Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

[flash]

Sunday's Today show had a segment on how the average American dumps more than 400 pounds of unused food every year. Mostly meat and vegetables.

Don't want to know how they figured this one out!

But, do you "waste" that much food every year?
Any frugal tips to help others?

[Ima saver]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

I know we throw out a lot. My biggest problem is milk and bread. There are just two of us and we hardly ever use those two items, but once in a while we need milk for a receipe.
I never throw meat out . If we don't eat it, I give it to the dog.

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

I think the problem may be that Americans cook too much. I remember a dietician showing me what a portion should contain I almost fainted. We live in the land of the super sized everything.

Cook less, eat less, and save your health as well as money!

[Ima saver]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

We don't cook that much and we have very simple dinners. One piece of meat and something else. If I make a baked potato, my husband eats half of it. When we have meat, we have one piece usually. Since being on a low carb diet, we have really cut down and don't miss it. I buy the smallest thing of milk I can, an d still wind up throwing out most of it. I throw the bread out into the yard by the creek. Something eats it!!

[PrincessPerky]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

I have two kids who are klutzes, I prolly throw out enough to feed a small country just from the floor! but on real wasted, growing mold in the fridge, not so much, though we have our 'failed' meals that must get tossed.

Mainly to avoid ditching, I plan meals based on what must be used, if not tonight then the next night. I am not perfect, but I try. And what food I do toss, I put out for the cats or my failed compost pile.

[flash]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

I agree, Princess. If I buy a large lettuce, I'm thinking salads, sandwiches, etc. for the week. DH, now, he will buy whatever he thinks sounds good, without a plan, like asparagus at $5 a pound. and that tends to get tossed if I'm not aware of it. I do try not to let him shop alone!

[lrjohnson]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

This area is one that my partner and I have been tackling recently. Milk is never a problem because we are all non-fat dry powdered, or shelf stable quarts of soy milk when its on super sale. Bread we get from thrift store and freeze, that's fine too, older ends get oven dried and ground into breadcrumbs. Meat, we don't eat so much, so that works. If I do buy meat we freeze it. Leftovers, I stick in cottage cheese tub "tupperware" right away, and they do not go in the fridge.

Where we do have the most issues is with fresh produce. It took many, many tossed heads of lettuce and tomatoes before we figured out that we needed to change. I stock more frozen veggies now, so that I don't buy fresh because we *have* to have it. I live with the fact that even though we think we eat salads a lot, we don't. I buy spinach leaves instead of lettuce, and when it's getting older I steam it and freeze it (cottage cheese tub tupperware again) for work lunches. I am more willing to buy more expensive fruit/veggies I KNOW we eat than cheaper ones I was composting. I always thought I would use bulk carrots fresh and for cooking, and I never prepped them, and ended up with them dying. so now I buy the fake baby carrots, or go without. I eat snow peas and mushrooms all the time, so I treat myself to them because it's healthy food. Same with cherry/grape tomatoes. They do cost a lot more, but I composted so many of the cheapies it was not economical. I make breakfast smoothies with older fruit, or mash them into muffins. We are making a lot of improvement.

We still sometimes have problems with cheese molding (light mold I'll just cut off). I've heard wiping with vinegar helps but haven't tried it yet. Also, sometimes lunch meats get lost in the shuffle. I'm trying to put some in the freezer right away and leave a half pack in the fridge.

I can report progress but not perfection.

[Tree0164]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

I would say that I am probably close to the 400lbs. One of my goals this year to make sure that I make less and use more. Mostly it is leftovers, fresh fruit and veggies-trying to buy more frozen and canned.

[ChillPhatCat]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

When I make a dish I either eat everything I've made if it's a small quantity or I eat the leftovers over the next few days... about 10% of our milk expires before we've finished it, the little that is left is still good for cooking (tastes the same trust me) so we usually use all that up, the only meat I eat is usually steak and all that I do with that is trim off the fat. Salads are best when they come pre-mixed in a bag, that way you have the right amount of everything and it can be consumed quickly before it get's soggy. I don't eat the end pieces of my bread loaves because I'm picky so I feed that to the squirrel. I probably throw out 1 lb of food a week if that.

[PrincessPerky]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

Milk goes bad???? it is never around long enough for that here!!!!! (4 gals a week is what we limit it to.)

[ChillPhatCat]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

Milk goes bad???? it is never around long enough for that here!!!!! (4 gals a week is what we limit it to.)

I don't trust milk very long after it's been open... 3 days tops, I can't stand sour milk. Sometimes we drink a gallon in a day and sometimes go a couple days without any milk.

[contrary1]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

I know this is one area I've been working on for the last couple years. But, no way do I throw out 400 pounds of food. Gads!
My area of difficulty is that stupid refrigerator............in goes the food, sometimes never to see the light of day again.
I'm getting better. If something is leftover........I don't put it in the fridge unless I have a concrete plan for it. If it is something that can be frozen, I re package it right away & label it, then into my wire basket in the freezer for emergency meals.
I am re working leftovers until they squeek here too. Fortunately no one is that picky, nor do they pay close attention..............just as long as there is enough food to fill them up!
Leftovers turn into Buffet Night here.............where everything is heated up and people can choose what they would like. Makes for some pretty strange plates of food, but things are used up!
400 pounds............... I can't imagine!! I could feed the whole street for months with 400 lbs of food!!

[Tree0164]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

Milk goes bad???? it is never around long enough for that here!!!!! (4 gals a week is what we limit it to.)

Milk is one thing that I am always running out of. We are usually at 3 gallons a week. Dh doesn't drink milk. So it is just me and the 3 kids.

[PrincessPerky]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

Heh, DH and I are the worst we could finish a gallon a day between the two of us! especially if there are cookies to be et!

[ISAYHI]

Re: Do you throw out 400 pounds of food each year?

IMA SAVER - I've had good luck freezing milk & bread. Maybe you could just freeze part of each as soon as it is purchased & thaw it when you run out. Milk does turn a funny yellowish color when frozen, but it comes back just fine when thawed. My kids can't taste any difference & they're very picky.