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I'm another one who shops every few days only for what I want or need. I've discovered there's no use in "stocking up" as I'll end up not using it before it goes bad. I always say if there was some huge disaster and the grocery stores all closed I'd be one of the first to starve!
That said, I always have cereal on hand, cheese slices, crackers and bread. If I don't feel like fixing a "real dinner" (and I hardly ever do) I still have something to eat.
Bread taken from the freezer to the toaster actually toasts quite well.
The rest is trial and error for the most part.
Instead of buying packaged lunch meat go to the meat counter and have them give you 4 slices, which for me is enough for 2 sandwiches which is lunch 2 days in a row.
Large bags of frozen vegetables will keep for a while just open them, take out what you need, close it back up.
The way I close the bag back up is, I cut with scissors across the top of the bag, take out what I need, then I take the part of the bag I cut off and use it as a tie. It ties quickly, is easy to untie the next time and it is also tight.
If you purchase "family size" meats, separate them into individual servings or cook them when you get home then freeze. That way all you have to do is heat the serving up in the microwave or oven.
Make soup regularly. Our ritual has always been to search the fridge at soup-making time, and add the odds and ends. When we were young, we'd frequently put too much money into the kids' trust funds, or over-invest in real estate. So, there were many months when we were rolling pennies to buy food. Every calorie and every nutrient counted. Making small pots of soup, several times a week, should solve your leftovers problem, if searching the fridge is part of the process.
Thanks. A few weeks ago I happened to see Rachael Ray with three famous chefs on her show. One did show this technique. I forgot about it but will go back to see if I can find the show on DVR or Internet. I am not sure about how far to go with left overs. Most of the time, when I catch up to them they are too old. So maybe the idea is to use the leftovers as soon as they are a few days old and probably not going to be eaten. Tonight I am thinking of opening a can of Progresso, so I like soup sometimes.
I did something for a friend who had been in a terrible car accident.
I used to have a food saver vacuum sealing machine.
I cooked numerous dishes and put individual servings in a food saver bag, sealed them then tossed them in the freezer.
When she was hungry all she had to do was take one of those bags and toss it into a pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes depending on what she was having.
She had one serving of whatever she wanted at that moment, there was little clean up, she did not have to cook and it kept her fed several meals a day for 3 months.
Bread taken from the freezer to the toaster actually toasts quite well.
The rest is trial and error for the most part.
Instead of buying packaged lunch meat go to the meat counter and have them give you 4 slices, which for me is enough for 2 sandwiches which is lunch 2 days in a row.
Large bags of frozen vegetables will keep for a while just open them, take out what you need, close it back up.
The way I close the bag back up is, I cut with scissors across the top of the bag, take out what I need, then I take the part of the bag I cut off and use it as a tie. It ties quickly, is easy to untie the next time and it is also tight.
If you purchase "family size" meats, separate them into individual servings or cook them when you get home then freeze. That way all you have to do is heat the serving up in the microwave or oven.
Hi and thanks, I will have to do the deli counter thing. Like it or not, I just can't get through a package of lunch meats before some spoils and, a long time ago, did order about a quarter pound of meat at a time. The bread never will get used quick enough if it is outside the fridge, although sometimes I think it gets stale in there too. I've done the freezing in portions and buy bags of veggies things, although even that has ended up with some things that I just don't know if I should eat or not. The refrigerator freezer seems to do a good job, but on the side of caution, I probably throw good things away. Again, I probably bought too much.
Thanks again.
I don't have any food waste. I'm a one person household. I try not to cook or buy too much that will spoil. If I buy something that I know will spoil before I can eat it, I freeze it. And in individual servings. I buy fresh fruit a couple of times a week and keep it on a plate visible to me so I eat it before it has a chance to spoil. Or it gets cut up and put in a refrigerator container. I read that 40% of all food purchased in the US is wasted/thrown out. I do not waste even a morsel. Any scraps go out to the stray animals. I date everything that I buy and I keep a lot of stuff in the frig just in case. No waste here! And let me tell you a true story that has made me this way: my 3rd husband was born and grew up overseas during the war and said the USA would drop burlap bags of food down to them. The people would all rush to get the bags, sometimes they would score one. His mother even made clothing from the bags. His Dad was killed in the war, his mother left with 3 children. Every day some unknown person would leave a small bag of rice on their doorstep. This is a man who wouldn't even waste an ice cube that fell in the sink. He didn't even know what a garbage disposal is! Yep, learned a lot from him as to how wasteful we are here. He remarked that everything is so plentiful in the USA!
So shop more often instead of buying large quantities of perishables.
Hi and thanks, Your ideas and story is part of why I want to get this problem straightened out. Many people on this forum will remember the childhood admonishment from their parents to, "Eat all your food. Think of the poor starving people in Europe." Also, I have seen the statistic about wasting food in the U.S. Part is that we also have been scared enough to be very cautious about what we eat. That accounts for me not eating some food that might be OK, but not not. Definitely, I have to cut down what I buy or make sure most can be frozen or used up successfully when it is not in the freezer.
I'm another one who shops every few days only for what I want or need. I've discovered there's no use in "stocking up" as I'll end up not using it before it goes bad. I always say if there was some huge disaster and the grocery stores all closed I'd be one of the first to starve!
That said, I always have cereal on hand, cheese slices, crackers and bread. If I don't feel like fixing a "real dinner" (and I hardly ever do) I still have something to eat.
Hi, I think you are saying what is so true for many of us and that we don't want to face. I'll probably keep a little more than you, but am the type that once thought it might be a good idea to go on Amazon.com and buy huge supplies of survival meals. JUST IN CASE Fortunately, I did not do that. I just want things around for something good and not have to throw out food for which I am paying plenty.
I did something for a friend who had been in a terrible car accident.
I used to have a food saver vacuum sealing machine.
I cooked numerous dishes and put individual servings in a food saver bag, sealed them then tossed them in the freezer.
When she was hungry all she had to do was take one of those bags and toss it into a pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes depending on what she was having.
She had one serving of whatever she wanted at that moment, there was little clean up, she did not have to cook and it kept her fed several meals a day for 3 months.
Thanks. I will have to think this through. For my situation it probably would be more work than I have to do. Sometimes, I have put hamburgers in separate bags and the rolls in others. Also, will divide up most frozen meats into their portions, such as a two pack of chicken breast into two separates. The trick for me, is to only buy what I will eat fairly soon, even if frozen.
I'm a bread junkie and I love fresh-out-of-the oven baguettes and sourdough.
Bread out of the freezer has a weird taste to me.
In any case, nothing gets wasted. Birds and critters don't mind stale bread.
Hi and thanks. I am with you, although I do freeze breads, especially when I just know that I cannot possibly eat everything. Once in awhile I will try to leave things out, but nowadays it is not working for me. Maybe I will just have to have a much bigger sandwich on just out of the oven French bread! (That's making me hungry just thinking about it) Unfortunately, I moved from a home with a nice big, green fenced backyard to a desert house with a swimming pool. If I put anything out there I will probably have rats coming for dinner. I can't even trust the birds and the parks here have signs to NOT feed the wildlife. Too bad because I am sure that some food in my old backyard never hurt any animals. Kept me happy too, just watching them, even if the squirrels tried to get everything.
Hi, I have read all the responses to my question, at least once and expect to read them again. Some I replied to individually, but there seem to be too many for me to be sure of doing that for the rest.
While most might seem like common sense to some people, they helped me by reminding me about something that I used to do or gave me some new ideas.
Right now, my situation is complicated by having real problems with sleeping - either not enough or way too much. That ends up ruining my meal times, but straightening out the meal times is a prerequisite to fixing the weird sleep patterns. Throw in depression and not particularly liking where I live and especially not liking living alone, I have a lot to tidy up right now.
Anyway, the latter stuff, is for another thread someday. Right now I want to work on the food.
Thanks again.
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Soup Making
Getting Real
Fortunately, I did not do that. I just want things around for something good and not have to throw out food for which I am paying plenty.
Good ideas
Unfortunately, I moved from a home with a nice big, green fenced backyard to a desert house with a swimming pool. If I put anything out there I will probably have rats coming for dinner. I can't even trust the birds and the parks here have signs to NOT feed the wildlife. Too bad because I am sure that some food in my old backyard never hurt any animals. Kept me happy too, just watching them, even if the squirrels tried to get everything. 
Thanks for all the Advice
