Want to be vegan but don't want to waste food

[dulcemea]

I am the only vegan in a family of four. The other members of the family are vegetarians. I make myself a vegan version of the vegetarian meal that I am serving. Many a time there are a lot of leftovers (that contain dairy) by the vegetarians in the family among other dairy items that the kids don't want to eat.

I was brought up not to waste food and my family was pretty firm about that when I was growing up. So that is ingrained in me. I struggle with eating this food as not to waste the food. I also understand the suffering the animals had to go through to get the dairy ingredient to the table. I am an Aspie adult who loves animals, who has rigid thinking and who is struggling to do the right thing in-between these rules I have set up for myself to handle these leftovers. My rigid thinking is getting me nowhere. This is a problem for my veganism and ethics, both in animal welfare and in the wasting of food.

I would very much like the opinion of others about how I should tackle this situation. I will say that my entire family becoming vegan is not an option at this time. I would like a different perspective . Thank you for your time. -Danine

[ReginaL]

Why not just make the main meal vegan and let the vegetarians supplement with non-vegan items? For example, if you serve bean and rice burritos, leave the cheese and sour cream on the side. That way, you can still eat the leftovers. Also, it sounds like maybe you are cooking too much food for the number of people you're feeding if you are constantly faced with a lot of leftovers. If you want to cook in larger batches for convenience, maybe try to find some recipes that freeze well. The food won't go to waste and you'll have some ready made meals on hand.

[brimstoneSalad]

Hi Danine.

There is an in-between from your whole family becoming vegan, and wasting food.
Try to make proportionally less of the non-vegan food based on what they do not eat.
Make sure your family knows this will happen in advance.

For instance, if this week you make a whole cheese pizza, and half of it is eaten, make it clear that next week there will only be half a cheese pizza. The next week, they will have to contend with their choice to waste food the prior week, in the form of having only half a pizza available (the other half being vegan).

So if they have wasted before, they end up eating the non-vegan food which is available (in a smaller portion), and then drawing from the vegan options until they are full. This way any excess food ends up being vegan.

You only make big versions of the vegan dishes to share, because you know you can always eat the leftovers yourself.
I would also suggest practicing some vegan cooking, if you aren't experienced, to make it more delicious so it will suit their palates: they may not miss the dairy so much.

And if you must buy those foods, buy them in small servings that won't spoil quickly so they won't go to waste.
It will take a little trial and error, but better to err on the side of too little than too much.

It's OK to run out of cheese for a meal; nobody will die from a cheese deficiency, I promise. It could serve as an important lesson in the value of not wasting food.

[brimstoneSalad]

Why not just make the main meal vegan and let the vegetarians supplement with non-vegan items? For example, if you serve bean and rice burritos, leave the cheese and sour cream on the side.

Great advice!

Also, in case they decide to prepare four or five burritos with cheese and only eat two of them, maybe you should give them smaller plates, and cultivate a practice of only taking what they can eat at once, then returning to the buffet if they want more.

If you want to cook in larger batches for convenience, maybe try to find some recipes that freeze well. The food won't go to waste and you'll have some ready made meals on hand.

Also a great idea.

Any suggestions on large batch food that will freeze well? Any foods you think wouldn't freeze well? All I can think of is salad (that won't freeze well).

[ReginaL]

Bean dishes freeze very well, as do most casseroles. Things I would avoid freezing are dishes with potatoes and anything with cream. Freezing changes the texture of potatoes too much for me. Cream and sour cream will separate.

I don't actually do a lot of freezing of food. I try to cook only as much as will be eaten for one meal because, except for a couple of things, I really don't care for leftover food. If it's a dish my partner really enjoys, I'll cook extra so he can have it for lunch. I also make an exception for things like beans or lentils because they are impractical to cook in smaller amounts.

My one major leftover exception is a chickpea stew that I make. When I cook that, I eat it every day until it's gone. I cooked some earlier this week, ate it every day, and I'm going to cook more tomorrow because it is a dish I love just as much reheated as when it's freshly prepared.

[dulcemea]

Thank you so much everyone. I also apologize for the delay in thanking everyone. I'm going to be making the main dish vegan then they can add on other items. This will actually cut down on their dairy too. That was so obvious. In the past few days I'm preparing smaller portions too. Thank you you for taking the time to reply. I appreciate it.