Not every family eats leftovers. Ok, for me this was an astounding fact. I thought that leftovers were just a natural given for every family. Then I went to visit my friend and they do not eat leftovers. Eating leftovers saves so much money. Let me show you how:
If the average meal costs between $10-$12 per person, and you don’t eat leftovers, then there is no savings in that meal. But, if you can make that meal last for one more time, then you have saved money.
Leftovers on Purpose
For example: when I cook spaghetti, I cook extra. Two whole boxes of spaghetti for a family of 5. That is 3 teenage boys’, myself and my husband. A simple salad is my side with some dressing, and no dessert. This meal will average around $7.00 per person. If I can make that last for lunch and one more dinner, that cost has been cut into thirds almost.
I can’t believe that people throw away money like that so easily. Groceries have went up in the past months. I am already couponing and cutting what I can, planning meals etc. All of that helps, not to mention it also saves me time in the kitchen. Meal planning for two nights instead of one is a busy homeschool mom’s best friend.
Good Stewardship with the Groceries we Purchase
We WILL eat leftovers. That is what I tell my kids. It is too expensive to throw food in the trash. The way I see it, I might as well throw away my money and time. Each week I plan out healthy meals at the best price with some variety. That takes a little bit of time. Not too mention the grocery lists and then shopping for the groceries. All in all there is about 5-6 hours each week geared towards food. That doesn’t even include the making of the food.
In my eyes with this time spent, none of it will not be reused. Making most out of my time and money is important. From this lesson comes good stewardship. God blesses us with money to buy the food, and work to earn the money. So, in return I will steward those resources well. Therefore, I see leftovers as character training for each of us in the family. None of my kids really complain about leftovers and maybe it has just become normal.
How to Make Leftovers Appealing
So many great meals can be planned from leftovers. Such as Roast Beef sandwiches after having roast for dinner. The roast that probably cost me close to $10.00. Leftovers can be appealing if they are spiced up a bit. For example with spaghetti it can be turned into baked spaghetti and add breadsticks the second day instead a salad.
Creativity chases away the thoughts that this food is from another meal. Cook one night and bake the next. So many options are available to make groceries go further. Learning to cook from scratch adds to a mom’s cooking arsenal.
Reduce Mealtime Stress
No doubt about it, mealtimes are stressful. Especially if you have to be somewhere for a sport or activity. We are a busy and active homeschool family and every night we are heading out to something. My rule of thumb is to cook three times per week. In those three times I try to cook meals that are good for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Using this rule of thumb has been helpful because a lot of my cooking happens on the weekend. Weekday meal stress is a real thing for me at least. It is easier for me to cook a huge pot roast and plan out one dinner and then lunch sandwiches. In the winter leftover meat becomes part of a soup. So many ways to reduce meal stress and save money.
Final Thoughts:
If we continue to live this way and not teach our children to “waste not, want not” then if hard times hit they will have no clue how to survive on a tight budget. It’s ok for our kids to see that we budget our money, buy the groceries, cook the meal and we don’t waste! They will learn to like leftovers. If not……then they will the next time we serve leftovers that it is a LONG time to breakfast. Our job as parents is to teach them to be responsible adults.
Do you eat leftovers?
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Great post. I cannot imagine just throwing away leftovers. It is literally like throwing away money.
We do not always eat leftovers. My husband was not raised eating leftovers. His Dad didn’t want them so they threw them out. He has that same mindset. However, I have been ‘working on him’ for nearly 17 years now about that. There are many things he will now eat as leftovers. I feel slightly triumphant in that regard. That being said, there are some things none of us wish to eat again the very next day! I have a great blog post on how to get 3 Meals from One Pot of Beans. He ate those beans for 3 days :-)http://intelligentdomestications.com/2013/10/3-days-of-meals-from-one-pot-of-beans.html
We eat leftovers – not only because it saves money, but it also saves TIME for cooking a second meal! But, I have an extended family member who does not serve leftovers at her house. She simply plans each meal with EXACTLY enough food for those dining that day. If she throws out anything, it’s only a small spoonful or two. Each unto his own.
I used to not eat leftovers. I do sometimes, but I need to get better at it. It just doesn’t taste as good the next day. Some things especially!
My husband used to only eat certain things for leftovers. I personally can eat the same meal all week long. Since we got together 11 years ago I began replanning leftovers into different meals which has made all the difference with him. Yes, there are still some things that he will not eat as leftovers but they are getting to be fewer. What we do not eat gets put in small freezer containers for my mother who works midnights as a critical care nurse.
We usually eat leftovers but sometimes I forget we have them. We have taco meat in the fridge right now. I’m encouraged to do better at this.
I Love leftovers–sone things taste better a day old. We love eating them for lunch, and my girls would rather take some leftovers to school in a thermos or microwavable dish than to eat a sandwich. But my mom had to be more frugal than I have to be. I don’t understand the ones to that say they won’t eat soup or casseroles. That’s what I grew up on as that stretched the meat and usually was inexpensive!
1 in 5 American children don’t know where their next meal is. I agree with you. I don’t know how people throw away meals. These are also people who probably have high debt as they probably waste money in other ways as well.
Oh my, we love leftovers! Some meals are better the next day, like spaghetti and lasagna. My kids (15 of them) grew up eating them and enjoyed having the variety that looking in the fridge and picking out what sounds good gave them. Of course there is the good steward subject too. 🙂
I agree, it is astounding that anyone throws away leftover food!! In my family, we actually plan to make extra, either to reprise the same meal or to use the pre-cooked ingredient in another meal. I wrote more about this in my top 3 kitchen time-saving tips. It saves a lot of money, too, by preventing waste and slightly reducing the energy we use for cooking.