economically powerful nation, tightening the belt had become a necessary option. The ordinary homemaker would automatically shift to budget products instead of the branded choices. But to the ones who try to salvo their real estate in mortgage, eating recycled leftovers had become family meals for the weekend. Keeping with the times, although I am already blessed with a good roof on my head, I concocted refrigerated rice sauteed with garlic, fish, cheese and scrambled eggs for a Saturday breakfast. My daughter, up and about for her music lessons, sat on the kitchen counter and asked me directly "Are we on the poverty line now?" Hey, I said, that's Chinese Chao Fan and it's kinda expensive at the restaurant. She ate it all up, with gusto!
4 people like this
14 responses
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
27 Jun 09
Hi Eileenleyva, actually some food taste better as leftover.
Those Indian curry are much better after several reheat. Sometimes a pot of curry can last three days, and always the best on the third day.
And we do recycle rice, as what you did. fried rice tastes much better using rice from last night, rather than new pot of rice.
Actually hotels and restaurants have been recycling food for a long time, just that they are so good at it that you do not know you are eating leftovers.
2 people like this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
27 Jun 09
Curry is good. I like it too. Next time we have it I will try to save some the third day. Thanks for the info about the hotels and restaurants. Somebody had told me that they throw all the food at the end of the day because these establishments couldn't risk people getting ill because of the food they served. Some resto too have devised a way, like stocking portions in the freezer and cook them only when ordered.
@cruisinme67 (12)
• United States
27 Jun 09
Wow..recycled food, is that what the politically correct word is today? As for us that live in the REAL world, leftovers, coupons and shopping non brands are the norm! I've used leftover veggies in soups, leftover meat in cassaroles, stirfrys and soups. Speghetti is the favorite for a quick lunch, snack or a quick dinner. Ive never had to rename things to get my kids to eat it. We dont have much but our kids never do without but they definatly dont have everything either! I guess I am old school...my kids dont have cell phones or their own personel computers. They keep up with their peers online and every other way and they all know how to cook and eat leftovers. In fact they always check the frig first for the leftovers!!! Good luck in your reality of economic times...it has always been there just not thrown in our media faces.
2 people like this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
27 Jun 09
I would not have called it recycled food until I heard some students discussing soggy recycled food being served in their cafeteria or canteen. The breakfast menu of hotdogs, sausages, fried pork were all mixed up and served as a dish called menudo. The students were saying "Hey, this is what we ate this morning except that it has potatoes, carrots and tomato sauce. The meat part are all soggy."
I can relate with you cruisinme, I buy a blouse annually. We also don't have much except the roof on our heads but the children get their education. The children can cook too, just enough for our family of three to consume in one eating. We do that so we could keep with the budget.
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
27 Jun 09
I have always had leftovers. Any meal that hadn't been eaten up the night before was eaten the next couple of days, that's just the way it went. Left overs is just the fun having a good meal over again, and it saves a little bit of money. I know that there are some who rarely have left overs for whatever reason ranging from a big family that ate it all up, to just not liking left overs.
2 people like this
@jayrene (2708)
• Philippines
26 Jun 09
yes we do that here all the time. we dont throw left overs. i just put it in the refrigerator and then serve it next meal. for left over rice i make fried rice in the morning for breakfast, its common food here, we call it sinangag, can only be rice or with garlic or the way how you made it, except for the cheese.
2 people like this
@carlas (198)
• United States
26 Jun 09
i tend to do the same thing. I make large quantities of cheap foods such as spaghetti and tacos, and we eat off of it for like 3 days.
I usually wait to go grocery shopping until we basically eat all of the food in the cupboards, even the nasty Lipton rice sides and Ramen noodles.
This seems normal to me. More now than ever is a time to refrain from wasting!
2 people like this
@khayshenz (1384)
• United States
27 Jun 09
You put cheese in fried rice??? That's weird.
Anyways - I do eat leftovers a lot. I don't have a family (i.e. kids and a hubby, I have parents, I don't live with them anymore) - I bought a house with my brother. So I usually cook mondays, wednesdays, fridays, and saturdays. All those other days that I don't cook - we either eat leftovers, or I would remake the leftover into something else. Just to be different y'know.
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
27 Jun 09
I don't have leftovers. I cook enough for a meal and I consume all that I cook for that meal - nothing left over unless its inedible stuff like bones. Though I'll quite often cook enough for several meals, a stew for example, because it's easier to cook something like that in something larger than a one portion size. But that's not leftovers, it's just food cooked in advance because it's easier and more economical to do so.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
27 Jun 09
I am very much like you. I also try to economize as much as I can.
@orevro (715)
• Philippines
27 Jun 09
we do this all the time. We're used to eating rice during breakfast and what we have for breakfast, if we weren't able to finish it, we'll eat it for lunch as well:) same goes for lunch and dinner. and when we go to restaurants, we take home the leftover food and we heat it up for maybe dinner or breakfast for the next dayt. We don't want anything to waste :) It's still food and the taste will still be the same, although not as good as when it was freshly cooked but it still fills up the stomach:)
1 person likes this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
27 Jun 09
If you are just now starting to use leftovers from one meal to the next, I'd hate to have your grocery bill. I would LOVE to have the money you wasted by throwing it all away over the years, though. Such a waste.
Since when did eating good food the next day become a sign of living in poverty?
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
27 Jun 09
Sorry, I am not a wastrel. My grocery bill had been kept to a minimum because of a tight budget. Even if I have spare money, I wouldn't give it to you. There are enough street children knocking at my door to whom I share my food with. That is why I have no leftovers. I have eaten and still eat with the destitute, and I know what poverty means. I also know the kind of food those who can afford eat at their table. The one I mentioned in my discussion wouldn't be served there. I only buy a blouse to make myself presentable for the Christ child on Christmas. I also buy a pair of shoes every three years, when the worn one had to be discarded. How much money have you wasted on caps alone? Such a waste!
@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
26 Jun 09
I eat leftovers. If I have enough I feed them to the family. And we're eating out less too...
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
27 Jun 09
My husband eats leftovers for lunch everyday. When I clean up dinner from the night before, I automatically pack up the food for his lunch the next day. Sometimes I will cook a double batch of hamburger meat at the same time and make 2 meals out of it. If there is any left over I will make a chili out of it. I think your rice dish sounded great for breakfast.
1 person likes this
@o0jopak0o (6394)
• Philippines
27 Jun 09
well if you mean recycled is refrigerated then yes not because we don't have any money to but but because we don't want to waste food.
wasting food is like a sin when a lot of people in the world has no food to eat
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
27 Jun 09
Very true. I do pray that people who still have three meals a day realize how poor people in dire need eat roots to live the day. Sometimes, nothing at all. For days and days. Thanks for the insight. Takes people with a heart to know that. God bless you and your family.
@prinzcy (32322)
• Malaysia
30 Jun 09
Leftovers are leftovers, never been considered as recycle food to me.
We hardly have leftovers in the house. Almost all food has been made enough for everyone per meal. If we do have leftovers, I will re-heat it and served it for the next meal. Some can be made into a new recipes (ie : leftovers fried rice...) My family never said a word, they just eat it.
1 person likes this
@countrysun2sea (161)
• United States
27 Jun 09
If you mean leftovers,,,,then yes, we eat them all the time and would even if the economy was better. Why waste food?
@eileenleyva (27562)
• Philippines
27 Jun 09
Good question - why waste food? But see people in the restaurants, they don't consume the meal they ordered.. .. Good perspective too - would also eat leftovers even if the times are better.
@countrysun2sea (161)
• United States
27 Jun 09
We bring leftovers home from restaraunts as well. If I am paying for it I might as well bring it home in case I get hungry later in the night....I try really hard not to waste. Often times when we go out to eat and I bring food home--I take ot to work the next day for lunch. Waste not want not.
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