How about some ideas to get us all motivated to be less wasteful and stretch our food dollar at the same time?

When we started buying organics I would cringe when dd would ask for an apple, eat half, and wander away. I have been making an effort to reduce food waste in our household. Here are some things that are working for us...

-Make smaller portions. It is as simple as that. For instance, if all 3 of us are eating I will make 2 chicken breasts and share mine with dd. We don't have the problem of that small, foil wrapped package of chicken that you find in the back of your fridge 2 weeks later!

-Make menus. This helps me use up what is nearing it's expiration date or it's prime. This includes fresh produce, bread that is going stale, fresh meats, frozen items (to avoid freezer burn), and pantry items going out of date.

-Lots of people start a freezer soup container and add leftovers to it as the go along to reheat at a later date as soup.

-Take advantage of bumper crops in your garden. I had a bunch of corn that my neighbor gave me and another friend had a bag of okra...I made a HUGE pot of soup from that and whatever I had on hand and in my garden. I froze it for later in quart bags. I also make my own spaghetti sauce when we have a lot of tomatoes.

-Stale bread makes breadcrumbs, croutons, stuffing, french toast, toast, open faced sandwiches, etc. Before you throw it out...try to find a way to use it.

-Don't overbuy! If you don't think you will us it then don't load up your fridge with expensive produce.

-Get creative! Make a casserole you never have before! Use leftovers in new ways so your family won't get burned out. We like to use leftover meat in quesadillas, soups, sandwiches, nachos...The list goes on and on. Use leftover chili with pasta or as the protein in nachos. Meatloaf can be used the same way.

-Have a "raid the fridge" night where it's every man for himself to use up the recent leftovers and misc. foods lurking around.

Anyone else have any that work for them?

That is one reason I do not buy that many fresh vegetables or fruits. I used to always buy fresh mushrooms for cooking. At least have the package always ended up going bad. Now I buy canned mushrooms. I also buy alot of canned and frozen fruits and veggies. I know that they are not quite as good, but I haven't had any complaints.

Leftovers are usually lunch foods for us. We also have leftovers for supper once in awhile when the frig starts looking too full.

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~Happiness is a large family~

We try to be really good about eating up leftovers for lunch or dinner. Plus, when I do something like cooking a whole chicken, I will take the rest of the meat off and use it to make another meal. Also, I like to freeze good size leftovers for easy meals later on.

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I think it's also important to make sure you are storing you foods properly so that they last longer.

Mushrooms last longest in a paperbag, unwashed.

celery in tinfoil.

peaches in the refridgerator.

Freeze any left over you don't have plans for right away rather than let it sit for a few days and then throw it away.

You can put an empty coffee can in your freezer and put any left over veggies in there. When it's full, make soup.

Cook big and have planned leftover night.

My dh comes home everyday for lunch, so we eat the leftovers then.

I rarely throw anything away.

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The mighty oak started out as a nut that held its ground.

I make 2 or 3 big meals then have left over night. Cook another, then another left over night. I can have between 1 or 2 left over nights a week.

That's a good one.

I am bad about not wanting to portion it out and then forgetting about it. I have to make myself do it right away and pop it in the freezer.

If I remind dh what's in the fridge for left-overs (or what's getting close to it's prime), then he will usually eat that the next time he is hungry. If I don't tell him, it might sit there til it goes to waste ! He's kinda like that kid on the old comercial..."give it to Mickey, he'll eat anything" !

I've also been cooking up most of my ground beef as I buy it. It saves waste and has been a blessing to me so many times when it's late and I need something fast for supper...this way the meat is already cooked!

I definitely still need a lot more work in this area though !

I do the same thing!! I had 2-1lb. rolls of ground turkey, 1lb. of deer burger, and about 1/2lb. of ground beef in my freezer. I browned it all together, and used some for taco meat (had tacos & taco salads), some for sloppy joes, and some I added to a jar of spaghetti sauce. I love knowing I have some already browned ground meat ready to go on those evenings when I'm running late or don't really feel like cooking a big meal!!

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~*~ Angie~*~
Wife to Brian
SAHM to Sarah & Andy 2/11/2000

In my area, the grocery store sales start on Fridays. Every Thursday night I sit with my circular and coupons and make a shopping list based on a one week menu. You would not believe how much this has cut down on waste! And I usually only spend about $30 a week on groceries. DS & I usually eat leftovers for lunch. If I make a big pot of soup or chili, I set aside and freeze some for my grandmother.

I dont over do it, meaning I dont make a huge dinner. Just enough and there are no left overs (Unless I want leftovers for lunch the next day)
When I buy fresh produce / veggies I try to use them up quickly. Or Ill just buy frozen veggies, like corn, peas, mixed veggies. I dont typically like canned veggies as they are sort of soggy, unless its mushrooms or chilies.

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Alex & the spider monkey