Simple Saturdays: Beating

...the expiration date.


I hate throwing away food. When I pour out a cartoon of milk, I see dimes go down the drain. When I have to toss produce into the trash, I see dollar bills stack up.

I have just recently started to get the hang of cooking while tending to the little one at the same time. Its a little trick I call...a teething feeder. Similar to this! But when there was less cooking there was more going to the dumpster because I wasn't paying attention to what was going on in my pantry and refrigerator.

Side note: I have to give a rave review on the teething feeder because Gage absolutely loves it. I've put frozen, peeled muscadines and scuppernongs in it (the holes are so small that the seeds cannot get through it) and I've put some of his frozen cubes of food in the teether. He's happy, gets a snack, and I get supper going!








Aside from trashing money, I don't like to throw away food because there are people who are going without. It really is a privilege to have so much food that we can throw away as much as we do, but it's definitely not prudent to do so.

The chances are, if you're reading this, you have access to internet and internet can be a wonderful thing! It took me a while before I realized that it serves for much more than just social networking and now I also know that it can be a helping hand with buying less groceries. It's as simple as spotting the next thing that is going to go bad and looking up recipes that include it.

My latest victim?

We had ham leftover from one night's supper and since we don't eat ham often, I had no clue what to do with the rest. I googled "ham recipes" and, lo and behold, there were "leftover ham recipes". Perfect! I found a ham casserole recipe that not only included everything I had on hand (or could easily tweak or leave out what I didn't), but I also was able to use up other foods, like veggies, that were trying to go bad.

I've realized that I don't need to buy anything for just one recipe unless that recipe will use all of it. I bought celery for Chinese lo mein, used one or two stalks, and had to trash the rest.

*heart break*

So next time, I'll either omit the ingredient altogether or have enough recipes that same week to use it all.

Daily living and simple sorting:

Tackle your fridge with a cleaning spree, check your pantry thoroughly, and start fresh! I've had to throw a few things away just because of simply missing the print that said, "Refrigerate after opening"...oops. I like to keep a shelf specifically for leftovers and when I store the rest, I put the tall things in the back and shorter in the front. This way, everything is visible and nothing is is getting hidden and you won't discover that new specimen in the back corner....that used to be a grape.

Do you have a simple method that you use to keep your foods from expiring before eaten?

 

 

From my heart to yours:

My Simple Saturday features have been about less clothes/general material possessions, using more re-usable things, and not letting food go to waste. These things aren't that big of a deal, but when I get these things accomplished and stop playing "catch up" in my house all of the time, my energy can go to being a wife, mom, and, most importantly, a faithful servant for Christ. God has given me the opportunity to bear the name of being His follower and I have been careless with it. My heart aches when I think of how I have let stress dictate my attitude, actions, and the words that I speak.
THAT'S why I find it so important to get my life simplified.  You may be further ahead of me in this race, but this is where I am on the track. Thank you for reading!