Food waste

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tomatoey
tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
edited August 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
1. How often do you take meat out to defrost, but change your dinner plans?
2. What is the food item thing you're most likely to let go to waste & throw out?

1. I do this every other time I defrost meat. (I don't usually buy a lot of meat at once, so never have to resort to freezing in the first place, but there was a deal, so I now have a freezer full of meat, and I am pretty sure this is going to happen again.)
2. Fruit, cucumbers, and cabbage. I really have to be in the mood for fruit & can only eat certain kinds. I always think I'm going to make a cucumber salad but never do. I can't consume enough cabbage to get through it.

I'm mad at myself about some chicken thighs right now
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Replies

  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    1. How often do you take meat out to defrost, but change your dinner plans?
    2. What is the thing you're most likely to let go to waste & throw out?

    1. I do this every other time I defrost meat. (I don't usually buy a lot of meat at once, so never have to resort to freezing in the first place, but there was a deal, so I now have a freezer full of meat, and I am pretty sure this is going to happen again.)
    2. Fruit, cucumbers, and cabbage. I really have to be in the mood for fruit & can only eat certain kinds. I always think I'm going to make a cucumber salad but never do. I can't consume enough cabbage to get through it.

    1. The only thing in my freezer is frozen meals so I just throw them back in.
    2. Over-payment checks from anyone. I always forget to cash them.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
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    ncboiler89 wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    1. How often do you take meat out to defrost, but change your dinner plans?
    2. What is the thing you're most likely to let go to waste & throw out?

    1. I do this every other time I defrost meat. (I don't usually buy a lot of meat at once, so never have to resort to freezing in the first place, but there was a deal, so I now have a freezer full of meat, and I am pretty sure this is going to happen again.)
    2. Fruit, cucumbers, and cabbage. I really have to be in the mood for fruit & can only eat certain kinds. I always think I'm going to make a cucumber salad but never do. I can't consume enough cabbage to get through it.

    1. The only thing in my freezer is frozen meals so I just throw them back in.

    2. Over-payment checks from anyone. I always forget to cash them.

    I'm not sure that's a good idea!
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    ncboiler89 wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    1. How often do you take meat out to defrost, but change your dinner plans?
    2. What is the thing you're most likely to let go to waste & throw out?

    1. I do this every other time I defrost meat. (I don't usually buy a lot of meat at once, so never have to resort to freezing in the first place, but there was a deal, so I now have a freezer full of meat, and I am pretty sure this is going to happen again.)
    2. Fruit, cucumbers, and cabbage. I really have to be in the mood for fruit & can only eat certain kinds. I always think I'm going to make a cucumber salad but never do. I can't consume enough cabbage to get through it.

    1. The only thing in my freezer is frozen meals so I just throw them back in.

    2. Over-payment checks from anyone. I always forget to cash them.

    I'm not sure that's a good idea!

    It is
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    I never waste any of it.

    Very rare.
    When i only think it will go to waste i give it away. when i have too much or when i have foods i dont like.


    I pre-prep and freeze my foods
    And specially i freeze all my fruit i like to have them frozen in the evening. They are like candy or ice pieces.

    I buy my food for 2 weeks at the time. And never have problems with food that is left over.
    I just plan.
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,138 Member
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    I meal plan and buy what we need. I make an effort to monitor what's in the fridge and will occasionally declare that dinner is "whatever you can find" to ensure that bits and pieces of vegies are used, that leftovers don't get forgotten etc. Ditto for stuff I've defrosted. I defrosted the wrong meal the other day. Still ate it, didn't feel like soup but ate it anyway!
  • GreenValli
    GreenValli Posts: 1,054 Member
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    1. How often do you take meat out to defrost, but change your dinner plans?
    2. What is the thing you're most likely to let go to waste & throw out?

    1. Changing dinner plans after taking meat out to defrost happens about once a week. But I just cook what I had defrosted and originally planned the next day.b
    2. Potatos. I don't cook them that often and this time of the year they sprout too quickly and I do throw some out. But I do still buy them in 5 or 10 pound bags anyway when they are a good deal, even though I know I will not use them all. I rarely throw out any other food though.

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  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    On bin days, I usually have to throw out leftover sliced meat, wilted lettuce and veg, and a couple of leftover bowls from meals that have fed the family.

    It's fairly rare that meat we've bought/defrosted for a meal gets thrown out whole. Once a month or less.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
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    Our dog is large enough to eat food that we do not eat.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,052 Member
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    1. Rarely. Will use next day.
    2. Cilantro. I also buy but struggle to use a 10lb bag potatoes. I peel, parboil & freeze half. Last weekend made & froze a big batch vichyssoise.
    I try hard to use it all.
  • marsinah1
    marsinah1 Posts: 106 Member
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    1. Changing dinner plans after I've defrosted something to cook doesn't happen more than once a month. Even then, I still prep the meat and cook it that evening or the next day.
    2. There was a chronic problem with sandwich meat going to waste. I stopped buying it so anyone who wants a turkey sandwich here has to go to a sandwich shop. The second most likely thing to get tossed is a bag of salad mix.
  • shadowconn
    shadowconn Posts: 141 Member
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    I buy as much frozen as possible for this very reason. If I buy meat, I cut it into individual portions, bag it and freeze it. If I'm doing meat, I'm either frying it or boiling it. So it can go straight from the freezer into a pan.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    1. How often do you take meat out to defrost, but change your dinner plans?
    2. What is the food item thing you're most likely to let go to waste & throw out?

    1. I do this every other time I defrost meat. (I don't usually buy a lot of meat at once, so never have to resort to freezing in the first place, but there was a deal, so I now have a freezer full of meat, and I am pretty sure this is going to happen again.)
    2. Fruit, cucumbers, and cabbage. I really have to be in the mood for fruit & can only eat certain kinds. I always think I'm going to make a cucumber salad but never do. I can't consume enough cabbage to get through it.

    I'm mad at myself about some chicken thighs right now

    Good questions. It's interesting but I used to waste food all the time but I rarely do it now. I buy only what I know I will eat, including fruits, vegetables, meats, etc. If I have bread that a little stale, I make bread pudding out of it, and it's delicious.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    If I have food that has been in the frig for a while I chop it all up and make spring rolls. I put anything and everything in them.
  • NJGamerChick
    NJGamerChick Posts: 467 Member
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    shadowconn wrote: »
    I buy as much frozen as possible for this very reason. If I buy meat, I cut it into individual portions, bag it and freeze it. If I'm doing meat, I'm either frying it or boiling it. So it can go straight from the freezer into a pan.

    This. And if I'm freezing portions, I'm making the packages thin so they stack and defrost quickly.

    I will sometimes brown ground beef and freeze it for sauce/taco night, too. And whatever meat I am eating on my own gets poached the day I get home so it's ready for when I need a quick meal, usually chicken, but this weekend I'm playing with some pork shoulder I got on sale for pulled pork.

    Leftovers are what goes bad sometimes. The stuff that ends up in the back of the fridge, so I have started making an effort to rotate my fridge.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    If I defrost something and then change my mind, I make it the next day. It won't go bad overnight.

    The biggest waste for me is packaged salad greens. I hate washing bunches of spinach, etc and never get all of the grit out (no salad spinner), but the dang packaged stuff starts rotting on me in two days. I've pretty much quit buying it. I'm not a big salad person anyway.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
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    stealthq wrote: »
    If I defrost something and then change my mind, I make it the next day. It won't go bad overnight.
    .
    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    1. Rarely. Will use next day.

    What's an acceptable timeframe? I.e. say you took something out not last night but the night before. I felt like if I made it at noon, it might have been ok, but I didn't have the opportunity. By the time I had the chance, I decided it was a bust.

    (I seriously rarely freeze stuff, that's why - I buy for a couple of days, meat never goes in there.)
  • hekla90
    hekla90 Posts: 595 Member
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    I live alone so buying fresh produce can go bad. I just go to the store and buy it every few days so I'm not throwing it out constantly.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    1. How often do you take meat out to defrost, but change your dinner plans?
    2. What is the food item thing you're most likely to let go to waste & throw out?

    1. I do this every other time I defrost meat. (I don't usually buy a lot of meat at once, so never have to resort to freezing in the first place, but there was a deal, so I now have a freezer full of meat, and I am pretty sure this is going to happen again.)
    2. Fruit, cucumbers, and cabbage. I really have to be in the mood for fruit & can only eat certain kinds. I always think I'm going to make a cucumber salad but never do. I can't consume enough cabbage to get through it.

    I'm mad at myself about some chicken thighs right now

    Good questions. It's interesting but I used to waste food all the time but I rarely do it now. I buy only what I know I will eat, including fruits, vegetables, meats, etc. If I have bread that a little stale, I make bread pudding out of it, and it's delicious.

    I do the same for stuff in my fridge - it's the frosting/defrosting process that's a mystery to me! (Fish is good bc you can do it like minutes before cooking.)
  • MrsSylvie
    MrsSylvie Posts: 301 Member
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    i use to defrost and end up never making at least half of the salmons i took out over the years and i have lost count of how much ground beef i have thrown away.. that all stopped after i bought a miracle thaw tray though, now i take out the frozen meats an hour, sometimes less, before i need them and they are completely defrosted.
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
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    If the humans in the house don't eat it, the animals do.