Wasting Food--and how to avoid it?

[hsmamato2]

I too use a lot of frozen fruits and veggies to round out meals- these are much easier to keep and portion out,and I can get many great organic options at costco for deals... for fresh, if I see something that needs using in the fridge, I try to plan the next meal to use it up. This way we have less tossing unused fridge items- we also tend to use leftoves generously, if they don't get eaten within a day or so I sometimes freeze them for later use-last week I made a HUGE pot of veggie soup,didn't realize just how huge, so some of it went into the freezer for another week....
I also try no to overstuff the fridge with items, or they get lost,and go bad. I keep all nuts and sensitive flours refrigerated or frozen to keep them longer- if I see unused fruit in the bowl starting to go I make something like banana bread, or some dessert that utilizes the fruit- (sometimes I end up making a crockpot roast and tossing leftover apples or various fruits in there for sweet flavor) Sometimes it's a simple as making a big fruit salad for the fridge to avoid wasting fruit.

 

[Eastern]

I have tried cutting back on fresh produce and then we run out halfway through the week, so it's about finding the right balance, which obviously I have not yet! I do use some frozen veggies. The main issue is some of our busier nights we end up just not making a salad and by the end of the week, the lettuce is slimy. Blech.

Things like lettuce, spinach, and celery last a lot longer if you cut off/remove any obvious dirty/rotted spots when you get home and then wrap the produce in a couple sheets of paper towels before putting it back in the bag and into your produce drawer in the fridge. Standing water on dirty produce makes it go bad faster. I also do not wash it first, as that adds water.

If I feel I need to wash it first, I rinse thoroughly, shake it out, then lay it on a kitchen towel to absorb some of the water, then wrap it in the paper towels before storing.

 

[Eastern]

For meal preparation: I estimate serving sizes and make that amount or maybe just a little more. I do not worrying about 'running out' of food at dinner. If everyone gets a full plate of food, that's all I'm worried about. If you're still hungry, go eat an apple or some crackers. Keeps everyone from gaining weight, too.

ps this is a mental hurdle that a lot of people have to overcome. "Running out of food" seems scary, but if you eat a normal amount, believe me, you will not die.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Another thing to do as others mentioned - know what goes bad and when...Greens and berries should be 1st usages of the week (they can last as little as 2-3 days) and potatoes/sweet potatoes/carrots/apples/oranges/bananas/squashes (they can last more than a week) should be the last usages of the week. Have a special plan to use these "early" rotters, especially if you have leftovers...I always have 4-5 fruit options (always apples and bananas and they I rotate the seasonal cheaper options - this week, it's strawberries, clementines, and fresh pineapple) and 6-7 veggie options a week, but I don't buy the veggies in overwhelming quantities (although I do buy tons of fruit b/c it's so easy to make into snacks and side lunch/dinner options - so this week, I have 6lb of apples, 4 lbs of bananas, 3 lbs of clementines, 1 whole pineapple, and 2lbs of strawberries - and this will get us through a week - I have much less veggie quantity with 2lbs of sweet potatoes, a 1lb pre-prepped salad bag, 1.5 lb of broccoli crowns, 2 lbs of carrots, 5lbs of potatoes, and 1lb of onions - I went lighter than normal this week b/c we have a dental issue in the fam which will involve eating soft foods for 2-3 days, so we've got a soup/pot pie plan)...know how your family eats and what produce they will eat no matter what (that helps, too)...

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We were really having issues with produce and even blocks of cheese going bad before getting fully used so I've started grating the cheese if I notice it's not getting used quick enough and freezing it. I'm making lasagna tonight for dinner and will be using up all the frozen grated mozzarella cheese from the freezer.

As for lettuce or tomatoes, I've only been buying one package at a time and when it gets opened for sandwiches I'll make a salad to go with dinner that evening so the rest of it gets used up right away. Other produce such as apples or fruits - I've started eating those for breakfast so they get eaten up rather than thrown away - I just finished off the watermelon this morning that I bought a few days ago and would have been turning bad soon.

I quit buying things like asparagus or fresh green beans unless I have them planned to go with dinner and then I buy them the day or so before they will be used because they seem to be going bad so fast. We don't care for alot of frozen vegetables - I've tried frozen corn, green beans, ect... and no one but me would eat them - they said they tasted funny. That's what I get for spoiling the family with fresh homegrown vegetables in the summer. LOL

 

[Eureka]

Things like lettuce, spinach, and celery last a lot longer if you cut off/remove any obvious dirty/rotted spots when you get home and then wrap the produce in a couple sheets of paper towels before putting it back in the bag and into your produce drawer in the fridge. Standing water on dirty produce makes it go bad faster. I also do not wash it first, as that adds water.

If I feel I need to wash it first, I rinse thoroughly, shake it out, then lay it on a kitchen towel to absorb some of the water, then wrap it in the paper towels before storing.

Thanks. Sometimes I do that...but other times, we use half of it and then forget it's there. (Oops, lol)

 

[barkley]

One of my New Year's Goals is to waste less food. I know we are fortunate to have what we have and it's costly and wasteful to throw it away because it spoils.
I'm looking for some ideas on how to avoid food wasting? I already date everything that is not used immediately after opening. When I open a new spices, canister of oatmeal, bottle of molasses, etc... I write the date with a sharpie.

What do you do to make sure you use up food before it goes bad?

the website "eat by date" gives the safe dates for usage pre-opened as well as post-opened for pretty much every food item (fresh, frozen, canned....dairy, spices.....) and having gone by their standards for a few years I've never encountered a problem so I can look to the items I tend to stockpile (mostly canned goods) and keep a handle on using them up before they need to be tossed.

for some non regularly used (mostly jarred) items I take a sharpie and write down the TRUE use by date on the top (but I date it a month or two prior to the real date so I can plan to use them in meals or like with thanksgiving-know if I need to get more jarred gravy or cranberry sauce or the stuff I have on hand is still fine).

for baking goods (mixes) I write in sharpie the true use by date so when I open the cabinet I can see what I need to use up first. nuts/flours go into the freezer in sealed bags so their usage is greatly extended (I do the same w/large containers of Costco parmesan cheese and feta-just pull out the amount I need for a particular recipe).

w/spices-I know there's a use by date for them and may lose some of their potency but for the most part they are good for 2-5 years so it's not a big waste issue for us on that.

meats-best investment was a vacuum sealer so we can seal it into specific sized bags that never get freezer burned. we use it as well for some leftovers-had honey baked ham for Christmas so this past week dh put some packages of sliced ham up as well as one with the bone/odd sized pieces for soup/beans down the line.

as far as leftovers-some stuff I make w/plans of it (b/c we enjoy eating it for several days), some I make w/plans of one meal/freezing half for another meal but since our household has shrunk in size I'm trying to get better about making smaller batches (and taking prepackaged things like crockpot mixes-halving them and putting the other half of the dry mixes in a zip lock back into the original box to make down the road).

my biggest waste is issue ends up being produce. I don't like to shop often so much of what I use is frozen-pearl onions, root veggies, fire roasted corn kernels, zucchini and squash (in the winter) with the only true constants as fresh that are always in the fridge-salad greens, tomatoes, red/yellow onions, generally some type of mushroom. with celery it's something I buy when I need to use it and if it gets used up great, if not I don't stress over it b/c if I just buy what I need for a particular recipe i'll end up paying more for the smaller amount than an whole (and a whole can last up to 3 or 4 weeks if kept in the right temp/humidity so I can plan to do another soup or stew that calls for it). with salad greens-I just bite the bullet and buy one of the clamshells every week or two and hope we use it up-we did do lettuces in an aero garden a couple of years ago which worked well but it takes a WHOLE LOT of lettuce to balance out the cost of the aero garden and the seed pods.

 

[manning]

The foodsaver

They have smaller cheaper ones

 

[LilyWDW]

I have the same issue. It's just me so I find I waste a lot of produce, especially things like lettuce, celery, carrots, and other things that are used with recipes but I can't find smaller portions of them. I also end up wasting a lot of leftovers, especially things like soups and stews since they make SO much food. I'd love to freeze more of that, but I have a very small freezer and just don't have the room once I get my meat for 2 weeks in there plus frozen vegetables, potatoes, and odd and ends.

 

[barkley]

The foodsaver

They have smaller cheaper ones

we bought one through Costco on-line when it was on sale (I want to say it cost around $100 w/an initial good supply of sealing rolls as well as free shipping). we use it CONSTANTLY-I usually buy meat in bulk at Costco b/c of the quality/low fat content/cost, BUT-if there's a bombing good sale at the grocery store I won't hesitate to get the butcher there to take a sale cut of meat and cut/grind it into what I want/need (I went to get ground beef a couple of days ago-the (imho) nasty 80/20 ground beef was a dollar more per pound/more acceptable 93/7 over $2 per pound than stunning rolled (with no fat layer) roasts on sale so I grabbed 7 pounds worth and had them grind it). I've had grocery store butchers blanch at me when I've asked them to grind a roast into ground beef, cut up a London broil into fajita or stew meat-offer to mark down the 93/7 ground beef or fajita/stew meat to the same price as the sale cuts-but I decline b/c I know by looking at them they are a much lower fat content (and I can always just take the bulk items home and dh will either slice/cut/grind into the types I want).

 

[barkley]

I have the same issue. It's just me so I find I waste a lot of produce, especially things like lettuce, celery, carrots, and other things that are used with recipes but I can't find smaller portions of them. I also end up wasting a lot of leftovers, especially things like soups and stews since they make SO much food. I'd love to freeze more of that, but I have a very small freezer and just don't have the room once I get my meat for 2 weeks in there plus frozen vegetables, potatoes, and odd and ends.

check out the website 'yummly'-you can fine new (or old favorite) recipes and change the number of servings from multiple to few/single so if you want a small amount of leftovers it happens-no leftovers fine as well.

 

[tink9702]

I menu plan based on what's already in my fridge/pantry & also try to combine like meals - so two meals that both use carrots, or two meals that use zucchini etc. I also eat the things that go bad the fastest first, especially strawberries or zucchini and save things like carrots or oranges for later in the week.

 

[LilyWDW]

check out the website 'yummly'-you can fine new (or old favorite) recipes and change the number of servings from multiple to few/single so if you want a small amount of leftovers it happens-no leftovers fine as well.

Thank you so much for the information! I'll check it out for sure. The one time I have the biggest issue with this is with slow cooker meals. You have to fill the slow cooker a specific amount or it won't work as well so I am more limited as to how little I can make.

 

[tvguy]

We try to cook just enough for a meal, any leftovers are the next day's lunch.

I echo what everyone has said about "Sell by" and "Best By" dates. I volunteer at he Food Bank and past due items that stores can't sell are a majority of what they give out. Perfectly good food that the manufacturer wants people to think needs to be tossed and replaced. And if you are ever in a disaster and get FEMA rations.......I have heard unconfirmed reports that FEMA last ordered rations in 1990 after the start of the Gulf War, and has had them in storage ever since.

 

[manning]

we bought one through Costco on-line when it was on sale (I want to say it cost around $100 w/an initial good supply of sealing rolls as well as free shipping). we use it CONSTANTLY-I usually buy meat in bulk at Costco b/c of the quality/low fat content/cost, BUT-if there's a bombing good sale at the grocery store I won't hesitate to get the butcher there to take a sale cut of meat and cut/grind it into what I want/need (I went to get ground beef a couple of days ago-the (imho) nasty 80/20 ground beef was a dollar more per pound/more acceptable 93/7 over $2 per pound than stunning rolled (with no fat layer) roasts on sale so I grabbed 7 pounds worth and had them grind it). I've had grocery store butchers blanch at me when I've asked them to grind a roast into ground beef, cut up a London broil into fajita or stew meat-offer to mark down the 93/7 ground beef or fajita/stew meat to the same price as the sale cuts-but I decline b/c I know by looking at them they are a much lower fat content (and I can always just take the bulk items home and dh will either slice/cut/grind into the types I want).

Grind it yourself. We have Kitchen aid Stand mixer with the grinder attachment. Not that hard.

I have a brother-in law who worked as a butcher for Dominic's years ago. He said the dirty secret was they had to get rid of the trimmed fat. They would keep it next to the grinder and throw a hand full of fat in. They did not charge extra for the fat, just got rid of it. Have no ideal if this is common.

 

[barkley]

Grind it yourself. We have Kitchen aid Stand mixer with the grinder attachment. Not that hard.

I have a brother-in law who worked as a butcher for Dominic's years ago. He said the dirty secret was they had to get rid of the trimmed fat. They would keep it next to the grinder and throw a hand full of fat in. They did not charge extra for the fat, just got rid of it. Have no ideal if this is common.

we primarily grind it ourselves with our kitchen aide as well (if I'm in a hurry though and don't want to have to pull it out, use it and clean it i'll have the butcher do it). as far as added extra fat-the stores around here (if it's a roast) will if asked slice the fat band from a beef roast and put it on top of the ground meat. I don't think there's any issue with other excess fat being tossed in though b/c since we weigh the meat out to individually bag it we've never seen any difference between the pre cut or ground printed/priced weight vs. what we bag up.

 

[Kogo Shuko]

There are certain foods that we stock up on, such as chicken breasts, chuck beef, etc. We buy in bulk and freeze everything. Tomato soup, crackers, cheese, chips, lunch snacks, nuts, and other items with a long shelf life tend to get purchased when on sale.

Otherwise, we make a meal plan and only buy what we need for the week. We choose three suppers for the week (three nights a week, we make a meal, one night is date night, one night is delivery, and over the weekend we use up the leftovers), then make a grocery list of the items we don't currently have. After that, we check the kitchen to see what needs to be replaced - soy butter, snacks, milk, bread, eggs, etc. I also make the same lunch for myself for an entire week, so I also buy the stuff needed for that. My boyfriend tends to eat out, and his son eats pretty much the same thing every day.

The only things that ever truly go bad are things like condiments, because we use them sometimes but not ALL the time.

 

[flowerboy]

I go back and forth with my husband on this topic a lot. I do most of my cooking at home from scratch. Do things get wasted, yes. I use to fret about it and make my self sick with guilt that I wasted food and money. If the only way to save is eating frozen and long shelf life food, then in my opinion you might pay for it in your health later on. Not to say your bad and not healthy and you shouldn't eat these foods, but we try to limit it as much as possible. My point is don't beat yourself up for wasting food once in a while. I use to eat my kids food, force my family to finish, force food down our throats. Now we enjoy our meals, finish when we are full, and throw away what we don't eat. At least I no longer have my kids food on my hips.

 

[neatokimmo]

We are trying to waste less too. Two things I have changed in the past couple of weeks. One, I stopped buying baby carrots. They kept getting gross too fast, it must be my fridge. So I get the enormous bag of organic regular carrots and they are much sturdier.

I also stopped buying lettuce and only get spinach or kale. That way when it starts to get bad, I can blanch it and freeze it.

 

[Eureka]

We are trying to waste less too. Two things I have changed in the past couple of weeks. One, I stopped buying baby carrots. They kept getting gross too fast, it must be my fridge. So I get the enormous bag of organic regular carrots and they are much sturdier.

I also stopped buying lettuce and only get spinach or kale. That way when it starts to get bad, I can blanch it and freeze it.

Baby carrots do get slimy fast. There's a lot of water in the packages. The few times I've bought them, I always stick a paper towel in there. But also, I read some thing about the bleach-like wash they put them in, and it grossed me out. So now I buy organized regulat carrots just like you.