strategies regarding food........
Ren Allen
~Ren said this to me once and I remind myself of it often. Eating IS
ruining your appetite.~
This came up at the conference last year, in reference to kids eating
while you're cooking a meal. I said "The whole POINT of eating is to
'ruin your appetite! If you don't want your kids to ruin their
appetite, then don't ever, ever FEED them!!".
I got the strangest looks, but then a couple of lights went on.:)
Another time (before we were unschooling totally) I had a friend at my
house that kept fussing at her son for munching on the carrots while
we were fixing a meal. I looked at her and said "Becky, the carrots
are probably far healthier than anything we're going to sit down and
eat, why are you nattering about it??"
Another moment of a funny look and then 'DING'.
Food is a funny thing, only because of the really lame way most of us
were raised in regards to food. I think the human creature is well
equipped to eat what makes it feel better...even if it doesn't seem
that way at times.
As far as "wasted" food, if you're eating something when your body is
saying you don't want it, I think that's far more wasteful than
throwing it in the trash!! If it makes the parents feel better, then
start a compost pile, at least the worms will eat your "waste" food.:)
I was pondering this one night, as I scraped some plates off after
dinner. I thought "I wonder why the waste of this small amount of food
still bothers me???"
I've never been a member of the "clean-your-plate" club, so it baffles
me that throwing food away still turns on these internal triggers. I
wondered if it was childhood stuff, or just the fact that money is
really tight right now.
Probably the latter. Then I thought about what a parent would spend
for a health curriculum!! I realized that all the food we throw away
in a year probably doesn't equal ONE curriculum package!! And my kids
are learning about food from the real thing, not a stupid text book.
Now I'm thinking about all the ways we spend our money differently,
because of being unschoolers. Cool.
Ren
learninginfreedom.com
ruining your appetite.~
This came up at the conference last year, in reference to kids eating
while you're cooking a meal. I said "The whole POINT of eating is to
'ruin your appetite! If you don't want your kids to ruin their
appetite, then don't ever, ever FEED them!!".
I got the strangest looks, but then a couple of lights went on.:)
Another time (before we were unschooling totally) I had a friend at my
house that kept fussing at her son for munching on the carrots while
we were fixing a meal. I looked at her and said "Becky, the carrots
are probably far healthier than anything we're going to sit down and
eat, why are you nattering about it??"
Another moment of a funny look and then 'DING'.
Food is a funny thing, only because of the really lame way most of us
were raised in regards to food. I think the human creature is well
equipped to eat what makes it feel better...even if it doesn't seem
that way at times.
As far as "wasted" food, if you're eating something when your body is
saying you don't want it, I think that's far more wasteful than
throwing it in the trash!! If it makes the parents feel better, then
start a compost pile, at least the worms will eat your "waste" food.:)
I was pondering this one night, as I scraped some plates off after
dinner. I thought "I wonder why the waste of this small amount of food
still bothers me???"
I've never been a member of the "clean-your-plate" club, so it baffles
me that throwing food away still turns on these internal triggers. I
wondered if it was childhood stuff, or just the fact that money is
really tight right now.
Probably the latter. Then I thought about what a parent would spend
for a health curriculum!! I realized that all the food we throw away
in a year probably doesn't equal ONE curriculum package!! And my kids
are learning about food from the real thing, not a stupid text book.
Now I'm thinking about all the ways we spend our money differently,
because of being unschoolers. Cool.
Ren
learninginfreedom.com
Michelle/Melbrigða
On 7/5/06, Ren Allen <starsuncloud@...> wrote:
"wasted." We can't offer cooked food to starving children in India or
donate it to a food bank. Once cooked it is either headed towards the
garbage or (eventually) the sewer. :-) What bothers me more than
someone not eating (all) of what I have cooked is when I overbuy food
and have to throw it out. To me that is waste. I would prefer to
throw out a serving of beans that someone didn't eat than to throw out
beans that have turned into some sort of ill-fated science experiment.
India was the country where my mother always told me the starving
children were. When we didn't "clean our plates" my mom would remind
us of the "starving children in India" who would LOVE the green beans
with okra or meatloaf that I was turning my nose up at (apologies to
those of you that like okra and meatloaf). I can remember even being
as young as 3 or 4 how one could possibly get already cooked food to
another country.
--
Michelle
aka Melbrigða
http://eventualknitting.blogspot.com
[email protected] - Homeschooling for the Medieval Recreationist
> As far as "wasted" food, if you're eating something when your body isMy theory on this has always been that once it is cooked it is
> saying you don't want it, I think that's far more wasteful than
> throwing it in the trash!! If it makes the parents feel better, then
> start a compost pile, at least the worms will eat your "waste" food.:)
>
"wasted." We can't offer cooked food to starving children in India or
donate it to a food bank. Once cooked it is either headed towards the
garbage or (eventually) the sewer. :-) What bothers me more than
someone not eating (all) of what I have cooked is when I overbuy food
and have to throw it out. To me that is waste. I would prefer to
throw out a serving of beans that someone didn't eat than to throw out
beans that have turned into some sort of ill-fated science experiment.
India was the country where my mother always told me the starving
children were. When we didn't "clean our plates" my mom would remind
us of the "starving children in India" who would LOVE the green beans
with okra or meatloaf that I was turning my nose up at (apologies to
those of you that like okra and meatloaf). I can remember even being
as young as 3 or 4 how one could possibly get already cooked food to
another country.
--
Michelle
aka Melbrigða
http://eventualknitting.blogspot.com
[email protected] - Homeschooling for the Medieval Recreationist
Deb
--- In [email protected], "Michelle/Melbrigða"
<pamperedmichelle@...> wrote:
and all that? Not to mention the doctor bills and other stuff
related to weight-related problems (overweight, hypertension, etc)?
Throwing out a few servings of rice or whatever is way less
expensive than the physical and emotional damage.
Also, this falls into being a student of your kids - if we're paying
attention ("we" as in me and DH "we"), we can generally chart DS' 36
hr food cycle and plan accordingly "He had a big morning today" so
we go light on dinner for him or "He had a big lunch yesterday,
better plan on an extra hot dog tonight" Leftovers can be lunch
tomorrow for me in most cases or recycled into another meal later in
the week - Saturday afternoons are often "scavenger time" when we
just pull out whatever is leftover from the week and put together
all sorts of odd combinations and maybe add a new bit to tie it
together (or not). If it goes beyond Saturday, then it's likely
going to be tossed - by then it's had a fair chance to make its case.
but she never said it to us. Of course, my mom got "be grateful for
this..." too - with some reason, since often dinner in her childhood
was slices of bread with watered down catsup "red devil" sandwiches
she calls them. We were quite willing to send her ill-fated peanut
butter stuffed chicken breasts (bleh!) to anyone who wanted them -
she took one bite and told my dad to order a pizza!lol
--Deb
<pamperedmichelle@...> wrote:
>Yeah - have you checked out the cost of health clubs, "diet" food,
> On 7/5/06, Ren Allen <starsuncloud@...> wrote:
>
> > As far as "wasted" food, if you're eating something when your
>>body is
> > saying you don't want it, I think that's far more wasteful than
> > throwing it in the trash!!
and all that? Not to mention the doctor bills and other stuff
related to weight-related problems (overweight, hypertension, etc)?
Throwing out a few servings of rice or whatever is way less
expensive than the physical and emotional damage.
Also, this falls into being a student of your kids - if we're paying
attention ("we" as in me and DH "we"), we can generally chart DS' 36
hr food cycle and plan accordingly "He had a big morning today" so
we go light on dinner for him or "He had a big lunch yesterday,
better plan on an extra hot dog tonight" Leftovers can be lunch
tomorrow for me in most cases or recycled into another meal later in
the week - Saturday afternoons are often "scavenger time" when we
just pull out whatever is leftover from the week and put together
all sorts of odd combinations and maybe add a new bit to tie it
together (or not). If it goes beyond Saturday, then it's likely
going to be tossed - by then it's had a fair chance to make its case.
> >LOL we used to joke about this because my mom heard it all the time
> I can remember even being
> as young as 3 or 4 how one could possibly get already cooked food
>to
> another country.
but she never said it to us. Of course, my mom got "be grateful for
this..." too - with some reason, since often dinner in her childhood
was slices of bread with watered down catsup "red devil" sandwiches
she calls them. We were quite willing to send her ill-fated peanut
butter stuffed chicken breasts (bleh!) to anyone who wanted them -
she took one bite and told my dad to order a pizza!lol
--Deb
averyschmidt
> I was pondering this one night, as I scraped some plates off afterfood
> dinner. I thought "I wonder why the waste of this small amount of
> still bothers me???"baffles
> I've never been a member of the "clean-your-plate" club, so it
> me that throwing food away still turns on these internal triggers.I
> wondered if it was childhood stuff, or just the fact that money isIt triggers me too, but I know why. For me it's not about wasting
> really tight right now.
money. I imagine the starving children that I see late night on
cable channels or read/hear people like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
talking about, and I think "wow, what some children would give to
have the scraps that my children so carelessly toss away." I do
realize it's irrational- how would my already-stuffed children
forcing themselves to eat more help hungry children in other parts
of the world? How could I possibly get these scraps to those
children? I know that I can't, but I still feel those twinges
whenever I dump out anything edible.
Patti
Deb
--- In [email protected], "averyschmidt"
<patti.schmidt2@...> wrote:
eaten but from overbuying and then tossing "science experiments" of
stuff that just sat and never got touched (like those bananas that
turned black and slimy). One thing I've taken to doing to help with
the twinges is (a) refine the buying a bit - don't just presume that
since we ate 6 avocados last week that we'll need 6 avocados this week
too - I'll ask and we'll discuss. (b) I'll use a bit of the money
saved from not overbuying (whenever possible) to pick up one of
those "Food for All" cards they have at the grocery checkout (are they
local or national things?) or something such as that which helps get
nutritious food to those who need it (Food for All and Foodshare both
address local hunger I believe and there are plenty of organizations
that address world hunger issues). Another idea that I've seen is that
people will round off the amount (if it comes to $123.62 they round to
$125 for instance) and tuck away that difference each week. Then they
use that mount to send to wherever. Could do the same with coupon
savings - whatever amount you saved from the grocery budget by using
coupons, buying store brands instead of namebrands, buying the
specials, and so on goes to hunger relief projects - you haven't
changed your own budget but you've had an incentive to buy more
mindfully. For example, if you skip buying the packaged cookies and
make your own at home, the difference in cost would go to relief.
If you want to go outside your home, you can check with local
facilities such as bakeries and groceries and local shelters and food
kitchens and try to arrange for day-old products to go from the bakery
to the food kitchen instead of the dumpster. There are regulations
about things related to food safety but often there are ways to manage
it. For example, we have a big Thanksgiving luncheon here at work on
the Wednesday before Thanksgiving - pasta dishes, cold cuts platters,
desserts, side dishes, etc. One of my coworkers helps wrap things up
afterward and takes the usable stuff over to a local shelter - they
get lots of stuff for Thanksgiving but not a lot before or after.
--Deb
<patti.schmidt2@...> wrote:
> It triggers me too, but I know why. For me it's not about wastingSomeone else mentioned about feeling twinges not from food partially
> money. I imagine the starving children that I see late night on
> cable channels or read/hear people like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
> talking about, and I think "wow, what some children would give to
> have the scraps that my children so carelessly toss away." I do
> realize it's irrational- how would my already-stuffed children
> forcing themselves to eat more help hungry children in other parts
> of the world? How could I possibly get these scraps to those
> children? I know that I can't, but I still feel those twinges
> whenever I dump out anything edible.
>
> Patti
>
eaten but from overbuying and then tossing "science experiments" of
stuff that just sat and never got touched (like those bananas that
turned black and slimy). One thing I've taken to doing to help with
the twinges is (a) refine the buying a bit - don't just presume that
since we ate 6 avocados last week that we'll need 6 avocados this week
too - I'll ask and we'll discuss. (b) I'll use a bit of the money
saved from not overbuying (whenever possible) to pick up one of
those "Food for All" cards they have at the grocery checkout (are they
local or national things?) or something such as that which helps get
nutritious food to those who need it (Food for All and Foodshare both
address local hunger I believe and there are plenty of organizations
that address world hunger issues). Another idea that I've seen is that
people will round off the amount (if it comes to $123.62 they round to
$125 for instance) and tuck away that difference each week. Then they
use that mount to send to wherever. Could do the same with coupon
savings - whatever amount you saved from the grocery budget by using
coupons, buying store brands instead of namebrands, buying the
specials, and so on goes to hunger relief projects - you haven't
changed your own budget but you've had an incentive to buy more
mindfully. For example, if you skip buying the packaged cookies and
make your own at home, the difference in cost would go to relief.
If you want to go outside your home, you can check with local
facilities such as bakeries and groceries and local shelters and food
kitchens and try to arrange for day-old products to go from the bakery
to the food kitchen instead of the dumpster. There are regulations
about things related to food safety but often there are ways to manage
it. For example, we have a big Thanksgiving luncheon here at work on
the Wednesday before Thanksgiving - pasta dishes, cold cuts platters,
desserts, side dishes, etc. One of my coworkers helps wrap things up
afterward and takes the usable stuff over to a local shelter - they
get lots of stuff for Thanksgiving but not a lot before or after.
--Deb