Meal Planning: Create a Game Plan Before Food Goes Bad
It’s inevitable that at some point we all tend to buy too much food and waste some of it, throwing away the “good stuff,” usually fruits and vegetables. Sometimes we chalk it up to poor planning (or lack of a plan) or we anticipate more people coming over and then plans change. Whatever, the case, it’s our hard earned money that we’re throwing away, not to mention feelings of guilt when we have waste.
That’s why I always like to begin with the end in mind and have a back up plan for how I’ll use up the food I’ve bought. The goal in our house is always to have an empty refrigerator at week’s end. Most weeks we do really well. Occasionally, we have a week where we don’t get to things and they end up being less than fresh.
Case in point, last week I bought too many apples. In a typical week, we eat apples as a snack and also juice them. I like to whip up healthy green juices that contain an array of veggies like kale, celery and cucumbers as well as an apple. But sometimes we don’t get to the juicing. So when I have apples that start getting soft (and frankly less than appetizing), I like to make applesauce out of them.
True to form, last night I peeled about five apples, chopped them up and put them on the stove to simmer with a little water. I cooked them down, added a little cinnamon, nutmeg and agave nectar, and just like that we had some tasty apple sauce. We used up the food because we had a simple plan in place and didn’t end up wasting them.
What’s your game plan to avoid food waste? What strategies do you have up your sleeve to ensure that healthy food ends up in your stomach and not the trash?
Want more ideas for how to avoid food waste and eat the healthiest of foods? Download my free 26-minute audio, “4 Simple Steps to Meal Planning Success.”
Filed under: Food Shopping, Kitchen Tips, Meal Planning
I do something similar with apples – I make a healthy apple cobbler out of them, which gives us a tasty and nutritious snack.
Your apple cobbler sounds great Trish. Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
I cut & wash up all my veggies and put them in easy storage so I can grab as snacks. I also throw fruits the meat and vegetables while cooking to add an extra fuit exchange to my meal.
Thanks for the applesauce suggestion- I have a bag of green apples that I need to do something with.
I like your idea about getting the extra serving of fruit in — simple and practical. Thanks for sharing!
Paula,
Thanks for adding to the conversation. I think we can all learn so much from each other when it comes to getting inspired to take better care of ourselves.
I certainly know I’m on a journey of consistent and self-care, always working on continuous improvement!
Last week I bought a package of apples and now I found several apples are getting bad. I suppose your ideas of whipping up juices and making apple sauce are very practical. Thank you.