Being a No-Wasted-Food Household
The primary goal of having a budget and meal plan is to not have any waste to save money. I think everybody dreams of eating everything in their fridge (and enjoying it!) instead of spending more money for a different meal. Explore what is holding you back. I have found that there are a few common answers to why food is getting thrown away:
Forgetting about food in the back of your cluttered fridge. Organize it! Take everything (EVERYTHING!) out of your fridge, spray it down with Lysol or your favorite cleaner, clean it up really well, and then carefully put everything back in. Throw away what is expired, suspicious, or mysterious. Stand delicate herbs, spices, lemons, and limes in a tupperware in the door of your fridge so you see them (I tend to forget that I have fresh herbs when it comes time to make a recipe). This also avoids them getting crushed, and you can see when they start to wilt. Keep leftovers stored in individual portions inside clear containers. Invest in some tupperware that you love, if you have room for it in the budget. Make it pretty. Here's a link to the ones I have been eyeing for a while.
Are you having problems enjoying the meals you made, so you just really don't want to eat it again? Make smaller quantities. Make only what your family will eat. This is a great way to watch your portion-size too. Keep any excess food seperate. If you make chicken alfredo, don't mix all of your noodles, sauce, and chicken together. That way, if you have extra, you can put the chicken on a salad, and make the noodles into a cold pasta salad for lunch the next day. If you're making meatballs and gravy, only put the amount of meatballs into the gravy that you know your family will eat. Freeze any extra to put into spaghetti or to make meatball sandwiches later. I also suggest making an arsenal of tried-and-true-and-loved recipes. I only have our favorite recipes in my recipe box, and a seperate folder for recipes I want to try.
Does the concept of eating "old food" bother you? Freeze it. Don't let it sit in your fridge for three days before you eat it. Keep it frozen until you are ready to eat it. It only takes 2 minutes to thaw it in the microwave or stovetop.
Do you buy a specific item for a meal, and then have no other way to use it? It's time to re-think your meal planning! If I have to make a salad dressing, I will have the excess marinate a chicken breast. If I have to buy fresh spices for a recipe, and only use half, I freeze them! (See my blog post here for more on that!)
When you start using all the food in your fridge, I think you will be amazed at how much farther your budgeted money will go.
Now, with the biggest week for leftovers ahead of us, try some of these tips on your Thanksgiving leftovers!
Stay tuned next week for some of my favorite using-up-leftovers meals!
