Last Sunday I over shopped without any meal plan. This week I need to make sure I avoid waste and have a plan for every item in that refrigerator. I'm glad my daughter can take leftovers for her lunch, but DH is still just fruit, snack, and sandwiches. When we had our Happy Hour Tapas dinner last night, the strawberries were quickly tuning so we gobbled them up. DD2 has been bringing an apple every day, but I know there are a few clementine's and some nectarines to be eaten up soon.I was thinking healthy so loaded my cart with peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, cucumber, and greens, but now need to incorporate all /every item into the meals this week, or toss in the freezer for hotdishes in a future date.
With weddings, grad parties, and still a master list of home repairs and fingers crossed renovations on the horizon, throwing produce is like lighting a match to a dollar bill. That's not to mention just want to avoid food waste in general that I find horrible that happens too often in my house. Do you have that issue ever with good intentions of cooking loads of fresh vegetables, and then they end up sitting way too long before being used? With my daughter now going daily to her job that includes food shelf intake and food distribution, I should be keenly aware of how much we have ready access to that others do not. I've not meal planned for so long its not worth revisiting previous weeks, so this is fresh start.
- SUNDAY: Items for lake meals to include chicken-cashew- broccoli,pasta salad, chips and dip, quinoa salad with vegetables (based on what my daughter made a few weeks ago), the last of the old fashion hotdogs, veggies and hummus, lettuce salad, chips and salsa, and rice crispy treats. Lunch and Supper.
- MONDAY: Mushroom stroganoff over egg noodles, broccoli (or th eleftover raw vegetables from Sunday, steamed) and anything else leftover from Sunday.
- TUESDAY: Tacos/ burritos with grilled veggies (peppers, onion, and zucchini), rice and beans
- WEDNESDAY: Stuffed shell pasta and sauce
- THURSDAY: Chicken and stuffing bake, mashed potatoes and corn
- FRIDAY: Homemade pizza
- SATURDAY: Burgers with fixings, potato wedges
This may or may not be accurate to the days but uses up lingering produce. I don't like to use oven when so hot, so not sure about stuffing dish or shells, but could try both in crockpot. I stopped at dollar tree for a couple graduation cards and a few other items and found a bag of hot dog buns and rice-the only grocery Items I have to have. We do need more fresh fruit though so likely will run when we get home tonight to get some seasonal and the basic apples and bananas. That's what I've come up with. How's your menu shaking?
I too am looking at a fridge of things on the verge of being tossed and I do not like this. What's on the menu is anything that will use them. Stone soup probably.
ReplyDeleteWe barely made a dent in the veggies and I'll be eating leftovers. I never did stop and get more fruit.
DeleteIn this weather I find I still end up wasting food unfortunately, even though I store it in my basement (which is cool) and in the fridges down there. I was saying to my son tonight I'd love to shop for fresh stuff every day (or every other day), which would certainly be possible here as we have so many markets, but I feel that way madness and silly overspending lies!
ReplyDeleteProduce goes off so fast-even from an air conditioned house. I should use the local grocery store for at least every other day fresh stuff and get a few steps in. I'd love local daily markets.
DeleteSounds good Sam. We are still working on using things up from the freezer this week, mostly grilled meals and main dish salads or sandwiches with the leftovers.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed you won't be hit with any weather that leaves our freezers at mercy, but you have a good plan.
DeleteI like Martha have been trying to slowly empty my freezer but it's hard. i had an eggplant to use so made eggplant lasagna and now I will have 2/3 of it to freeze...I also made cucumber, onion and tomato salad- so good but enough to feed a family of 8 and it's just me. We finally got a little rain but probably not enough to make much of a difference. Daughter and family went to the Keys for a few days- I've never been and doubt if I make it there but it sure looks neat! My son in California did tell me he was buying me a plane ticket for Thanksgiving so hopefully that works out- I'm not real keen on traveling any more but I should go before I get too old and decrepit LOL. PS I bought that gyro kit at Aldi- will it be tasty to eat without the pitas since I'm avoiding bread unless it's whole grain or should I just give it away?
ReplyDeleteBeing a bread fiend, I can't imagine just the Gyro meat and sauce, but the meat is tasty enough wihtout the bread. I think there is a more meat to bread ration, os if you have a few bread eaters to join you, you could still have both ways. I am not sure when I will next travel by plane. A hotel will be a first step for me.
DeleteI'm eating strawberries for breakfast, lunch and dinner as our plots are producing so many of them! Apart from those it's salads for me.
ReplyDelete