jp1 wrote:My Grandmother in particular is always trying to stuff my face, and I simply can't refuse her, so I wind up either sick or taking stuff home, which I then have to waste.
I so sympathize with this discussion!
I have a lot of dietary restrictions, but luckily all of my relations go out of their way to accommodate me. I appreciate the extra attentiveness so much and basically eat anything Key-friendly they make, even if I don't like it.
What some relatives are not so good at is what jp1 is talking about. I can say, over and over, "I cannot eat any more or
I will be sick," and yet certain family members will continue to re-offer food every five minutes. I know they are doing it out of love, which is why it makes me feel so bad to continuously reject the offers -- especially when they've already gone through a rigamarole in the preparations department on my behalf.
I straight-up asked my mom if I could be exempt from leftovers this holiday season, and she went the extra mile and decided that if her kids had to go home with food to make the quantity manageable, it was too much. We wound up just having a regular dinner, with no appetizer fingerfoods beforehand. It was the best. No guilt, no waste, no overstuffing.
This is way more doable for us than most, probably, since there are only four or five of us at any gathering and it's easy to estimate how much food is really needed. But the drive to over-make and to over-variety foods out of affection is a real thing, and I'm happy my mom was so glad to push it back.
