"Help! My Husband Won't Eat Leftovers!"

I'm very blessed with an easy-going husband who is willing to try just about anything I put in front of him and would eat the same thing every day. I'll repeat that - I'm fully aware that this is a HUGE blessing! That being said, I hear from friends a lot that their husbands won't eat leftovers so they feel like they can't cook larger portions without food going to waste.

After talking with my husband and a few others I have some suggestions.

Don't assume that he is just being stubborn.

My husband just loves getting a reaction out of me. There are definitely times that he does things that I dislike just because he wants to see me agitated. He's a pretty rational human being most times though and there is usually a good (or at least logical) reason behind his preferences and the decisions he makes. Your husband is probably the same. He may not even know exactly why he doesn't like eating leftovers, so let him know you are hoping to save some money and want to figure out exactly how you can best do this while not making his life too much more difficult.

Questions to ask:

*What exactly do you dislike about leftovers? (taste, texture, inconvenience of reheating them, monotony, embarrassed to bring tupperware to work)

*If you could eat anything for lunch without having to worry about logistics or price, what would it be?

*If we figured out the exact (health, monetary) value would it change things?

Your husband may be very image-conscious and knows that everyone else at his office goes out, orders in, or eats a specific type of food. He may feel pressure to conform or set an example - especially if he is in a high profile position or a position of authority.

Ask for his help and input.

Once you've figured out why he doesn't want to eat leftovers, let him know what your ideal meal plan would be and ask for advice to achieve both your desires and his if possible. I don't mean a snarky "so what am I supposed to do then?" Ask him in a way that shows him that you value his opinion and problem solving skills. Also make sure you are really willing to compromise.

Things to try:

*Make extra large portions of things you know he loves, freeze them - serve later.

*Make the ingredients for your evening meal separately (the ground meat, veggies, and noodles for your pasta dish for instance), combine only what you need for that meal, and create new meals with the leftover individual ingredients (add eggs and make a frittata or quiche for later).

*Block out a time to make a batch of food especially for him and freeze it. My husband likes to bring breakfast burritos to work.

*Make the meals easy for him to prepare and consume in his work environment. My husband specifically mentioned that he often has multiple short breaks to grab things, but not often a long enough lunch to sit down and assemble a meal with lots of components. Maybe your husband needs a fork-free plan so that he can eat on the go?

Be willing to try a few systems out to figure what works.

After you've made tentative plans, make a plan B and let him know that you'd like to try this for a pre-determined amount of time or number of meals but that you are willing to change course if need be. He may be more willing to experiment if he's not afraid that you will resent him if it doesn't go well or that he has no alternative.

If all else fails, pull out (or create) that "Top 10 Reasons I Love My Husband" list and purpose to show him how much you care by letting him eat McDonalds. :)

One of my favorite cookbooks, Dining on a Dime, has an awesome index that lets you look up recipes by individual ingredients. The author also has some great articles written about using leftovers on her site that may help you.