I finally got around to cleaning out the fridge - a thorough cleaning - taking everything out and washing inside.
I was amazed at what I had - or didn't have in my fridge.
I have 6 jars of pickles, 8 salad dressings, 6 bottles of barbecue sauce, 3 jars of mayo, 3 jars of salsa, lots of condiments (ketchup, mustard etc), sauces.
What is missing? FOOD! with the exception of some milk, cheese, and eggs I have no food that can be eaten on its own. I don't even eat pickles very much.
Maybe I have uncovered a reason that I am always looking through the cupboard for something to eat. I have no fresh food available.
I am vowing to stop wasting my money on things that are not considered food.
right bottom drawer - red/green peppers, cucumber
left bottom drawer - regular/baby carrots, celery
Because there's a brined turkey 'resting' on the top shelf, everything else is moved around (normally I could tell you which shelf things were on). In the rest of the fridge is:
And then the usual collection of mustards, ketchup, relish, sauces that are almost never used (but can't bring myself to throw out), and a couple of open bottles of wine on the door. There's probably more than I've listed, but that's pretty close. Except for the fruits/veggies most of my meals come out of the freezer in the garage. It's kind of scary how much stuff is in there.
1st shelf:
Milk: Whole (for dh)
Milk: 1% (for me)
Clear2O water filter pitcher
Salsa
Orange Juice
Cream 1 qt (gotta have it in my eggs, and also for christmas mashed potatoes)
Cream 1 pt (the other is almost gone, notice the size difference)
Half&Half 1 pt (dh loves italian cream sodas)
homemade seltzer water
home-juiced raspberry&orange juice
two bottles of amazing chardonnay, sadly pretty much only used for cooking
re-used 64oz & 24oz water bottles
2nd Shelf:
Miso paste
homemade no-calorie sweetener
whole wheat tortillas
whole foods sweet wheat bread (which strangely has more fiber and less sugar than the whole foods multigrain...)
deli roast beef
a hot dog that needs to be thrown out
lemon lowfat yoghurt
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
couscous leftovers
pre-cooked sausage
leftover taco meat & beans
usually there're eggs here, but i used them to make cake balls
3rd shelf:
6 egg yolks (well, i only used the whites of the eggs to make cake, these're going to spritzer cookies for new years.)
a thawing turkey
pickles
about 10 odd nofat yogurts
strawberry yoghurt
original style plain full-fat yoghurt (only used for indian food)
left drawer:
an english cucumber
half a celery bunch
right drawer:
half a red onion
three sweet peaches
half a bunch of grapes
four navel oranges
counter:
5 potatoes
3 smallish yellow onions
Almost all my meat is bought from costco, so i break it down the day i get it and freeze it for the month. Also, a great deal of my vegetables are frozen so they last longer.
I love hearing my husband tell me there's no food in the house.
I really need to get some fruits and veggies to make eating healthy possible. I think I will trying planning a weekly menu so I know what I need to buy for the week rather than guessing and eating just meat and potatoes because I have no veggies in the house.
I really need to get some fruits and veggies to make eating healthy possible. I think I will trying planning a weekly menu so I know what I need to buy for the week rather than guessing and eating just meat and potatoes because I have no veggies in the house.
I think planning a weekly menu is the only way to go. You most definitely need to have the right "equipment" in the house in order for this to work. Healthy eating does not happen by chance. It needs to be planned out ahead of time. No leaving your food intake up in the air. It's just too important. Why make a difficult thing harder but not properly preparing for it?
Use your freezer as well. Along with those fruits and veggies, don't forget some turkey and chicken breast and fish. Soy products, such as veggie burgers and the such.
A well stocked pantry is important too. Canned beans and tomatoes. Chicken broth. Different spices. Non-stick cooking spray.
My hubby and I are evening snackers so I have to keep some healthy lower cal snacks in the fridge and cupboard. I love the plain non fat yogurt with blueberries and strawberries (I buy these frozen and thaw them in the microwave before adding to the yogurt) with a little sweetener. Thin triscuits are really good with laughing cow cheese. I keep these on hand all the time.
Then in general on the shelves:
a bunch of leftovers that need to be cleaned out, including stuff from Christmas
condiments and bottles of stuff - apple sauce, pickles, a can of black olives, picante sauce
eggs
5 containers of Fage yogurt
2 large pitchers of turkey stock
butter
peanut butter
whole grain bread
... a few other things I'm sure. But that's what I can remember off the top of my head.
Leftover ham rind/fat that my husband insists on keeping and eating (ew)
Leftover whole wheat spaghetti in sauce
Leftover prime rib fat chunks from 6 days ago that my husband insists on keeping so he can fry them like bacon and eat them (ew)
Beets with greens, romaine, peppers, onion, celery, carrots, apples, fresh pineapple chunks
nonfat milk (mine), 2% milk (child's), v8 veg/fruit blend (child's)
leftover waldorf salad, broccoli salad, and cranberry salad
Big pot of broccoli soup husband made with a ton of heavy cream and cheese in it so I am not eating it
2% cheddar, laughing cow light, light cream cheese, 3 kinds of regular cheddar, swiss, nacho sauce (husband's), light sour cream, salsa, various dips (husband's), hummus
sugar free jellos/puddings and reddi whip
tons of salad dressings and light condiments, bacon bits
Top shelf, full fat yogurt cups, full fat banana yogurt with added bacterial cultures for Livy (she's on antibiotics) skim milk, butter, laughing cow wedges (omg just finally tried them and SO FREAKING GOOD!) pickles, eggs, left over ww pasta and sauce, sour cream
Middle shelf: apples, pears, satsuma's, grapes, kiwi, egg nog (christmas) 4 litres of pop (christmas) leftover turkey, leftover ham, 2 leftover veggie trays (using in soup and stirfries this week)
bottom shelf: left over cheddar and havarti, romaine, mushrooms, cucumber, grape tomato's, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans
drawers: carrots, celery, leftover dip, pack of pizza meats
door: various condiments, salsa, hot sauce etc.
what's in your fridge?
