Stop Wasting Food (freezer, breakfast, meal, leftover)

[no kudzu]

I know we are trying all sorts of things to avoid waste. I'm a very frugal person so it kills me when I've let something go bad in the fridge. Thank goodness my whole family will eat leftovers. I know some who won't.

Sometimes fruit gets past it's prime at my house. I then chop it all up and mix it with yogurt or cottage cheese, add some mini marshmallows and call it dessert.

Veggies not gonna be eaten in time? Blanch and freeze and save for soups and stews.

I don't feel the need to serve the same thing to every family member. if there is only enough sloppy joe for one sandwich , only enough fish sticks for one person, etc I let them call dibs or we draw straws.

What are some things you do to avoid waste?

Look at how small the fridge is. Can you imagine the average 4 person family in America making do with
such a tiny fridge?


How to Save Money on Food Waste - YouTube

[Luvvarkansas]

My bunch doesn't much like leftovers, although hubby is better about it than the kids. So I do throw away a lot of food, and I hate it. I'm trying to find the sweet spot on all my recipes....how much to actually cook so that it will all get eaten.

[Chava61]

I make less cooked food and freeze leftovers when possible. I try to buy smaller quantities of fresh food that might go back if not eaten within a certain amount of time.

[randomparent]

Nice post. This is something we've been working on diligently in our household. Awhile back, I started hanging my receipts on the fridge door each week, highlighting any items that went to waste. The results were eye-opening! It changed my shopping and cooking habits dramatically.

Edit: I thought we were doing pretty well, but after watching the videos I can see that we have room for improvement. Loved the idea of moving foods that need to be eaten soon to the top shelf. I will do that today! We weigh our food waste sporadically just to keep ourselves honest. It all goes in an outdoor compost pile, so it's easy to delude ourselves into believing the food wasn't wasted.

[AngID]

I won't eat leftovers. And I won't freeze leftovers. They'll just get tossed when I clean the freezer every year. Thank goodness for my Hoover of a hubby. He won't let anything go to waste if he can help it.

[Clemencia53]

Does not bother me to waste food. If something is about to go bad or I know we just won't eat it, it goes in the compost pile or as a tasty treat for the pups or wildlife. I don't see it as waste, if it is going to be used by someone.

Yea, and we don't really like leftovers so I don't cook mass quantities. There are only two of us.

[eureka1]

Composters are the way to go.

[CSD610]

My husband would be very disappointed if I didn't cook enough for both sides of the Army and have leftovers for him.
It is just the 2 of us but he loves leftovers and lots of them so when I make anything I make a lot of it, especially soups and stews, 16 quarts at a time.

[randomparent]

I hate wasting food, particularly meat. I fully admit that I am a mostly vegetarian, but my family is not. The idea that an animal was raised as a food source only to go un-eaten really bothers me. I had to throw out some seafood recently, and I felt terrible, knowing how over-fished our oceans are.

[Natsku]

Having a small fridge makes it easier, you don't forget about stuff in there so easily for it to go bad. We don't waste too much, we usually eat the leftovers for lunch the next day, or for the dinner the next day (we'll quite happily eat the same meal three days in a row to use up all the leftovers - usually happens when I make stew)
Fruit goes into our breakfast juice and smoothies so they don't get a chance to go bad either. Its only really if I completely forget about something that it goes bad and I have to throw it out.