Comments on: Leftover Calendar: Reduce Food Spoilage

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:02:55 +0000

Excellent idea, i have a big calendar in the kitchen so i will do the same thing, starting tomorrow. Thanks!

By: Barb J.

Barb J. — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:21:39 +0000

We frequently throw away leftovers, but this sounds like it might work! Nobody has to hold the fridget door open while they see what’a available either, they can just look on the calendar. Save a little energy while your’re at it!

By: Leah

Leah — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:59:07 +0000

This is a GREAT idea I’m going to try right away.
My family has also cut down to 1 or 2 meals out per week–cutting down on gas costs AND grocery costs.

I TOO am very tired in the evening and have been grilling meat (chicken, pork, beef) in bulk to make quick meals during the week.

For example, we’ll buy reduced for quick sale steak (1/2 price), grill ALL of it that evening, then use what is left for fajitas or burritos during the week. If we grill hamburgers, two days later we have chili or spaghetti.

By: kazari

kazari — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:18:55 +0000

I’m with Amy. I usually cook big dinners, and freeze all the leftovers in single-serve containers. These become lunches to take to work.
Combined with menuplanning (deciding what to make each week, and only buying the ingredients I need) – we hardly ever throw out food.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:09:29 +0000

Great idea. We do something similar. When we have leftovers, I immediately label and freeze them. Then, when we have a busy week, we just pull something of the freezer and thaw in the fridge. I try to keep a leftover list on the side of the fridge but sometimes it’s not updated.

By: Tameika

Tameika — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:55:02 +0000

Thanks for this excellent tip! Because I commute nearly 3 hours a day and my husband works 12 hour night shifts, we end up doing most our cooking in bulk on the weekend and eating leftovers throughout the week. This calendar will be extremely useful. Wish I had read this more closely sooner – it would have prevented my Chicken Parmesan from spoiling in the fridge!

By: Ceo Reom

Ceo Reom — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:36:21 +0000

I’m glad you like Vietnamese food!

By: Trisha

Trisha — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 06:03:21 +0000

What a great idea! We are really guilty of completely forgetting not only leftovers, but produce we’ve purchased! And, as you know, produce ain’t cheap these days.

By: Nicki

Nicki — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:58:05 +0000

Great idea!! I will have to do something similar — once I start cooking more, that is.

By: jim

jim — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:56:32 +0000

Tom: Your grocery bills will go up but your eating out bills should go down. I used to go out for lunch frequently, like 3-4 times a week; now it’s down to 1-2. It’s definitely been a savings.

$500/mo for two isn’t bad at all, that’s $8 per person per day. You could always try eating less meat, that’s always been the pricier part of our grocery bill.

Sheila: Yeah, we try to eat out less than before but I find that it’s easiest to do that for lunch. During dinner we feel tired, so we don’t want to cook.

By: Sheila

Sheila — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:39:17 +0000

That is a good idea.

We’ve been trying to cut back to eating out just once a week, but we cheat every now and then. It’s working out fine and we don’t feel deprived for doing it. In fact, it feels a little more empowering that we are more in control of our food budget, health and waistline.

By: tom

tom — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:03:59 +0000

That’s a great idea… My wife and I (mostly her) cook 5-6 nights a week (Friday is happy hour ) and use the leftovers for lunches during the week.

I do have one question… how much have your weekly or monthly grocery bills been? We’ve been following all the advice about keeping grocery bills down… buy store brand, buy in bulk, make a list and stick to it, etc…. but we still are spending $100 a week on groceries. $500 a month seems very high even though it’s lunch and dinner everyday for 2 people.

By: Madame X

Madame X — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:50:45 +0000

Good idea– I may have to try this as I always feel like I waste too much food!