Food Going Bad

[Anonymous]

Every week I make a menu, usually four meals. We eat lefts overs two meals and eat out one night. They thing is due to schedule changes and finiky tastes I end up having to not make a dish or make something I didn't plan for. I end up having to throw out veggies or freeze meat. How do you keep the right amount of food in the house so that you aren't over loaded and throwing stuff out that's gone bad but you have enough food so that you can cook on a whim?

[Anonymous]

One word: freezer

[Anonymous]

I get new fruits and veggies every two days or so. Things like broccoli and cauliflower refrigerate well and can be pulled out 3 or 4 days later. Carrots last even longer than that. I have bags of frozen veggies on hand all the time, too. The freezer is my friend and we have a variety of different frozen meats to pull from if we want. So grilled chicken and a steamed veggie are always on hand in a pinch. Many meals you can freeze after cooking and pull them out much later for a leftover. I do that with spaghetti (just freeze the sauce on top of the noodles), and whole wheat pitz pizzas, and of course soups, stews, and chili.

[Anonymous]

I still haven't mastered it, but I am getting closer. I plan the weeks meals out - and I resist making something "extra". I plan the meal so that there will be something my son will eat (if not the main meal, rice or bread and fruit).

I also now try to plan one meal a week (towards the end of the week) that is from the freezer (frozen chicken breasts). That way if there are a ton of leftovers, I forgo making something new and we have leftovers one night. Of course, this is harder to do if you have leftovers because no one liked them. Then I do my best to eat them for lunch. Funny how having a kid has led me to give up being a picky eater : )

[Anonymous]

Those "green" bags they have advertised on infomercials really do work. If your lettuce/veggies are really dry put them in thee bag and twist it shut. My lettuce lasts two weeks longer. Love them.

[Anonymous]

The longer unfrozen veggies are kept the more nutrients they lose. Something I have found that helps is eating tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, etc. raw as snacks if I don't have the time to cook them.