Food Waste Weekly

[Blonde Granny]

I have 3 containers of blueberries in the freezer. The last clementine I had was not as juicy, so I just might toss the few that are left.

[Iggy aka IG]

I had to toss a zuch DH bought 3 weeks ago.  As usual, it was hiding in the drawer.  I purchased two more not long ago, and made sure I sauteed them up last night!

I also made a pan full of ground turkey enchiladas last night to use up most of the leftover pork loin in enchilada sauce.  We ate 1/3 of the pan last night, I froze 1/3, and we'll eat the rest this weekend. 

[marvholly]

No new waste. I cut the meat from the bone of my leftover prime rib, nibbled on the bone & froze it. Now the challenge this week will be to use up all the meat & produce I bought on Sat. Made a start using some of the CHEAP spinach and a salad w/dinner.

I plan to cut up and freeze at least 1 lb of strawberries and blanch & freeze some of the asparagus. i MUCH prefer asparagus fresh but the season (and good prices) is VERY short. It will be over by Easter at the latest since that holiday seems late to me this year being 4/20.

[marvholly]

YIPEEEE!!
NO waste this week. Froze the strawberries. Blanched & froze the asparagus (holding out for late fall eating).

Asparagus is on special at my large fruit/veg market even cheaper this week. Will most likely get 2 bundles - alight ovr 2lb. Freeze some. Roast some. Eat some.

I do have a zucchini I need to eat. Planning on doing an 'oven fried' (bread crumbs w/parmesian & seasoning, treated w/pan spray & roasted).

[marvholly]

NO waste week.

But I threw out 8 strawberries this week. However this was WAAAY better than I expected. My large fruit/veg mkt had them on sale 3lb/$1. When they hit that level this early you KNOW they are at the VERY end of their useful life. I only bought 2. I have eaten 3-4 servings & cut up and frozen the rest.

[Blonde Granny]

We had a loaf of sandwich bread in the freezer far too long. DH took it out and promptly condemned it to the trash can.  He said it wasn't even fit for toast. Of course, me, the Queen of Cheap sometimes disagreed. I used it for toast yesterday and it was fine.

I then told him it was perfect for French toast....he made some this AM and declared it was great. A few more breakfasts and the loaf will be gone and I saved a little money.

[Deleted]

Mar 14, 2014 6:44:19 GMT -5 marvholly said:

NO waste week.

But I threw out 8 strawberries this week. However this was WAAAY better than I expected. My large fruit/veg mkt had them on sale 3lb/$1. When they hit that level this early you KNOW they are at the VERY end of their useful life. I only bought 2. I have eaten 3-4 servings & cut up and frozen the rest.

good lord, where do you find those prices?  we had a store here advertising a great sale on strawberries - 2 pounds for $6 (or maybe $4) but I've never ever seen them under a $1 per pound never mind 33 cents a pound

[Value Buy]

OOPS,

just checked the fridge in the garage.

59 OZ Container of oj dated Jan 13th in the back of the lower shelf.

Do I dare open it

Maybe cut it with some vodka?

[grits]

I had an orange go bad. I think it had been mashed in shipping. I am soaking some small new potatoes in water to unwrinkled them. They'll get cooked tomorrow.

I have been having less food waste since I stopped eating out. I absolutely hate throwing out food.

[NoNamePerson]

Mar 15, 2014 12:17:55 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

OOPS,

just checked the fridge in the garage.

59 OZ Container of oj dated Jan 13th in the back of the lower shelf.

Do I dare open it

Maybe cut it with some vodka?

Don't ruin good vodka with OLD orange juice. Just do shooters  

[marvholly]

Mar 15, 2014 11:33:39 GMT -5 @singlemominmd said:

Mar 14, 2014 6:44:19 GMT -5 marvholly said:

NO waste week.

But I threw out 8 strawberries this week. However this was WAAAY better than I expected. My large fruit/veg mkt had them on sale 3lb/$1. When they hit that level this early you KNOW they are at the VERY end of their useful life. I only bought 2. I have eaten 3-4 servings & cut up and frozen the rest.

good lord, where do you find those prices?  we had a store here advertising a great sale on strawberries - 2 pounds for $6 (or maybe $4) but I've never ever seen them under a $1 per pound never mind 33 cents a pound

I have 4 good to GREAT fruit/veg markets in my area. The GREAT one is about 4 1/2 mi from me. They frequently have strawberries for $1/lb pkg. In season (mid may-july) they can get down to 0.50. As I think I mentioned, these were pretty much an overbought, end of code type deal.  Knock em WAAAY down & get em out before they are compost.  most people were buying 3-6 pkg.  i suspect some were going to be strawberry preservs.

[Blonde Granny]

We're back to the same nonsensical things my DH pulls. Right now it's bread: I have 3 loaves with a few slices still left and he won't eat them. We bought some of those onion flaked hamburger buns, there are 5 left and he won't eat them because they make a mess and I'm the one that wanted them. He won't eat the sourdough bread because he has decided now he doesn't like it anymore.

This bread situation is right up there with the open chip packages....wants the pantry and fridge to be like a restaurant with choices of each items, opens the bag but won't eat the bottom third because.....who knows!!!!

He had 3 open juice containers and wanted to make some Crystal Light (had to buy more because he decided he didn't like the red stuff anymore), but then found out because of the 3 open containers already in the fridge there wasn't room for another. I poured the V8 into a class, put it back in the fridge, and quickly put in one of the juice containers I like to drink.

THIS IS MAKING ME ANGRY AND CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, off to WMT we go to buy "his" food. Sheesh!!!

[Blonde Granny]

Well, as usual, we had a few words over this latest incident. After a little huffing and puffing trying to blow my house down, we both had lunch, he turned off the TV, got into my car and went to buy "his" groceries. I tossed all the leftover uneaten bread into the bottom of the freezer in the garage and have more than enough to make croutons. Of course, then he'll decided he doesn't like those after all either.

[marvholly]

Granny

use the onion rolls for something like sloppy joes(or chicks).
Use the sour dough for topping on baked onion soup or bruchetta.
Use the fritos, nachos.....for toppings/bases in cassaroles or chicken breading.
Use the potatoe chips for chicken breading.
Use other bread for bread pudding or french toast or grilled sandwiches.

NOTE: I have found bread/rolls keep FOREVER in the fridge.

[Iggy aka IG]

I Iggy, self-professed long time SSer, do hereby admit I tossed 1/3 of a cucumber last night.  It was a bit mushy and past it's prime.

[marvholly]

NO waste week.
I deliberately ate/used the last of the clementines & spinach on Thur. I roasted the asparagus & brussel sprouts (LOVE me roasted veggies). I am also really liking the kale chips I made but find them to be a bit of a PITA to make. Might be because the kale I bought is SUPER curly. Need to see if there is some priced well but flatter.

[amishgal]

Ugh, I cleaned out the fridge last night and threw out more food than I ever have. However, last week all 5 of us had a stomach bug, we all got it within a 24 hour period, it was not pretty! So, for a few days all we did was drink liquids and eat a little soup and some popsicles. Finally we were all feeling better, but then DH and I went out of town from Friday - Monday and the girls just snacked or ate out so a LOT of produce went to waste. I did no cooking at all last week because of being sick then being out of town. I hated throwing out that food but at least it wasn't because I was lazy or anything. Bagged lettuce is about the only thing that gets tossed a lot here, we'll open a bag, have one salad and then a few days later it's gross.

I too have noticed our clementines are not as good, they seem fine but then are dry when peeled.

[amishgal]

Feb 27, 2014 19:31:59 GMT -5 motherto2 said:

I try to not through things away, but alas, I too find myself getting rid of things. I'm not sure why I do this, but I will have something that was really, really good, and I'll look at it every time I open the fridge, but won't finish it up. I have tried to figure it out, but the only thing I can come up with is like when you have decorative soaps and such, and you look at it, but won't use it. Weird, I know

I totally get that! I will buy some specialty item like a topping or fancy cheese spread or something, and then save it for "a special occasion" which doesn't come before the item goes bad or is outdated! I had a jar of fancy olive spread I got in NOLA and planned on making muffalattas, but never got around to it and should have just used it to make something else, but nope, after a few years (I know, I know) I finally had to toss it and it was at least $7.

[Iggy aka IG]

amishgal, so sorry to hear y'all were ill.    Hope DH and you were able to have a wonderful time out of town!



DH's teeth are sensitive to cold right now due to some dental work, and I had just bought him a bunch of grapes on sale.  I don't eat them due to carbs, so I tossed the 3 baggies full of grapes into the freezer for when his teeth recover.  I wanted to avoid throwing them out.

Other than that, we are doing well regarding waste.  He's out of town this week, so I froze half of the casserole I made Monday into individual portion sizes.  The rest I'll eat tonight and tomorrow night.  And I'm doing a good job at eating the cucumber this time. 

[Happy prose]

I had to throw away a bag of baby carrots, and I'm so pissed at myself. They were only $1, but I hate to throw away food. I went to make lentils this weekend, and my carrots looked aweful. They may have been in the fridge for a month.

[marvholly]

I was pretty good this week. Only had to toss less than a 8 oz mug of my broccoli stem soup today. had some spinach past its prime but sauteed it up in olive oil w/garlic & a bit of lemon and ate it yesterday.

[lazysundays]

We have gotten so much better at freezing leftovers if I know I cooked to much for just two. I still throw away a lot though. I have stopped stockpiling because I tend to throw away frostbiten food or expired cans or crackers.

Here is a trick I learned from microbiology lab that helps food in fridge from catching mold. When I open a jar of marinara or a package of shredded cheese. I take what I need and while closing it, run it over an open flame like a Petri dish. For jar, twirl the rim over the flame and put the inside of the jar lid over the flame. And for plastic do it super quick so it doesn't melt. Now I can keep it in the fridge for a week or more without finding mold balls in it by the time I get to it. I like knowing that there's not a microscopic mold ball there that I still can't see but I'm feeding to my family. Been doing this for years. When dh uses it with me (and doesn't sterilize) it goes bad. When I am the only one that used it, it's guaranteed to still look unopened and fresh a month later.

[Blonde Granny]

I think I need a Vitamix, that way I can toss in every green thing in the fridge that is limp and make myself a smoothie or something.  Apples usually end up looking suspect as do oranges etc.  I buy this stuff and then it sits in the fridge until I throw it out.

BTW, it's nice to have your back Ms. Lazy.

[marvholly]

This was NOT a good week. I had to toss several lbs of potatoes but this is semi-planned. I am not a particularly big potato eater but rather than pay 0.49/lb when I want one I buy the 8-10 lb bags on sale (1.79 this week). Since I no longer have anyone to share with I am buying only for myself. Therefore, I expect waste. It is still WAAAY cheaper to buy the large bag than individual potatoes even at 1 potato/week. Also, since onions are also on sale I will make potato pancakes sometime this month and those freeze pretty well. Also limits future waste factor.

[Blonde Granny]

I tossed some small potatoes yesterday too.....bought at The Fresh Market, which is more expensive. They didn't keep as long as others. I had to cut some parts of yellow/red/orange peppers yesterday too because I didn't get around to doing anything with them. I added some onion chunks to them and sautéed everything together. Leftovers are in the fridge, so will eat them for lunch and dinner today. My DH has some mushrooms <gag> in the fridge, he cooked some last night, but I know eventually they will be thrown out too. I just wish he'd quit buying these things.....he never cooks what he buys or wants to eat it. My grocery bill would be half of what it is if he'd just finish what he buys.

[Iggy aka IG]

We're doing well at avoiding waste lately.  Didn't get to a half can leftover diced tomatoes, so I labeled them and tossed 'em into the freezer.  DH is being a good sport about eating leftover side dishes, and I tell him so. 

[marvholly]

Pretty good week. All I had to toss was about 1 oz of fresh baby spinach that got yucky.

[Iggy aka IG]

Tossed half a leftover container of corn kernels, and 1/2 head cabbage last night.  In my defense, I was out of town for the majority of this week, and I neglected to tell DH to make sure he gets to it.

Has anyone frozen cabbage, and if so, what was the result? 

[Deleted]

Apr 18, 2014 11:04:47 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Tossed half a leftover container of corn kernels, and 1/2 head cabbage last night.  In my defense, I was out of town for the majority of this week, and I neglected to tell DH to make sure he gets to it.

Has anyone frozen cabbage, and if so, what was the result? 

I think cabbage turns to mush when you thaw it.....

[Iggy aka IG]

Apr 18, 2014 13:10:58 GMT -5 @singlemominmd said:

Apr 18, 2014 11:04:47 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Tossed half a leftover container of corn kernels, and 1/2 head cabbage last night.  In my defense, I was out of town for the majority of this week, and I neglected to tell DH to make sure he gets to it.

Has anyone frozen cabbage, and if so, what was the result? 

I think cabbage turns to mush when you thaw it.....

Thank you, singlem.