My leftover food experiment

It is a familiar scene…dinner is over, the kids have been excused from the table.  You start to clear the plates and come face to face with 4 bites of Mac n Cheese they didn't eat, or that delicious looking pizza crust.  What do you do?  Scarf it down before anyone sees you of course!  After all, that salad you had for dinner just didn’t quite leave you feeling fully satisfied. 

Now most of the time our kids eat the same dinner we have – usually chicken, fish or steak and some sort of grilled veggies.  But there are times when what we are eating, they will not touch with a ten foot pole – kale anyone?  And let’s face it, sometimes we just don’t have the time or energy to play the “eat your dinner or you are going straight to bed” game.  So, we let them have something we know they will eat.  But the problem is, when there is leftover food on their plates, guess who eats it?  YOU!  After all that hard work you put in exercising, and all that willpower you had all day to eat clean and healthy, you are throwing it all out the window!!

I know it seems like a few bites here and there won’t hurt.  But take a look at the graphic posted above.  These pics are from one week of leftover food on the plates, from just ONE of my kids!!  If you ate their leftover food every night for just one week, look at all of that extra food you are consuming!  Not good!

My new trick in the house is to have the kids clear their own plate.  Doing this provides two valuable things:  1) they are learning responsibility and 2) no more temptation!!  The food goes right in the trash and you lose your temptation to eat it (I hope!).

Now if your kids are too young to do this themselves, I suggest asking them to place their napkin over their plate when they are done (or do it yourself).  Then when it is time to clear the plates, you don’t have to look at the food and can easily toss it in the trash.    Done and done!!