Just want to go on record … I have been known to say—and will continue to say—that sweets aren’t really food and to pitch leftovers.
I’m not saying they’re not delicious or that they have no significance outside of health concerns.
There are lots of sweet treats that are fantastic! And many have significant emotional and cultural roots.
But leftovers? Or if there’s dessert that’s anything less than phenomenal—pitch it.
You can take a piece of cake, have a bite, realize it’s not as good as you’d hoped it would be, and get rid of the rest of the piece of cake. And then, once everyone has gotten a slice, pitch the rest of the cake. Because it’s not that good.
(Put it in the trash without the box or wrapper…)
You’re not wasting food. These confections are not really food. If you’re worried about food waste, go eat some of the veggies that are in your fridge before they get slimy and you throw them out.
Also, while we’re here, this all applies to food gifts.
If you don’t want sweets as gifts, let the people in your house know that. And friends. Or anyone who would be an appropriate audience for that information.
If you receive them anyway, or get them from people not in the know, it’s OK to throw them away. Not in front of the giver, and not in a place where the giver is going to see them in the trash.
There have been years when I have a good-sized pile of cookies and chocolate and hot chocolate mix and whatnot from students. It’s so nice of them to think of me and to go out of their way. But that doesn’t obligate me to eat it. I thank them, I thank their parents, I take it home … and, for the most part, it disappears. We don’t need to eat all that.
When The Kid trades his holiday candy stash (Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Easter) for a toy, the candy stash goes in the trash.
Throw. It. Away. (Or don’t buy it to start with, but that’s a whole separate ballgame.)