Comments on: The Egg Nog Dilemma

By: Seth @ Boy Meets Food

Seth @ Boy Meets Food — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:18:55 +0000

I know exactly how you feel Trent… I’m such a delayed gratification “saver” that as a kid, I would always keep the Halloween candy that I really liked and eat the ones that I didn’t care much about. I would save those precious Snickers, Reese’s, etc. until I forgot about them, and found them the following year when it was time to go trick-or-treating again. :(

I wish I could say that I am better about this, but well, the delayed gratification tendencies are deeply ingrained. I keep finding examples where I saved things too long. I hope that you don’t have the same “over-saving” for retirement problem that I do… I wish I could let myself enjoy more of my money, but I am just so compelled to sock it all away.

By: Shell

Shell — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 03:02:43 +0000

I haven’t found any difference in the taste of honey after it has crystalized and then been warmed and I am a real honey badger. I buy from Dutch Gold and Sleeping Bear Farms. I have tried just about every kind of honey there is. I also freeze their cherry juice if I have had it in the fridge for more than six days or so. Can’t tell any difference in it either. ( This is for the person who said the taste is not as good after crystalization) I would assume you would however have a difference in texture , if you freeze egg nog, because you do with milk. Nothing bad, just a slightly discernable texture.

By: Todd

Todd — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:33:57 +0000

#25–I don’t think the same principle applies to money. If you save the good clothes and towels, your heirs aren’t like to value your old stuff the way you did when you packed it away. But your money–I’m sure they’ll be pleased to have that. Their pleasure will help them get over the sadness they feel that you socked all that money away and never used it on yourself! ;-)

By: SwingCheese

SwingCheese — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 05:20:10 +0000

My husband and I have had numerous discussions about candles. I seem to amass candles, because I love the smell and look of a room that has a scented candle in it. However, they burn up quickly, so I was always loathe to burn it. The outcome was that I’d be showing my husband the new candle(s) I’d purchased, and he’d point out that I had unused candles gathering dust. Now I work on burning candles on a regular basis and not buying any more until I’m out completely. (Or down to one.) Admitting my problem was the first step. :)

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:51:10 +0000

So true for me. I grew up “saving it for later” and often end up being unable to use them. My dad famously wouldn’t let my mom leave the stove light on (she liked to have it to illuminate the kitchen if someone was getting home late since it was next to the door). The reason? If we used it, it would burn out. I’m really trying to get better about depriving myself just because and not being afraid to use (and spend!) when its a good reason.

By: ChrisD

ChrisD — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 23:34:28 +0000

This is so true, if I’ve had a bit of chocolate left and I’ve spent loads of mental energy thinking, should I eat it, should I save it. Eating it and then not thinking about because it is gone is so much better than any possible benefit of having it later.
I also have the problem of buying something and then saving it instead of using it. I think this is another type of comfort zone. I bought a nice notebook to use but couldn’t bring myself to do so. So I gave it so someone who can use it and bought a really cheap pad that I am happy to scribble in, throw out and then replace as necessary. So now I know to just avoid expensive stuff if I won’t feel comfortable using it.

By: Sam

Sam — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:13:14 +0000

I mean this helpfully & not to be “smart”… instead of making the un-savable food trash in the body or in the trash cab you could also compost it for your garden… if it’s not a meat or dairy product.

Our cast off meat/dairy goes to the dogs so it theoretically saves me dog food….

By: Kai

Kai — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:34:29 +0000

to Randy,
It depends on what it is. If you can save it for later, do so. It is not good to waste food if you could just put it in a tupperware and have it instead of something else tomorrow.
But if it’s a question of eat now or throw out now, sometimes throw out works.
The way I learned to think of it is that “once I’m full, the rest is trash (assuming it cannot be saved). If I put it in my body, it’s trash in my body. If I put it in the garbage, it’s trash in the garbage. Better to trash the trash than trash my body.”

By: Randy

Randy — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:29:09 +0000

Wow, good article and great comments. Seems everyone knows how to melt honey crystals.

I have an exception to your story. I’ve learned that wasting extra food is not necessarily a sin. Just because I have extra, doesn’t mean I should eat it. I need to learn to waste a little in order to have a little waist (or at least smaller). Yes, I could make smaller batches, but I grew up thinking the economy size was required because it cost less per ounce. That idea has settle around my mid-section and I’m working on re-learning.

By: f1ower

f1ower — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:22:17 +0000

I do this, too! It’s so hard to reprogram your mind to “spend out” as Gretchen Rubin from The Happiness Project blog calls it. I have a tendancy to try to stash all of the good stuff – food, soaps, perfumes, clothes, etc. – and then feel bad when it’s unusable later. After reading Gretchen’s posts and yours, Trent, I am going to try harder to “spend out.” :)

By: Raya

Raya — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:06:58 +0000

Just a note – you can re-melt honey, just put the honey jar over the stove in a water-filled container. Or, if it is summertime, just leave it on the window to melt. Also, just because it is not liquid does not mean the honey is no good. Actually it is JUST as good.

Of course, I know that’s not the point in the article :)

By: Sam

Sam — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:35:47 +0000

I do this all the time – especially with food & clothes. It’s comforting I know I’m not alone. I’m thin as a rail & really need to stop since the food expires & the clothes don’t fit as I loose mass.

On the fancy gift soaps – I keep them in a separate soap bowl & if we run out of soap or if the kid’s can’t find the regular soap (the dog ate it) then the fancy ones get used. That way they are out & make the room pretty but still get used for their practical function. If they get grimy I just rinse them off when I scrub the sink.

& one other thing – on the honey… stuff stays good forever. Once it crystallizes I think you just have to heat it up to re-liquefy it. I can never remember the exact procedure – I always a have to ask the local bee keeper(he has a actual store in the next town over with nothing but honey products).

By: Monica

Monica — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:04:26 +0000

I laughed when I read this, because I am definitely guilty of doing the same thing with certain food items! Sometimes our brain just doesn’t work rationally I guess.

Trent — if you can drink soy milk and like pumpkin, see if you can find Silk Pumpkin Spice Soymilk near you. It’s another delicious seasonal treat!

By: littlepitcher

littlepitcher — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:47:43 +0000

Visited my dad years ago, discovered that his towels were down to rags. His Christmas present that year was a luxe set of bath sheets in dark blue. Twenty years later, I visited him, and guess what? Ragged towels, different ones, were in use, and the blue towels, unused, were in his bathroom closet. Grandmother saved the pretty peignoir set for her funeral.
Two words: live now.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:31:51 +0000

This is a really interesting topic. Trent, I think you missed a great example in Magic: The Gathering cards. I’ve seen many players proudly showing off binders full of valuable cards in great condition. Yet when they build a deck to actually play with, they use proxies, in order to “keep their cards in good shape.”

Years later, when those cards lose value and are just worthless cardboard in a binder, will they be glad they kept them in such good condition, rather than actually playing with them and getting enjoyment out of them?

By: Claudia

Claudia — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:31:42 +0000

My mother had bought a new couch and threw the same ugly throw over it that was on her old couch. “To keep it nice”. The throw was supposed to come off for company, but apparently there was no company special enough. Maybe knowing there was a new couch under that ugly throw made her feel better? When she died, the couch did still look good.
I’m sure that someone else shopping at the Thrift Store enjoyed buying the brand new pegnoir set we found in her drawer.

By: Janis

Janis — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:42:03 +0000

Ha! Don’t forget the “good soap” – those specialty bars in cute shapes, colors or scents. It’s not as though they go bad (except for certain handmade soaps that tend to melt after a while), but I really should use up (or re-gift?) these fancy soaps that have been gathering in the closet – just so that I can reclaim the space. Same goes for the bath salts and similar products.

By: Joan

Joan — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:41:17 +0000

#27 Callie. Thanks for the freezing herbs in ice cube trays idea. Soy eggnog, I will be looking for it in the grocery store during my next shopping trip.

By: Callie

Callie — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 11:46:03 +0000

@Holly Definitely consider freezing your herbs. In the case of basil(or other herbs you will cook) you can blend a bunch with a bit of olive oil, then freeze in ice cube trays. Then move your cubes to a container (I use Pyrex or mason jars)and keep frozen till needed.

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:55:55 +0000

Cook a big batch of something and freeze portions, THEN REMEMBER TO USE THEM! It’s so handy to make a big batch of stuffed cabbage, and put in four Corning ware baking dishes with covers. Bake one for dinner and freeze three, have it once a week for the rest of the month, saves, time, energy, shopping time, meal planning. Make stuffed shells with tomato sauce, potroast, meatloaf, ditto, and a couple of other dishes, then use them once a week or so, you don’t get tired of the food. Honey? Easy to reconstitute, over and over, hot water or nuke it. I don’t notice anly loss of flavor with microwaving.