Science experiments
I live alone and am having trouble keeping up with leftovers. Every few months I start wondering where all my plastic containers are, and then I do a survey of the fridge and pull out half a dozen long-forgotten meals, some of which are not even recognizable anymore. Gross, and also sad, though truthfully, I often lose interest in leftovers after a couple of meals' worth. Anyone have any good suggestions for preventing this? My freezer is always jammed, so freezing portions doesn't help (and they would get forgotten as well).
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12 Comments:
make less food.
sailordave at 7:53PM on 11/22/08
I also just cook for myself most of the time. After throwing away food too many times, I have just admitted to myself that I really don't care for leftovers (with few exceptions). Smaller portions are essential. A bulk buy is not a bargain if you throw out half of it later. Only cook what you will eat that night w/ enough for lunch the next day. If you haven't eaten it in 3 days, toss it. Same goes for the freezer(I put items in ziplocs and write what it is and the date on each one). This means I shop more frequently, but end up purchasing fresher foods and less processed items. If you love casseroles or other big batch items, see if you have a friend or neighbor who you can "split" them with. Be honest with yourself about your eating habits and you can avoid leftover alien fridge invasions.
StripeyChef at 7:58PM on 11/22/08
Seconding both sailordave and Stripey.
Also, consider keeping a list on the fridge door that lists the contents, even roughly (milk eggs butter Monday's scampi 1/2 onion butternut squash). When you take something out, cross it off the list. When you put something in, add it. I'd suggest a dry-erase for this. An added benefit of this is when you're looking for something to eat, you don't have to stand there with the fridge door open. It also makes it easier to put together a shopping list.
nightowl at 10:37PM on 11/22/08
Instead of freezing prepared meals, freeze main ingredients. That was instead of having beef chili three nights in a row, you can have chili, stroganoff, and burgers.
michichan at 11:02PM on 11/22/08
I have had to deal with this myself. I solve some of the problem by making smaller portions when I can. I also try to make things that I can take for lunch. I freeze certain full dishes, but a lot more partial dishes. (meatballs, rice and so on.) Also, if you're freezing things, don't forget to portion it out into single servings before it's frozen- plastic wrap works great for that. (don't forget this for meat especially!)
I'm actually debating getting a small chest freezer for the purpose of buying in larger quantities and repackaging in smaller sizes. I plan to keep a list of what is in the freezer if I do do that.
cmtigger at 11:40PM on 11/22/08
Very helpful suggestions. It hadn't even occurred to me to make less! typically things that get tossed are those made from a recipe or, for example, a whole can of chickpeas' worth of hummus. I also like the idea of giving stuff away.
emilydev at 6:29AM on 11/23/08
I second splitting food with friends or neighbours - especially other singles. That way, you can try new dishes that the other person makes. I had a cookbook years ago that was nothing but recipes for one or two - I remember being amazed at the small portions of each ingredient (1/4 pound of beef for example, half an onion - you get the idea). That might be a good investment!
Maureen at 10:06AM on 11/23/08
Oh another idea is reinventing left overs - rather than simply serving the same chili again, try making into enchiladas. Every once in a while, have a baked potato bar night - great way to use up cooked brocolli, a bit of cheese, chili, mushrooms, etc. Whatever you would like on a hot potato. Left over potatoes and sweet potatoes make great biscuits.... you get the idea.....
Maureen at 10:08AM on 11/23/08
I cook for one and have to watch my pennies. I really hate wasting food. I get family size packages of meat and then portion into single size servings, wrap well and freeze. I actually plan for leftovers when I make something like pot roast or turkey breast, or spaghetti sauce. If I know I won't eat it all, it gets frozen. Many times, I'm not able or don't feel like cooking and I'm so happy that I have something really good ready to be heated with no mess or bother. My mother was a fabulous gourmet cook. After she died and we were cleaning out the house, I can't tell you how many of her neighbors stopped by to share a story about how she would gift them with these incredible dinners, something they would never even think to make for themselves. She hated cooking for one and also froze single serving portions of her gourmet leftovers for herself.
PerkyMac at 5:21PM on 11/23/08
Emilydev,
One thing that you can do is plan your weekly menus.
Let's say that you want to have roast chicken for dinner tonight. You can buy a cut up roaster and freeze all but what you are going to eat tonight seperately so that you can pull pieces out and thaw/cook them as you want them. OR, you can roast the whole chicken tonight, then for tomorrow's lunch make chicken salad. And the following night's dinner, take some of the roasted chicken, and dress it with some tomato sauce and cheese to make chicken parm. And the next night make soup with the rest, get the idea?
There are so many things that you can do with a single ingredient as far as extending your budget and not being bored with leftovers. And yes, it is by far easier to talk about then to put into practice. I am the only one in my house that seems to eat leftovers, so I make less for each meal.
Alan
aholsber at 9:36AM on 11/24/08
@sailordave ~ How did you get so smart? ;-)
izatryt at 10:19AM on 11/24/08
I too live alone and only recently started cooking again after having not done it for 6 years. After the first month, I discovered that I needed to plan my menus more carefully to avoid waste. Once or twice a week I sit down and roughly plan my meals for the week. I don't get incredibly creative with my leftovers, but l can usually get through them without too much trouble in a couple simple dishes that don't leave me hating leftovers.
Last weekend I made a pasta/veggie dish that had too much garlic into a fabulous soup by combining it with a leftover mexican chicken and corn dish. I sometimes make "Leftover pizza" with pitas or french bread as the base since that's what I usually have on hand. Other things that I make out of leftover ingredients: pastas (I always freeze individual portions of sauce when I make it then add things to it when reheating), fried rice, lo-mein dishes, omelettes and I'm going to try frittatas one of these days. I also keep tortillas on hand because I find that lots of the leftovers I have can be made into a burrito-type wrap with a little rice or tossed with some greens and made into a sandwich-style wrap or quesadilla.
I don't tend to make many things that aren't relatively deconstructed to begin with which makes it easier to mix and match my foods. (Remember Garanimals? That's what I feel like when I'm planning...I list the foods I have/will have at the bottom of the page and plan the meals that I can make on the top of the page.) If I make a stew or something like that, I only leave out enough for three meals so I don't get sick of it and I freeze individual portions.
CooksForOne at 9:56PM on 11/27/08