4 ms·
Ask HN: How often do you eat leftovers?
Both my wife and I were raised on leftovers. Not once a week, but 5+ days out of 7.
When old enough to pay our own way we both stopped eating leftovers. We don't save anything, re-heat anything or otherwise utilize anything after it's initial serving. It has been this way for 10+ years. We both cook very well and cooking is a source of stress-relief and bonding after what seems like busy week after busy week.
Now, within the last 6 months we just sort of started eating leftovers. Our grocery budget went from $600 a month to under $200 a month (food only).
How often do you eat leftovers? Do you do it to maximize your dollars? Do you do it for convenience? If you share your life with someone do they share the same views?
Edit: Our diet consists of chicken, pork, lots of vegetables , sweet potatoes, fruit, rice, beans, etc. We have almost given up beef entirely. After a recent trip to China we almost exclusively cook dishes modeled after the food I enjoyed there.
Edit 2: clarified $200 was food only.
- lettergram 9y agoI make food twice per week, sunday and thursday. We eat left overs every other day. My grocery budget (wife + son) is right around $500 - $600 per month (that includes everything from toilet paper to steak). I pretty much can get any high quality food I want within that budget.
- jason_slack 9y agoCan you share how you structure your diet? On the 2 days you do cook is there anything you save to cook fresh the day you want to eat it?
- stephenr 9y agoWe eat leftovers when we have them, but don’t necessarily always cook extra unless it’s something that is easier to cook more (eg extra pieces of chicken in the oven takes no extra work and results in cooked chicken for salads/sandwiches) Some things like lasagne are better once they’ve sat for a day or two in the fridge.
- CyberFonic 9y agoThe only leftover we have is bolognese sauce, great for nachos, spag bol, on toast. Other than that we cook fresh everyday - healthier. I used to work in restaurants, so we are good at cooking exact portion sizes and hardly ever throw anything away. When I buy beef, I'll buy a large piece, cut it into steak sized portions and freeze what isn't used in a day or two.