When Waste is a Good Thing

December 4, 2012

I grew up in a household where you use and reuse everything. You eat what is on your plate, and what won’t kill you will make you stronger.

I am thankful for this very conservative perspective on material but I have also seen when this need to conserve can be a disadvantage to my health.

Let me explain. While eating your brussel sprouts as a child is a good thing, accepting dozens of Christmas cookies, cakes, chocolates, and other sweet treats and cleaning your plate is not. I work at an office where we get so many wonderful items around Christmas. So many thoughtful people bring us goodies but I have had to fight my instinct and throw things away because it is impossible to eat it all before it goes bad. And if I did, I would make myself sick.

The same thing seems to be at this time of the year, when we travel from party to party and house to house, that it is expected to eat pie and Christmas cookies. It may be our instinct to try something everywhere we go, from every person. But I challenge you, like myself, to take a look at that expectation. Can we break that expectation for health? I would like to try.

What are your feelings about waste in general and in relation to not so healthy treats? Are you one to try a little bit of everything?

4 responses to When Waste is a Good Thing

  1. I think the amount of waste in this country is sinful. I read about how much restaurants throw away, and how some are trying to remedy that, and help the poor. I’m also trying to put less on my plate. But when it comes to buffet lines and potlucks it is very hard to keep from sampling several things. We need to set limits for ourselves, and find ways to give to the poor. When I bake my Christmas cookies this time I hope to eat less of them, and use more to bless others.

  2. I’ve always had a bit of a sweet tooth, so, naturally, when I get my hands on candy, cookies, and such, I tend to eat them in excess. Not that I’m proud of it; I once ate an entire package of chocolate shortbread cookies in one day, and paid for it the next morning. If it weren’t for the fact that I spend pretty much all my waking hours either walking or fidgeting, I’d probably be huge by now. Still, I do believe it’s a bad idea to waste food unless you absolutely have to; that was something my mom instilled in me.

    • Thanks for sharing! I know some people to have the perspective that sweets are sinful rather than waste. They will pick up a piece of candy, take one bite, and then throw it away as an act of self control. What do you think is more of an issue to you? Wastefullness or consuming too many sweets?

      • For me, consuming too many sweets is an issue, simply because it is a bad habit of mine. Though I don’t care for the wastefulness of society, I’m not one to waste food myself; when I get food from wherever, I usually eat ALL of it, unless I absolutely can’t stand the taste of one thing or another. Even if I have to save some for later, or give it to someone else, it pretty much always gets entirely eaten.