8 Rules to Minimize Food Waste at Home

My original goal had been to post daily in my adventures towards debt freedom.

I haven’t done that, my reader.

That last post about depression and money sort of wiped me out emotionally! I’m glad I wrote it, but it really did a number on me and put me into a funk again.

I’m starting to pull out of it though and wanted to share with you a couple of links and some food-money rules that we practice. I’ve mentioned groceries and food before – click HERE to read related posts.

First, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I came across a link via Goop (yes, I follow Goop despite the exorbitant excesses they often push) about “make do” pies. I didn’t follow that link, but instead went to my good friend Google and asked, “Google, what are make do pies?” (Actually, I just typed “make do pies” into my search bar WITH the quotation marks so Google would search for my exact phrase…).

I turned up some interesting articles that I thought you might enjoy:

• In Lean Times, Creative Bakers Turn to Desperation Pies byJessica Stoller-Conrad on NPR
• Greeks Stomach Economic Crisis With Help of “StarvationRecipes” by Joanna Kakissis on NPR
• Why Desperation Pies are Making a Comeback by Margaret Eby at Bon Appétit (this one really is a bit about “desperation pies” as a luxury though….)
• Make-Do Cooking for Preppers (this one is a from a “prepper” perspective, and I am not at all a “prepper” but I do appreciate the rules laid out in this post)

Now, my own “make do” cooking and food rules:

#1. ~ If it’s in your fridge, freezer or cupboard, plan to eat it, trade it, or donate it. 

If you find yourself donating foods because you simply won’t eat them, STOP BUYING THOSE FOODS! Chances are if you won’t eat it, the person receiving it may not want to eat it either. If you want to donate food, donate things you actually like and think someone else would also enjoy. Also, donate food throughout the year, not just around Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. Plus, if you are buying foods you and no one else in your home will eat, you are wasting money.

#2. ~ Have a plan to prevent spoiling

If you think something will go bad before you can consume it, figure out if it is freezable, and if it is make sure you package it properly and make a plan to use it in the future. HERE are some tips on freezing food from the BBC's Good Food blog.

#3. ~  Have a weekly leftovers night

At least once per week have a fridge clean-out/leftovers dinner night. Pull out all of the leftovers, bits and pieces that are too small for a full serving, and things that need to be eaten soon to avoid spoiling. Can you make anything new out of any of it? If so, do that. If not, let everyone pick and choose what they want to eat. The only rule is this: if you select something from the options you then are obligated to eating it! No throwing it out!

Here's an example of a past "make do" fridge clean out meal:

The night we had this meal, we had enough leftovers for two servings of rice, a serving of sausage each, a serving of spinach each, one egg that I scrambled and gave to my son, leftover roasted red peppers that I ate, and baby carrots for both of us. We both like spinach, but I prefer it cooked while my son prefers his raw. Super easy to cook mine down in the same pan I used to scramble the egg. We used up leftovers, used up spinach before it went bad, and both had full tummies.

#4. ~ Put a lid on it

COVER everything before putting leftovers in the fridge. My son has a bad habit of putting uncovered leftovers in the fridge so that by the time I discover them the next day they are dried out or otherwise gross (dried out, stale rice anyone???). Also, handy tip for leftover rice: If you remove the lid and the rice seems a little dry, just add a teaspoon or two of water per serving and heat in the microwave for a minute or two while covered. The rice should soften up a little bit. Experiment with how much water you need.

#5. ~ Freeze your stale bread 

If you have bread that is going stale, toss it in a zip top baggie or a plastic container with a lid and put it in the freezer. Next time you need bread crumbs, pull it out and grind or tear it up. We also freeze the end pieces. Thaw them and use them to make stuffing, bread pudding, or croutons.

#6. ~ Freeze veggie ends and peels and make broth

Rinse well and then toss veggie peelings, onion skins, carrot and celery ends into a plastic container with a lid and put it in the freezer. When it’s full, use them as the base of a good home made broth. I don't follow a recipe when making broth, but my method is to put on a pot of boiling water, dump in my veggie scraps, add some salt, pepper, garlic powder, bay leaf, and whatever other seasonings sound good at the moment (I really like thyme) and bring it all to a rolling boil. Then, cover and turn the heat down to a simmer and let it bubble away for a few hours. Carefully taste it periodically and adjust seasonings or add more water as needed. When you think it's done, turn off the heat and let it cool. Then, strain out all the veggie scraps and put your broth in storage containers for the fridge or freezer. Yum!

#7. ~ Don't buy foods you don't like even on sale

As mentioned above, don’t buy stuff you don’t like – even if it’s at a steal of a price. If you don’t like it, you won’t eat. If you don’t eat it, you haven’t saved anything no matter how great the sale was.

#8. ~ Keep a running list of the food you throw away

This may seem odd, but writing down exactly what you are throwing away can be eye opening. You may think you are throwing away very little food when really you're throwing away several meals worth every month. Make a habit of writing down the food you throw away and then review your list periodically. If you are throwing away the same things over and over, consider no longer buying those items. If you are throwing away a lot regularly, perhaps reconsider your overall grocery and meal planning strategy and how you might cut back.

What are your family’s food and grocery rules for minimizing waste? Do you have a favorite “make do” recipe?

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DEBT TRACKING:
Original total: $110,000
Paid off yesterday: $10
New total: $109,940 

 

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One way that I'm working towards paying off my debt is by using the cash envelope method for budgeting. To stay on track, I created my own cash envelopes that double as coloring pages. Each one has space on the front for the name of the envelope's category, a money mantra, and three category priorities. Get yours in my Etsy shop HERE.