First, make a plan. The first part of that plan is doing an inventory of the foods you have in your refrigerator. Anything that looks like a science experiment should be thrown away. Any bottled or packaged foods should be used before their expiration date. Follow the label information.
Oh, and while you’re at it, READ those labels and see what’s really in the items you purchased. As the saying goes, if you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t be consuming it in your food. We used to trust our food systems – now, you’d better pay damned good attention!
I trust you to know what’s right – that is why you are here. We just get so overwhelmed and foods that don’t get used, often get pushed to the back of the refrigerator and we forget about them. (Hey, have you ever cleaned out a shelf looking for something and found something that can’t be identified? It’s quite shocking.)
Next, check your available effort. Make sure that the foods you’re purchasing make sense for the time you have allotted for consuming it. That may mean you go to the market twice a week instead of once a week. That also means creating a list based on the menu you have in mind prepare.
For example, you’re having a chicken dish with tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and celery (easy recipe below) with a brown (yes, brown) rice. If you’re using the whole container of chicken, then you’re good. If, however, you’re only using half the chicken, cook the entire package and set aside the pieces you’re not using in this recipe for another meal – maybe a salad for lunch or added to the rice and a few other spices, aromatics for a separate dish. Maybe you can take some of the celery and a few carrots and use them with a light dip for a good snack.
The point is, making sure you can use all your ingredients throughout the week will reduce any waste and improve your ability to cook less, but healthier, throughout the week.
If you have kids and they love stopping at their favorite fast-food place for a burger and fries – and quite honestly, after a long day’s work you might actually convince yourself it’s a good idea and go along. But if you buy a pound of ground beef or turkey and a package of buns with a frozen bag of fries, you can fix that meal in as little as 20 minutes! Toss in some steamed broccoli or a side salad, let the kids help with topping their buns with pickles, onions, ketchup (and why are there two spellings for catsup?) and mustard and let the family gets involved.
Here’s an idea: when you buy ground meat, flatten it out between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap, roll it out with a rolling pin or even a kitchen drinking glass, and cut burgers into rounds, freeze them (and the buns) and pull them out when you’re ready to have that fast meal.
Next, as you’ve no doubt heard countless times, shop the perimeter of the market FIRST. That means proteins (meats and fish), fresh produce and dairy. Then, as needed, you can shop the aisles where some of the tempting food lives.
Want more tips for how to preserve the food once you get it home? Make sure you’re signed up to get updates as we add new information, we’ll be sure to let you know.
Happy Shopping!