oh, god...yes, my mother was all about the "clean plate club"...when i was little, i hated to eat and would always get prodded to take "just one more bite"...times have changed and now i have to try to get myself NOT to take one more bite yay food!

Thanks for the mention of putting extra in a container. Throwing out what you're not eating just because you took too big of a portion is wasteful.

I also suggest packing up extras before you sit down and eat; then you won't be tempted for seconds.

I come from a culture that encourages that mentality, but considering how much food some of my extended family seems to think I need to eat, it's a good thing I serve my own food. My mother says I was a picky eater as a kid and I was a skinny kid, but I don't think I actually needed as much food as what I was sometimes served, portion wise. I should mention that I don't think my mother was ever the type to force me to eat all of the food on the plate regardless of the culture norms, just enough food that I didn't eat too little.

No. Thank god my mom never made us clean our plates, or even come remotely close. She figured we'd eat when we were hungry. Today I never overeat or eat when I'm not hungry. I'm so thankful for her wise teachings!! She never made food or being picky an issue in our childhood. Hence, my bro and I are two of the healthiest eaters today I know!

ditto what TidalWave said. I work on film/tv productions, with catering every day, and the amount of food thrown away and wasted is staggering. Better to just take less the first time around.

The smaller plate suggestion is great -- a full salad plate looks appealing and doesn't give you the impression that you're going without, while being much more appropriately portioned.

My mom not only spoke of the starving kids in Bangladesh ... but she also told me God was going to hate me on the Day of Judgment for every grain of rice I failed to eat off my plate. I was always horrified as a kid when I still had food on my plate and wanted to throw up.

i just explained this same thing to my man the other day on why i don't like it sometimes when he makes me dinner. he uses a BIG dinner plate for my meal and fills it to capacity. i think that if he did the same thing with a LITTLE plate, then i wouldn't get upset or anxious about wasting food. i don't eat leftovers and a vegetarian and he's not always a fan of the things that i eat so saving it isn't always an option.

ilanac13: you don't eat leftovers?????! Srsly?

If it's a taste issue, when you reheat the leftovers, just sprinkle some extra seasoning on them or add some water so it doesn't get dried out. Also, if you're at home, you can reheat it on the stove or in the oven, so it doesn't dry out like it does in the microwave. Or you an add other things to it!

I just can't imagine not eating any leftovers! What a waste!

My grandma was the advocate for the clean plate. When I was 2, she used the starving children line on me. I told her to pack up my food and send it to them because I wasn't eating it. My mom loves to tell that story!

I was really afraid the first time I asked a restaurant to split my meal and box half. They were really nice about it and it's something I continue to do. It must be pretty normal because they're happy to help in that way.

yes, its a fine club...clean your plate by getting asking for a takeout container at the restaurant and only eating half/take half home and at home only take what you can eat and take seconds if your still hungry (either way you'll have lunch tomorrow with the leftovers).

Luckily my parents never pushed that on us. My MIL on the other hand, grr! When we eat dinner with them it's not enough to eat everything she dishes out for you, but you don't like the food/have an eating disorder/have something wrong with you if you don't take seconds. Drives me nuts!

My parents did the Clean Plate Club thing, and I always had to finish the whole glass of milk. I remember chugging a lot of milk like a frat boy with a 40 oz., just to get it over with.

As as adult I try to know when to stop, and I have no problem with leftovers. A lot of times I make sure there's enough for leftovers, easy lunches that way. And though the logic may be flawed, when I take half home from a restaurant I feel like I'm getting two meals for the price of one.

It drives me crazy when people eat too much at restaurants and then complain about the portion sizes. No one is holding a gun to their head and saying, "Finish it." Any time we eat with my MIL, ten minutes after finishing she says, "Ugh, I think I ate too much." Every. Single. Time.

My parents never did the clean your plate thing, we were always the type of family to start with a smaller amount and take more if you're still hungry. We always talked a lot and took long dinners so we weren't accidentally overeating. I think those behaviors early on really taught me portion control and to take the time to eat and enjoy the food as an adult.

in some countries, outside of the US, having a full plate at dinner was a luxury. in some countries it still is. just because of some things that i've gone thru in life, i hate to be wasteful with food and psychologically i can't leave a plate full usually. this is why i get super anxious eating out. i'll order something small and convince a friend to order something we can 'share' just so the guilt goes away.

I am so grateful to my mama for never pulling this on me. Portions are FAR to big in restaurants anyway. I'm big on leftovers, and almost always end up bringing some back with me. Besides, it means I don't have to cook all the time

My mom is bad that way. To this day if I go home for dinner and don't take a big serving or don't clean my plate, she doesn't pull the starving children line or anything...she guilts. "Oh, did you not like it?" >.

not only would we be told about all the benefits of the clean plate club (castles in heaven and all lol) but my mom would refuse to throw anything out. as i child i thought it was annoying, but i really appreciate it now, cuz it stuck with me. although sometimes we end up throwing things out, i really hate it. i feel like we are lucky and privileged to have as much food as we want and we shouldnt take that for granted!

My parents never actually forced us to clean our plates, but we were expected to eat at least 3 bites of everything on there, even if it was gross and we didn't like it. If we didn't finish our dinner, it just meant that we didn't get dessert because our parents figured we were too full already. I vaguely remember telling my dad that I was "full on dinner, but I still had room for ice cream". LOL.

I don't know where I got the clean plate thing from, but my mother did have to push me to finish my food when I was young. I never wanted to eat anything... I don't even recall wanting to eat deserts. By the time I grew into my full height though I started cleaning my plates off because I was now hungry all the time lol...
After I started work I realized I had to stop that habit regardless where it came from.

My parents never forced me to clean my plate, but the people in my day-care did. We weren't allowed to get up from the table until our plates were clean. It really sucked to watch the other children play and not being able to join them because I couldn't bring myself to eat the disgusting things they fed us. This would probably be considered child abuse nowadays, but in the Soviet Union in the 80's it was a common practice.

I rarely ate anything my parents fed me! I'm the pickest eater ever! It drives my boyfriend insane. He loves to cook and cannot stand having to remember that I don't eat pork, asparagus, sour cream, overly cooked vegetables, whole milk, or foods that are all mixed together like casseroles.

I like to order food from a fine restaurant - take a few bites and push the plate away. I don't even take any home. I like to waste or throwaway as much as possible.

My boyfriend and I love to go out to eat on the weekends. We either order 3 appetizers and share them, or we share 1 appetizer and 1 entree. We both end up full, it's cheaper, and we don't overeat.

mtiger: Please name me 3 un-fried appetizers.