How To Get Your Family To Eat Leftovers & Like It!

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Do you struggle to get your family to eat leftovers?  I think all moms struggle to get their family to eat leftovers, I know I do!.  Leftovers aren’t my favorite thing to eat either, but I don’t like to waste food.

There is a great solution to the leftover problem, and I know just how you can get your family to eat leftovers and to like it too!

Hang on and I’ll share my secret to get my family to eat leftovers that has worked like magic for many years!  Not only does it solve the leftover problem, but it’s also really fun! Before I dive in to this post, I wanted to share something with you.

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The Solution To Leftover Boredom

I’ve struggled for years to get my family to eat leftovers and to like it.  I don’t always like leftovers myself, so it’s even a struggle for me.  I know that making sure to always eat our leftovers and not throw food away is not only frugal, but just plain smart.

Throwing food away is a total waste of money, so don’t do it!  In order to afford the stay at home mom life, as moms, we need to make sure we are doing everything we can to be frugal and good stewards of what God has given us. 

There is a simple solution to leftover boredom, and it’s called…Mom’s Mystery Diner!  Yep, you heard me, Mom’s Mystery Diner!  Katrina, what in the world is that?

I’m so glad you asked!  Trust me, you and your kids are going to love this idea!

Too Much Food Waste

The average American household throws away 103 pounds of spoiled food from their fridge every single year.  Over the course of a year that adds up to $2,798 worth of spoiled food!  That’s a lot of wasted food!

Talk about wasting money!  While I completely agree that I don’t always love to eat leftovers, $2798 is a lot of money to be throwing out each year!  Moms, it’s time to eat our leftovers, and I’m going to show you how to get your family to eat leftovers and like it!

A few years ago my kids spent the weekend with the grandparents.  When they came home, they told me they got to help grandma make a mystery dinner and they had so much fun!  I remembered doing that as a kid and so I decided to adapt the idea and start to implement it in my own house on a consistent basis.

Mystery Diner Time

You are in for a real treat and your family is going to love eating leftovers when we are done!  If your refrigerator is stocked full of random leftovers than it’s the prefect night to have Mom’s Mystery Diner.  Don’t explain the idea to your kids – make it a surprise.  If your kids like to help you make dinner, kick them out of the kitchen tonight.

Make Your Own Mystery Diner

Go through your refrigerator and take out all the leftovers.  Your first task is to come up with a menu.  Look at the leftovers and try to come up with silly and mysterious names for the food.  Sometimes it’s nice to have an overall theme for your menu and sometimes, that’s just too complicated. 

Let me give you some ideas of names for food that we’ve used before so you can see what I mean.

Menu Examples

• Frozen Snow Balls – buttered noodles
• Lily Pads – edamame
• Shoveled Snow – rice
• Fluffy Clouds – mashed potatoes
• Frozen Rock Canyon – nachos created from the taco meat, mexican rice and chips and salsa
• Grassy Field – Key Lime yogurt with granola crumble
• Sunset – Raspberry yogurt
• Haystack – Taco Meat
• Boat – Taco Shell
• Frisbee – Pizza
• Spider Web – Spaghetti
• Leaf Pile – Salad
• Sponge – Sliced Peaches
• Tree Stump – Brownie
• Tree Stump Covered In Snow – Brownie with ice cream

Mysterious Menu

Just come up with any mysterious names that you can based off the leftovers you have.  The more mysterious the names are, the better! 

After you come up with a menu, you need to have your family sit down at the table.  If you want to make it really fun, have your family come through the front door and seat them at their table just like they are at a real restaurant.

Next, give your family the menu and have them order as many items as you want them to.  I like to create the menu by listing all the items in groups and then listing how many they should order from that group. 

For example, I might have three main dish items – spaghetti, tacos, and pizza.  On my menu I’ll list these three items using their mysterious names – Spider Web, Haystacks, Frisbee.  Then I’ll title this section of my menu saying Main Dish – Order 1.  It would look like this:

Menu

Main Dish – Order 1:

• Spider Web
• Haystacks
• Frisbee

I’ll continue on with my menu by listing out the side items and desserts, but without my family knowing what they are ordering.  The rest of the menu would look something like this:

Sides – Order 3:

• Fluffy Clouds
• Shoveled Snow
• Lilly Pads
• Boat
• Leaf Pile
• Sponge

Dessert – Order 1:

• Grassy Field
• Sunset
• Tree Stump
• Tree Stump Covered in Snow

Games and Giggles

After you family has giggled and laughed and tried to figure out what everything on the menu could possibly be, then have them order.  While they wait for their food, have them play a game. 

I like to leave a few games, like Spot It and Uno, on the table to keep them busy while I fulfill their dinner order. 

Once you have everything ready, serve your family!  Trust me, they will get a kick out of what they are served!  I know not all kids like leftovers, but at least this is a fun way to serve them. 

My youngest usually hates when he orders something he doesn’t prefer, but I like to let them order seconds once they figure out what everything on the menu really is – but only after they’ve eaten everything on their first plate of food they ordered. 

Frugal Family Fun

Such a fun and frugal way to use what you have and get your family to eat leftovers and like it!  Plus, my hope is that doing Mom’s Mystery Diner that your family will create lasting memories they can laugh about later! 

Have you ever tried with with your family?  Did it work?  Did they enjoy their leftovers? What did you serve and what name did you give everything?

Just a fun way to be frugal and get your family to eat leftovers! 

More Frugal Family Fun Posts You Might Like

• No Spend Weekend Of Family Fun
• How to Celebrate Family Valentine’s Day On A Budget
• Free Fun Ideas For Kids

Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels