throwing money in the trash. SICK OF IT!!!

lucythinmint

We have a family of five, 12, 9 and 3. My husband works 9-12 hours a day and would love to eat out everyday, and he tries to. He always tries to pick up fast food all the time while we are out running errands. I am a bit pushy and flat out say no, "eat at home or bring something with you."
We had a long talk, "your eating out is killing the kitchen, the wallet and your waist......"
I *kitten* the pantry and fridg before I even head to the store. I plan out meals for the entire week. Some meals, I plan for 2 days because they are big enough that I can put half in the refrigerator for the next day. I freeze all my bread and have only one loaf out at a time. I have so many plastic containers they have their own cabinets <

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plural I freeze my onions and peppers for cooking. I buy them cut them up, put them in a container and freeze.
My husband makes himself a bunch of ham, egg and cheese muffins at home and puts them in baggies in the fridg for the week. He warms them up and runs out the door with them in the mornings. This has gotten so popular in our house that we have to make a huge batch at the beginning of the week for kids and husband.
I only buy produce that I am going to use or that I know will be eaten.
You have to plan ahead for a large family. I used to make school lunches everyday and I had to plan ahead for that also.

We do not throw out much food at all. Really, the trick and key is to plan ahead and *kitten* your food needs.....and deal with the husbands eating out.

Good luck :drinker:


edit:spelling

peggyj49

Jennywren1971 had some excellent suggestions. I too plan my buying. I use a lot of cooked ground chuck ( spaghetti, chili,and casseroles.) I go ahead and cook it, cool it, and package it in 1or 2 pounds at time in zip lock baggies. Freeze it. Same with boneless skinless chicken breast. I bake it and cool it, cut into bite size pieces put into zip lock freezer bags and freeze it. It makes really quick meals. ( chicken stir fry, casseroles, salads, and crockpot meals) Vegetables such as carrots, green bell peppers,celery, and broccoli I wash and chop and put into small plastic containers lined in a dry paper towel, then wet a paper towel in cold water and squeeze out excess water, cover the chopped vegetables with wet towel and veggies will stay fresh for 5 to 7 days. ( chopped veggies are good for quick salads , casseroles,stir fry, or soups). I usually do pre-cooking and veggie preparation on the day after I shop. With planned shopping and pre-cooking I rarely have food ruin. Food is so expensive we all need to do what we can to get the most out of what we buy.

hdlb123

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Wow. I'm not sure where to begin...

I guess first, food doesn't go bad that quickly in the refrigerator. When I have leftovers I eat them until they're gone. Yes, it can get boring but I'm not going to waste food, especially if it was delicious and healthy. My food budget for a family of 4 plus a newborn is just over $100 a week. With that tight of a budget I will not throw food away. My husband doesn't always like leftovers and my kids like variety so I end up being the one to eat the leftovers, but for me, that's fine. It's quick and easy, something I don't have to worry about.

If you make a meal, eat it. Don't eat the fast food your husband brings home. If you want to eat sandwiches for lunch, eat them. Don't let your husband and his bad habits affect your plans.

Your kids shouldn't be eating different foods than you. Don't buy "kids" cereal, it's loaded with sugar and doesn't have the same nutritional value that healthy organic cereals have. My kids don't get special cereal. They get the same ones we eat. We buy organic cereals, often ones with fruit, which are actually delicious.

Make breakfast and lunch for your children, don't let them eat at school. That way you can ensure that your groceries are actually being eaten and that your kids are eating healthy foods.
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I second the "kid cereal" comment, kids do NOT need sugar cereal to start their day.

jenniferdances1

Try getting organic milk. It costs a little more but it lasts way longer.

hdlb123

Tell him he can eat what he wants, but if he doesn't est what you cook, he can eat fast food alone. Honestly if money is tight for you, fast food is a pretty lousy place to waste it.

I have 3 kids and my husband to cook for. He eats what I cook, and takes the leftovers for lunch the next day. We buy for 2 weeks at a time. I freeze all our meat and take out what we need each morning to defrost. Sometimes we do have veggies go bad, but not often. We never throw out bread, if it gets stale, we make breadcrumbs or croutons. It rarely gets to that point though.

Freeze your meat, buy frozen veggies, freeze your bread, eat the leftovers the next day. Simple things that will make a difference.

PlanetVelma

There are a lot of great suggestions on here! The first step is to talk to your husband and to inventory your fridge, freezer & pantry. Make yourself a food budget and a weekly menu for the week.

I work full time, and have kids, pets and a husband to contend with. So during the week I have no time to mess around. I usually spend my weekends bulk cooking. Some weekends I'll make a huge batch of chili and 2 lasagnas, maybe a chicken too. I freeze at least half of everything - with roasted chicken I'll chop it up too and stick it in the freezer for later in the week.

I use every bit of leftovers we have - we take them for lunches or whatever. Another poster said that when she roasts chicken she makes one dish one night and something different the next. Your menu is only limited to your own imagination!

On Thursday evenings, I usually pull out the leftovers from the week and everyone picks what they want for dinner.

Tonight I'm being a bit more creative and the chili (Taco Soup Recipe on Skinnytaste) - I thickened it up and we're having chili dogs. Not super healthy, but not horrible either! It fits into my daily calories budget and my lovely husband doesn't feel deprived.

shrdlicka23

First off, you need to speak to your husband. He has a crazy schedule but that's no excuse for waste or spending extra money on fast food. My husband leaves at 6am and gets home at 9pm with a small 2 hour break from 330-530. He has a large lunch bag with 2 freezer packs in it. Every night he prepares his breakfast and lunch and puts it in the fridge to toss into his bag every morning. He usually packs a bagel with cream cheese, fruit, a sandwich, more fruit, dessert item chips and water. That way he has no excuse to eat out. I make dinner early around 3 so he can eat dinner on his break and then I save my portion for when I want to eat it later on around 6-7. Then when he gets home at 9 he usually eats a snack or some ice cream. Secondly, I eat more veggies than him and if I ever find myself not eating enough and scared they will go bad, well then it's stir fry night. I don't make anything my husband doesn't like and I usually ask him the day before what he would like for dinner. I make about 30 servings of homemade soup at the beginning of each month and freeze them in individual servings that way we always have a backup and it keeps for a long time. But I only make things we both like. If there are ever leftovers, I finish them up the next day for lunch. I may not want them right then but I force myself to eat them so I don't waste anything. HTH

Lollliiipopzzzz

I used to have the same problem until I created a budget for myself on mint.com. I stopped buying unnecessary things, such as junk food, which was great for my diet. I only bought food that I know my family would finish within the week. So, for example. If i buy milk, then I know I'll be eating it with cereal and I can estimate how long it will take us to finish it. Therefore, I won't buy yogurt or anything else. The following week, I'll buy a large yogurt container because it's on sale but I'll only get a small milk for necessities. I watch the amount of fruits I eat, so I'll limit to about 2 fruits per day per person. I buy frozen veggies that do not go bad. Or, I'll buy veggies such as squash that don't spoil quickly. If you know you only have a certain amount of money to spend on food per week, you take the extra measure to plan out the food you will eat and rarely does anything get thrown away. My schedule is very unsteady. I frequently have to work doubles and sometimes I work without a day off. I bake chicken for the week, and make whole wheat pasta or quinoa for the week too. When I need to pack it for work it takes 2-3 minutes. I'll grab baby carrots and packets of oatmeal as a snack, and I'll take my chicken and quinoa for lunch. Frozen mixed vegetables, I just throw into a container and they thaw on their own. For dinner, if you have basic things, like chicken, precooked it makes life a lot simpler. Make a budget for the amount of take out you can have per week. That will prevent you from ordering out. This method, saves so much money while helping you lose weight and prevent food from being thrown away.

But, most importantly, your husband needs to be on the same page with you. Make his lunch ahead of time, so he won't be tempted to buy it. Have leftovers in containers, ready to go, so they won't get pushed around. Prepare, out of the premade food, the exact amount of food that will be eaten that day, if possible. You have to make your family understand that it's not an option to have 50 different things out and open. Once your husband is on the same page, the kids will follow.

He can pick up extra milk or anything necessary on his way home, instead of junk food.