Wasting food (and money) -- Update

Then you are very fortunate. Living in the country as you do, do you truly not have to buy any produce or meat? If not, you're lucky. The times I've lived closely enough to producers of produce to buy higher quality and less expensive produce, I've been happy enough to buy it,

Thanks, Kittens. Unfortunately I like fresh cilantro, not dried. But I did find a supposed solution that allows fresh cilantro to keep from 2-3 weeks! I'll have to try it.

http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/12215/how-to-keep-cilantro-fresh

Also, in the comments, there are a few other great suggestions for keeping produce fresh for weeks. Well worth the read, and I'm going to try these as well.

You and me both. I don't want to know how much money I've thrown away over the years, and how many good meals it'd translate to.

It's the same for me: I dislike leftovers and do what I can to avoid creating them.

So far, it's looking like the lack of planning meals, and perhaps also a lack of a (good size) freezer, are the main reasons we're wasting the money we spend on food :/

[deleted]

Hey Prelude, I just realized I hit the reply button on the wrong post. I replied to Dazed, when I meant to reply to you:

Aha, so you're in the same boat that I am. It would be great to have a large freezer, but if I'm honest, I'd have to say even if I did, chances are I'd still leave frozen meals in there until they weren't any good, or I worried that they weren't any longer good.

Yeah, that's part of it, if you're a single person, it's impossible to buy in the quantity for a single person. So we have to figure out workarounds, if there are any. I was hoping people would post some here.

Like you, there's no way I'm going to eat the same meal for 2, let alone 4, nights in a row. Okay, *maybe* I could do it 2 days or nights in a row, but definitely no more than that. I need variety. It's astonishing to me that some people don't, but some really don't. Lucky them.

I do buy some pre-made, pre-packaged frozen dinners as well, but run out of the few varieties I like, plus they take up freezer space.

Thanks, Bwb :). I usually do that, but … Okay, for instance, I bought some ground turkey on sale, which was a good buy. But I didn't feel like or even think of making anything with it for 3 days. So now it's getting in danger of going bad, right?

So this time, already having had this thread in mind for a week or so, I bought some tortillas and salsa, thinking I'd make a burger one night (which I did), and tacos tonight and the next. But now I don't feel like tacos, which endangers the ground turkey, and the salsa.

No kidding! They do help, but some things you just can't get frozen or canned, plus they're not as good for you as fresh, or as tasty.

Next up are rice, noodles, pastas and pulses. These ingredients could outlast World War 3. All you need is some slightly salted water and knowing how to time for which particular one you are using. From risotto and cous cous to lentils and beans your dishes will be able to be Winter and Summer proof and may only take some sauce or egg to complete within 10 minutes. Keep them in sealed dry containers and only refill them when they are fully used from sealed bags.

Meats. If your freezer is as small as two shoe boxes which have an icing problem in the middle of Summer or Winter you'll want to conserve space. Buy whichever meats you like and take them from their packaging and put them into plastic bags for one meal dishes (With labels if you desire) for when you are ready to cook. Rotate what you keep in there so you are using the freshest of your selection each time. Bacon/pork, chicken, fish and beef all take up little space when wrapped individually and defrost quicker too if you want to pan fry or oven bake them from room temperature. Shrimp and prawns and known for gathering frost and so keep any purchases of them as fresh as you can. Cured meats keep for very long times in the fridge and dried meats like salami, chorizo and pepperoni can hang from a wall and keep for exceptionally long periods of time (They get dry if left for years though).

Vegetables. Probably the only thing you have to buy fresh regularly (Along with milk and/or cheese depending on diet). Always have an onion or two to hand and this can really go anywhere depending upon personal tastes in meals. I like to keep some peppers bought in and spinach too because they are versatile but this really all comes down to your own tastes and hopes for cooking.

Lastly sliced garlic keeps well in oil if jarred and chillies keep in vinegar when sliced and jarred.

Follow the above and the sky is the limit with the utensils you have to hand :)

Growing them myself would be ideal, then just plucking off whatever amount I need for whatever I'm making, and the plant would still be producing for months.

I've had more trouble keeping fresh basil than cilantro, and you're right, they're both sold in large bunches. If I refrigerate the basil, it starts to die off and go bad within a couple of days -- far too fast for me to use it up. What I've learned is it *doesn't * like cold (i.e. the fridge), and I read in the comments of the page I linked to how to preserve its life, but have to reread to find what the answer was.

Excellent points about not buying whole chickens or roasts -- regardless of how enticing the sale prices may be -- UNLESS I'm willing to cook them within a few days, and then divide into portions and then freeze. Exactly! My so-called bargains turn into garbage too easily, which means money thrown straight into the trash, be that meats or produce. I started this thread because I don't like this! On several levels, and want to learn how to solve this problem.