I've gotten sloppy

I've gotten sloppy about how much I put on my dish. I don't know why, but lately I'm loading up the plate, then picking at bits of food. Much of it gets sucked down the garbage disposal.

I think I have a slight preference for not wasting so much, but the preference isn't strong enough at this time to do anything about it.

It seems to me that if my serving is overflowing, I get a better shot at finding perfect morsels. Or maybe it's more about feeling so free from the "clean your plate" mentality.

When I wrote my book, I was a skilled normal eater. But those of you who read it know that back then, I was cleaning my plate. What does this mean? It means whether or not you leave food on your plate won't make or break your normal eating. With the exception of restaurants, where I doggy-bagged it, used an appetizer as a meal, or split an entree with my hubby, I always eyeballed carefully how much I doled out for myself.

I guess I wasn't ready for wasting yet, although I had already gotten used to the idea of throwing out less than optimal food from the fridge.

I suppose you could say I'm in a new phase now. I realize that it's just not a lot of money I'm tossing down the drain, unless of course we're talking about a pound of lox or something.

I would like to become less wasteful someday, so I'm guessing that over time, my slight preference may turn into a stronger preference. But for now, it's freeing to know that food on a full stomach isn't food anymore. It's trash.