After 4 weeks of not contributing to meal prep except getting my own breakfast and sometimes my lunch, I think it is time to get back in gear now that I can move around with just one crutch and the boot. When I opened the frig this morning I saw lots of containers of small amounts of things so we have agreed to come up with meals to use up as much as we can.
We make our own lunches so I had a cheese quesadilla and some mandarins.
For dinner we have in mind a the last bit of lentil soup with chef salad using up small amounts of garbanzo beans, goat cheese and assorted other items.
Do you have a leftovers night or clean out the frig day or a different way of making sure there is no waste?
Oh yeah. We nibble on leftovers for lunch, but leftovers are still on the meal schedule once a week.
ReplyDeleteSounds like what we do.
DeleteMy process is to serve leftovers one time, then the remaining leftovers get frozen in dinner-sized meal packets for future consumption. Otherwise, if not freezable, the leftovers become available for lunch. My husband, bless his heart, will happily eat anything I cook, or place in front of him. (We prepare our own separate breakfasts and lunches)
ReplyDeleteI also check the fridge before making up each week's menu plan and grocery list, with an eye toward using up items looking to be close to their usable life. I also google for substitutions on a very regular basis to avoid being stick with things I likely won't use again. As an exampke, I made a terrific Asian style salad recently, and didn't want to buy miran, knowing I would be hard pressed to use it up fast enough to prevent it spoiling or hogging shelf space, and came up with an easy alternative I already had on hand (white wine and honey).
I rarely have to throw away food, so this system appears to work for us!
I’m impressed whenever anyone menu plans and sticks with it.
DeleteI must confess that I used to toss many of our leftovers, especially if there was a small amount. I'm looking at food differently,now. We have seen some shortages at our grocery stores and it makes me want to use everything possible, rather than wasting it. We're also trying to be more careful in the amounts of food we prepare. As we've gotten older, my husband and I eat smaller portions (excluding my chocolate fix). I think it's great that you're committed to cleaning up the "dibs and dabs!"
ReplyDeleteSmaller portions are a great solution.
DeleteThe most expensive food is the food we throw out. I'm committed to zero food waste and using the leftovers often drives menu planning. Right now, there's corn on the cob that will be morphed into corn chowder with the last of the peas/beans from the garden and leftover rice. There are regular "fridge fallout" nights or "jungle lunches". I get a great deal of satisfaction from using the last bit of something. Best wishes on your recovery.
ReplyDeleteLove the names you gave your leftover meals
DeleteI have one day a week where I pull out all of the leftovers and we eat them or toss them. PC gets leftovers occasionally in his lunch, too. I was never big on eating leftover anything until I decided I preferred eating them to cooking a whole new meal. Ha!! Paul is very easy to cook for and for that I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got home yesterday from granddarling-sitting, I pulled some chicken out of the extra freezer in the garage and realized the door had been slightly open for sometime. Everything was still mostly frozen but the shelves and the coils were covered in ice/snow!! Defrosting the freezer was the last thing I felt like doing in the 105* garage but it was quick.
I can imagine how quickly that went!
DeleteYep, in fact tonight was a clean out the fridge night. I don't know about you but I find great satisfaction in getting rid of those bits.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Me too
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