It seems that when I was a kid, I heard more negative discussion of leftovers than I do today. Maybe people have more leftovers today. Maybe they just accept them as a fact of life.
We have a restaurant in town that prepares excellent walleye, a Wisconsin fish. When I have eaten there and saved some of their walleye, I know I have a good meal waiting for me. Maybe microwave ovens have made a difference in our ability to reheat foods to just the right temperature over what we can do on a typical stove.
There is a novel by Tom Perrotta called "The Leftovers" but it is not about food. People are suddenly missing in large numbers and the best explanation is that The Rapture has occurred and they were swept up into heaven. Those left behind have complaints about some of the well-known sinners being missing while such outstanding persons as ourselves are still here.
Leftover food is more common in my life as I get older. I seem to have smaller eating capacity and maybe greater sensitivity to satiation. The prejudice against leftovers that I used to hear about might, in part, be caused by the word. What if we called food not eaten at a meal "Saved Food" or "Reserved Food"? Sometimes, I could cram all the food served to me into myself but I try to be aware of feeling full. Much of the time, it seems that I can decide whether I am hungry or not. Just about every week, I eat half of what is served at lunch with the guys and save half. I tend to forget about what I bring home and am only reminded when I see the special container in the refrigerator. So, a day or so later, for lunch, I have the food I didn't eat before.
I am reading "The Calorie Myth" by J. Sailor, a book promoted by Susan Peirce Thompson of Bright Line Eating. From wrestling and trying to be the right weight for the team, and of course, with years of experience of eating and weight gain and weight loss, I am interested in all matters of nutrition, body weight and the enjoyment of food. I know we are not doing well with obesity and even child obesity. I imagine we will improve eventually.
