do you throw away much food?

[joanlovescats]

I love all these ideas!!!! I feel like I am already saving money and haven't even done any of these yet! Thanks for the great tips. I think that as a family we do a good job eating what I buy and using it up before I buy more.

[gambler2075]

I used to throw out lots of food, was horrible with buying canned food and just pushing it to the back of the cabinet, where it would be discovered 2 years later, having been expired for a year... Then I started giving myself a deadline of eating EVERYTHING every 2 months. This includes cereal, canned good, spaghetti, and whatever.

Now, every 2 months I completely empty the refrigerator/cabinets of all food (by eating it, not throwing it away ) and then start over fresh.

I have found it works for me...

g

[zhuwh]

i would like to say that i throw away more food in summer than in winter , the food is corroded easily in summer , so i have to throw it away .

[snafu]

One of the most flexible budget segments is food. Since we decided to do a better job of menu planning, very little needs to be trashed. The fridge meat drawer was re purposed for leftovers Re-Named plan overs. I taped a list of 'plan-over' ideas like jambalaya, pilaf, fried rice, omelette, ragout, stew, soup, chowder, tortilla, fajitas,enchiladas, blintz, knishes, crust-less Quiche, Sheppard pie,pot pie, pasties, chow mein, chile, potato delites, O'Brien, fritters, pasta plus [chicken, beef, ham, etc], casseroles, bread pudding etc. to the inside of a cupboard door.

DKs prefer leftover mashed potato because they prefer potato pancakes, knishes, O'Brien and more.

[gambler2075]

Originally Posted by snafu

One of the most flexible budget segments is food. Since we decided to do a better job of menu planning, very little needs to be trashed. The fridge meat drawer was re purposed for leftovers Re-Named plan overs.

What I like to do is take all those assorted leftovers and combine them all together into one gigantic hodgepodge which I then puree, fill into a bread pan, and cook at 375 for 50 minutes. I call the concoction "Nutraloaf", and I got the idea here:

Dining Critic Tries Nutraloaf, the Prison Food for Misbehaving Inmates - Chicago magazine - September 2010 - Chicago

Meats, veggies, cakes, cheese, milk, orange juice, whatever. It all goes together into one incredibly nutritious mishmash that tastes very, well, unusual.

Who do I feed this to? Well, I got the idea from that article... my 4 year old isn't cleaning up his room? Nutraloaf time. 7 year old didn't do his homework? Nutraloaf time. Neighbors forget to invite me to the potluck last year? This year, it's Nutraloaf. Forget the wife's anniversary? whip up a quick batch of Nutraloaf.

Mmm.... the thought of not wasting all that food combined with the ability to set those little ones straight just warms the cockles of my heart.



g

[JoJoGal]

No, but whenever I throw away even the smallest thing I feel bad about it, so I still think there is room for improvement!