#ClearAPlate

Apparently, according to Unilever, in their #ClearAPlate campaign

22% of struggling parents go without food to feed their children, while 75% of us regularly throw food away

I am definitely in that 75% very regularly. I quite often buy veggies or salad and then don’t use them. They end up all wilted and soggy in the bottom of the fridge, and then after a while, I chuck them in the bin.

We probably should address how many veggies we eat – I think most evenings our staple diet of pasta followed by chocolate very rarely includes veggies, even though I buy them. Rob doesn’t enjoy vegetables in his food, and will often say I’ve ruined a dish by including vegetables, whereas I could very happily eat meat-free for most of the time. So if he’s on an ‘early’ shift, and I’ve not realised it, the meal I’ve planned sometimes goes out of the window until the next time I’m eating alone when Rob is on late night.

I’ve blogged before about James’ evenings of not eating. I think that’s a fairly typical toddler because days like today he has eaten every single thing in sight.

So, the statistics shared by Unilever in their #CleanAPlate campaign does push me to finally do the meal planning I keep saying I need to get back to. We really enjoy the meals I cook when I use Pinterest for ideas, and it’s not too difficult to figure out a week’s worth of menus if you just think about it. Now I’m on maternity leave – this is it; I’m going for it!

Apparently 42% of households consider it difficult to live on their income, with 20% of these struggling families borrowing money from family or friends in order to feed themselves and their children. And yet, half of comfortable families in the UK overbuy, and 1 in 3 adults think it’s easier to throw leftover food away than to use it up

Although, in all honesty, I have a bit of a problem with the idea of “being in the clean plate club” or making sure you eat everything in front of you. I breastfed James, and I do believe in the idea that you can’t overfeed a breastfed child, and with baby led weaning, he just ate until he was full. Now he eats as he needs to – some days he’ll eat me out of house and home, and others he’ll just graze. I like this; I don’t think to eat to a set schedule or because there’s a plate full of food in front of you is healthy, and I don’t always clear my plate myself. I usually pass it to Rob, who easily finishes my meal!

The answer is portion control and buying ahead in a sensible, planned manner. Here’s to that.