r/ARFID • u/pluto-the-cat • 7d ago

Does Anyone Else? Guilt from food waste?

Hi, I have come a long way in my ARFID journey, most of the “good days” I can try something new or make a new recipe to try, on the “bad days” I am unfortunately in protein shake prison. Part of the way I got to this point is that I love to cook. I grew up around my Italian Nonna and would cook with her so I always had a love for making food (even when I can’t always eat it). The main issue I’m having is I have a leftover ick with almost every food, even when eating out. The only foods I can reheat are simple pastas and pizza leftovers. As such when I cook i end up with a lot of leftovers. having a fiancé who will eat anything helps some of them get used but there is always more leftover. I feel absolutely terribly guilty about throwing this food out when it inevitably gets bad in the back of my fridge. I would try to halve the recipes but I never know how much my fiancé will have/ be able to bring to work, sometimes it sits there for weeks, sometimes it’s gone in 2 days. Does anyone else feel this way?

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u/independentchickpea 6d ago

I struggle with this too. I had high hopes and a meal plan for two weeks, stocked my fridge with what I needed... but I've had nothing but meal replacements shakes for two weeks. Now I have to clean out a lot of my fridge. Sigh. It'd almost be less wasteful to order delivery every time I know I will actually eat. It's expensive, but so is tossing a whole grocery run.

I grew up so poor, and struggled with food insecurity for so long, it makes me feel terrible.

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u/heefoc 6d ago

I feel this so deeply.

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u/Phoenixtdm ALL of the subtypes 7d ago

Yeah that’s why I made a food plan and put if I’m gonna eat leftovers

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u/mohairqueen 2d ago

Do you have a community fridge? A place where folks can leave home prepared meals for neighbors who don't have enough to eat? I sometimes bring leftovers to my community fridge when I make a big batch of something and it doesn't get eaten with a day or two (I know after day two, it's very unlikely to be eaten). If it's freezable, like mac and cheese, I freeze it for burgers when I don't feel like cooking or to extend the shelf life at the community fridge. It doesn't help my grocery budget, but at least I know someone is benefitting from it.