Clean Your Plate Debate

In repsonse to the 2 Bites post, one reader remarked: I can't do that. My mother's voice is always in my ear: "Clean your plate. Don't waste food. There are people starving in this world."It's like a curse.

Thank you for bringing that up! Here are some practical ways to achieve the goal without actually wasting food.

• The two bites don't have to be the last two bites, it can be the first. So, spoon two bites back into the pot.
• Or take an even smaller portion than you planned in the first place.
• As for a sandwich, make half a sandwich to start with.
• And finally, if you are in a restaurant, ask for a to go box first. Put half in the box immediately and enjoy it later.
  

That's for grownups. As for our children and what to teach them? Any food allergies or medical difficulties aside, go with less is more. Put a smaller amount on their plate to begin with and assure them that if they eat all that first, of course they can have more. You will increase the likelihood that the plate is actually clean and decrease the amount scraped into the trash. And you won't have to pass on "the curse."

More on the "clean your plate" in theory later.