Don’t go out to eat tonight. Instead get a free meal for your family and eliminate waste. It is Fridge Friday!
One of the ways that we keep the grocery bill down is to make sure that we use all of our resources and eliminate as much of the food waste as possible. While I might have turned my nose up at leftovers back when I was single, with a growing family that needs to be fed, things are different. Every bit of food counts.
We happen to have one of those rather large refrigerators that could probably hide Jimmy Hoffa. So, some food items tend to get lost in there. Having a fridge Friday where everything is evaluated helps dig out those lost items and turn them into meals as well as help with planning the grocery list for the following week. If the salad dressing went bad then you know you’ll have to put a new bottle on the list.
Take a look at everything in your fridge (now is the time to do a quick wipe down to keep things clean in there as well). Figure out what is expiring soon and plan to use those items. Obviously toss anything that is in danger of becoming a science experiment.
If you find meals or ingredients that you won’t get to eat before their time is up, see if you can freeze them instead. This way, you’ll have the components of a free meal in the weeks ahead on those busy nights and won’t waste anything.
You can also get pretty creative with food items. For example, if you have some left over ricotta cheese from a recent lasagna, use the ricotta to make a rich, flavorful bread.
Many leftovers can be wrapped in soft tortillas or made into hot pocket for lunch with a little pizza dough. Or, you can simply have a buffet night where all of the leftovers are heated up, and you family members make up their own plates.
Have a fridge Friday at least once a month if not every week, and you’ll soon see less grocery waste in your home.