Frugality in cooking

[JAS_OH1]

Sounds like you enjoyed the good life. Vietnam was hard on a lot of people. I worked with a lady many years ago, occasionally she would have to go find her husband, his brain was scrambled, he’d go missing, only to be found up a tree hiding. Very sad

Russ

Well it wasn't until I was in my teens that I had enough to eat, really. I could put away some food trying to catch up, but only weighed about 100 pounds (about 45 kilos) when I was 15 years old at 5'2" tall (about 157 cm) and I was skinny for the longest time. My metabolism finally slowed down when I was in my 40s and I am plump now at nearly 60, but not too heavy.

But yeah, after that last war things were better. My dad saw some awful things and he did drink more than he should to erase them, but he was highly functioning and very intelligent, so he managed to do quite with the real estate venture.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

It drives me crazy when people don’t want to have more than one serving of something. I’m not talking about a second helping at the same meal. I really don’t care about that. But, it annoys me when we have a huge amount of pizza, and nobody wants to have it on the second day. So, I end up eating one piece per day until I decide to throw it out. It’s not even that I crave the taste that much. That’s hardly ever the case. But, I hate to waste things.

It must be nice to live this luxurious life where you can afford to throw things away because they aren’t fresh enough to meet your high standards. I’m mostly talking about my kids: you know, the ones who never pay for anything. But, when they buy some junk food, they eat every scrap.

 

[rascal]

Well it wasn't until I was in my teens that I had enough to eat, really. I could put away some food trying to catch up, but only weighed about 100 pounds (about 45 kilos) when I was 15 years old at 5'2" tall (about 157 cm) and I was skinny for the longest time. My metabolism finally slowed down when I was in my 40s and I am plump now at nearly 60, but not too heavy.

But yeah, after that last war things were better. My dad saw some awful things and he did drink more than he should to erase them, but he was highly functioning and very intelligent, so he managed to do quite with the real estate venture.

Our son was like you, tiny and would only eat tomato sauce/ ketchups Sammie’s. Wife used to worry about him, took him to a doc, he said he will eat when he’s ready, at 14 it kicked in, cost us a fortune then. At 40 he does weights and gym so not an ounce of fat on him.


Russ

 

[Morning Glory]

I was brung up on a council estate in the 50s. My mum never worked; my dad worked at the (paper)mill.

Ditto re council estate and the 50's. Sadly there are almost no paper mills left in the Kent. I grew up in Portsmouth, well Farlington to be precise. The council house is still there: two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and living room. My Mum lived there until she died at the age of 97 a few years back. According to the date on Google street view, this image was taken when she was still living there:



My dad worked for the council as a carpenter and Mum was totally blind so not really able to work. We ate very little meat. My Dad grew lots of vegetables in the garden so I think I had a very healthy diet really. Not exactly exciting and almost totally devoid of any spices or herbs, though! We also had two pet chickens who provided eggs.

 

[caseydog]

It drives me crazy when people don’t want to have more than one serving of something. I’m not talking about a second helping at the same meal. I really don’t care about that. But, it annoys me when we have a huge amount of pizza, and nobody wants to have it on the second day. So, I end up eating one piece per day until I decide to throw it out. It’s not even that I crave the taste that much. That’s hardly ever the case. But, I hate to waste things.

It must be nice to live this luxurious life where you can afford to throw things away because they aren’t fresh enough to meet your high standards. I’m mostly talking about my kids: you know, the ones who never pay for anything. But, when they buy some junk food, they eat every scrap.

Cold leftover pizza... breakfast of champions.

Seriously, since I rarely eat "meals," and mostly graze all day, leftover pizza is perfect for me.

As for your kids, I have nothing to offer for advice. Hopefully their tastebuds and understanding of food waste will mature as the rest of their bodies, and their minds, mature.

CD

 

[Windigo]

It drives me crazy when people don’t want to have more than one serving of something. I’m not talking about a second helping at the same meal. I really don’t care about that. But, it annoys me when we have a huge amount of pizza, and nobody wants to have it on the second day. So, I end up eating one piece per day until I decide to throw it out. It’s not even that I crave the taste that much. That’s hardly ever the case. But, I hate to waste things.

Yeah I totally feel this . I still have a compulsion to eat whatever is left because I can't bear wasting it. I try to be careful not to cook too much, but even then usually the leftovers end up in my tummy because I am the only one bothering to save them from the bin. I try to not do this for my health, but I always end up doing it anyway

 

[JAS_OH1]

Our son was like you, tiny and would only eat tomato sauce/ ketchups Sammie’s. Wife used to worry about him, took him to a doc, he said he will eat when he’s ready, at 14 it kicked in, cost us a fortune then. At 40 he does weights and gym so not an ounce of fat on him.


Russ

Oh, I could eat. At 15, I could put down a 16 oz. porterhouse steak, corn, green beans, baked potato with sour cream and butter, and salad, and still have room for dessert!

When I was young there just wasn't much food on the table because there were 6 kids to feed and we didn't have much money. When we lived in Japan from 1968-1970, we ate well and lived well because everything was so inexpensive there, and we had both a maid and a sewing lady ($1 per day was the going wage over there). When we came back to the states in 1970 it was different and my father's real estate venture didn't really take off til about 1975. And of course I wouldn't eat liver, LOL. but I would eat chicken and most everything else and plenty of it!

 

[caseydog]

But, it annoys me when we have a huge amount of pizza, and nobody wants to have it on the second day. So, I end up eating one piece per day until I decide to throw it out. It’s not even that I crave the taste that much. That’s hardly ever the case. But, I hate to waste things.

Leftover pizza never goes to waste in my house. Same with leftover fried chicken. As I have said before, I don't normally eat "meals." I graze throughout the day. Leftover pizza and fried chicken is good grazing food. I can easily eat half of a large pizza in one day, over a 12 hour period.

For health reasons, I don't just graze on pizza and fried chicken. I'll make a family sized pot of pasta and veggies, and graze on that for a day. Or, I can buy a head of lettuce, make a dressing with olive oil, black pepper and vinegar, and graze on salad all day.

That grazing, in addition to being something I like to do, also makes it possible for me to cook a big pot of something, and not have it go to waste.

Oh, about making a big pot of something and freezing it for later -- that doesn't work for me. If I put cooked food in the freezer, it is out of sight/out of mind, and I end up throwing it away a year later when I discover it behind everything else in the freezer.

CD