New year res: more whole food / less waste help pls!

[Anonymous]

You're on the right track, OP.

I'll give you an example of what I would do to make your current options a little better.

The first thing that jumped out at me was the meatballs. Meatballs are my kids' FAVORITE, and they let me know that they prefer my homemade ones over any frozen ones. They're easy to make, but time-consuming. So for me, this is a Sunday dinner. This is an excellent recipe. Make a lot. Plan on spaghetti with meatballs for Sunday night, and then meatball subs another night. Serve one dish with a salad; serve the other with broccoli however you like it.

Don't beat yourself up about not making everything from scratch. I'll make homemade spaghetti sauce SOMETIMES, especially in the summer, but I usually just buy the no-sugar-added sauce that has the best sale price.

Lighten up your idea of what your side dishes should be. Cut up some cucumbers and carrot sticks. Slice some strawberries.

I agree that frozen vegetables don't make good roasted vegetables. I'd use fresh ... just focus on one or two at a time.

Remember that sandwiches are dinner. Grilled cheese; sausage and pepper; paninis. All a fine meal. Stick a fruit or veggie on the side.

[Anonymous]

Oops, the recipe didn't attach. Here you go:

https://fountainavenuekitchen.com/jens-incredible-baked-meatballs/

[Anonymous]

For me, planning is key. I like to sit down on Saturday or Sunday and make a dinner plan for the week, then shop to that. I have to be realistic about:
- Which nights we need really quick dinners to accommodate activities
- Which nights I'll be exhausted from an extra long day at work
- I get less ambitious as the week wears on

So for me, a dinner plan might look something like:
Monday: Roast chicken (cut into pieces so it roasts faster, but I'll put twice as much chicken on the tray as we'll need for that dinner), broccoli (roasts on another tray at the same time as the chicken), brown rice in the instant pot (also making twice as much as needed).
After dinner, strip the rest of the chicken meat off the bones and save it for later in the week. Make stock from bones if extra ambitious.

Tuesday: salmon filets in the air fryer, salad, steamed new potatoes with butter and dill
(Sports night, this all cooks really quickly)

Wednesday: fajitas - grill or pan-sear skirt steak, let it rest while cooking onion and bell pepper strips in the and pan. Heat up a can of black beans. Serve with tortillas or on a bed of lettuce.

Thursday (another sports night): stir fry ground pork with frozen veggies, heat up the leftover rice from Monday

Friday: chicken soup with veggies and either noodles or rice, using the leftover chicken. Add a can of white beans.
Or maybe some kind of chicken-lentil stew.

[Anonymous]

Lots of good suggestions on here except for the meal delivery service ones. It's 2025. These are ridiculously wasteful services and everyone knows they are desperate for new subscribers. Must be their PR people on here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're on the right track, OP.

I'll give you an example of what I would do to make your current options a little better.

The first thing that jumped out at me was the meatballs. Meatballs are my kids' FAVORITE, and they let me know that they prefer my homemade ones over any frozen ones. They're easy to make, but time-consuming. So for me, this is a Sunday dinner. This is an excellent recipe. Make a lot. Plan on spaghetti with meatballs for Sunday night, and then meatball subs another night. Serve one dish with a salad; serve the other with broccoli however you like it.

Don't beat yourself up about not making everything from scratch. I'll make homemade spaghetti sauce SOMETIMES, especially in the summer, but I usually just buy the no-sugar-added sauce that has the best sale price.

Lighten up your idea of what your side dishes should be. Cut up some cucumbers and carrot sticks. Slice some strawberries.

I agree that frozen vegetables don't make good roasted vegetables. I'd use fresh ... just focus on one or two at a time.

Remember that sandwiches are dinner. Grilled cheese; sausage and pepper; paninis. All a fine meal. Stick a fruit or veggie on the side.

Yes to making your own meatballs. But instead of serving them up all week, make a bunch and freeze them in ziplock bags. Also sub some or all turkey.

[Anonymous]

OP, your current cooking doesn't look that bad. Good for you!

The frozen veg suggestions on here is spot on. Use frozen for soups, stews, stir fry, quiche, or just sides.

For roasting vegetables, such as cauliflower, squashes, brussel sprouts, etc., always roast up a massive amount (and throw in some onion every time) with some olive oil and salt. Then you can freeze the roasted vegetables and grab them whenever you need. I have some roasted spaghetti squash in my freezer right now. Warmed and added to some sauce and cheese is a very quick meal.

[Anonymous]

I think this is an instance where you take things one step at a time. Start figuring out whose recipes you like and find easy to follow and that uses ingredients your family will actually enjoy and eat. I like Once Upon a Chef and Damn Delicious best. Start by adding 2 new recipes a month. With 5 people eating, I'd double every recipe.

For food waste, I'd say start by being better about freezing leftovers unless they actually get eaten. I bought "soupercubes" this year and have found them really helpful in organizing frozen leftovers. Do you have a second freezer?

For fresh produce, try to only buy what you know is actually going to get eaten. You can't buy this in bulk. I also started growing herbs in an aerogarden so I can trim off exactly what I need rather than buying an enormous bunch of cilantro and using 5 stems of it.

You have to think about what will actually freeze/reheat vs. what will get eaten day of and make sure you're making the right amount of food for each situation. This is hard with 5 people, easier with 1 or 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of good suggestions on here except for the meal delivery service ones. It's 2025. These are ridiculously wasteful services and everyone knows they are desperate for new subscribers. Must be their PR people on here.

Agree. These were a terrible scam.