[AnnieDrews]

Saw this online this morning. Some good ideas.

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_cons...less-food.html

Anyone else have any tips they can share??

[beerab]

We used to waste so much food and then one day I was like okay this is not right- we don't have money to throw away. So we started purchasing smaller amounts of food so that we didn't have as much to toss, and we also started writing lists as well. They really do help. We buy in bulk when we can but overall we've found we'd rather go to the store and pick up an item we need rather than throw it away because we bought too much. We used to buy a gallon week and throw half of it out- then we started buying half gallons- sure it only saves a little bit but at least we aren't throwing out so much food.

[Karen925]

Not so much because of spoilage as because of shorting the prep time, I am trying freezing my "staple" veggies that replace my starches- spaghetti squash for pasta, butternut squash for potatoes, cauliflower for rice in 2 meal servings size.

I love the different ideas of eating well

[losermom]

Planning, planning and then planning some more. I try to plan, on the weekend, a loose dinner plan for the week based on what I have in the freezer (I have a med sized deep freezer). I only plan for about 4 dinners per week. The rest of the time we will eat leftovers. Wednesday night we usually eat at church prior to Faith Formation so that night is always taken care of. On the weekends I will sometimes do some bulk cooking. Last week I made 3 lbs of sloppy joes. I put 1/2 of it in the freezer for later and DS15 ate most of the rest over the course of a couple of days. I also made a huge pot of White Turkey Chili (kind of spicy which DH & DS are not so fond of) and put individual servings in the freezer for work lunches. I also try to cook up/stirfry older veggies at least once a week. I add in the going bad spinach, zucchini and peppers if we have any. I have a real fondness for stirfried cabbage which is awesome in a wrap for lunch.

Annie, thanks for the link. I hadn't thought to freeze chopped onions & veggies. I've been putting them in the fridge and forgetting about them. It never occurred to me to freeze coffee but I may not do that because it will tempt me to make chocolate cake or brownie. But I think I'll try the veggie ends and chicken innerds. Those would be easy to throw in the crockpot to make stock.

[krampus]

I know this isn't an option for a lot of people who cook for others, but for those who are single/live alone, I recommend doing your grocery shopping as part of your daily routine. I can't remember the last time I had to toss food out because it spoiled before I could use it.

There are some produce stands and little food stores on my way home from work, so I try and buy just a couple days' worth of fruit and veggies.

[katy trail]

i seem to be wasting potatoes every time i buy them. how do i store them? how can they be protected from pests and still not get moldy? if the suggestion is to store in a garage. i don't have one. i live in an apt.

[AnnieDrews]

Katy-The best way to store potatoes is in a dark, dry place. Store them unwashed and wash as you use them. I keep a plastic basket in a bottom cabinet and keep my potatoes and onions and garlic there. Just remember to check them often or you may be surprised with a science experiment going on under there...