Avoiding produce going to waste

[RawVee]

Okay, I'll admit it. Sometimes I go a little crazy in the organic market, and my fridge looks like a garden exploded. And as well-intentioned as I am to eat every last bite (I live alone), sometimes I forget about the gorgeous golden beets hiding out in the corner or the extra head of kale in the crisper.

So I geeked out and made myself a little chart to post on the fridge. I put "What's in the fridge?" at the top, made a table with "Food," "Date bought/prepared," "Recipes?" "Goes with?" and then made one for the freezer, too. As silly as this may seem, I think having a list of everything I have in the fridge will keep me on track, won't let me forget anything's in there, and will inspire me to try more and more rawcipes. Plus, I won't waste energy standing there with the fridge door open, wondering what to eat. :)

[dextera3]

That's a great idea! It can be hard to plan for the week and have all the food stay fresh enough by the time you're ready to eat it. Luckily, there is a good corner store near me that has great produce, so I stop by there several times during the week, as opposed to trying to buy everything all in one day and storing it.

[mamaP]

I think you should market it !!!! I say never waste a good idea...you could have it in hard copy and a pdf download....please keep me posted....

[honeybee joy]

Wow! Love that idea! I have the same problem.

I LOVE opening the fridge to see it filled with all the stuff!

[Pierre]

Sometimes I buy something and don't like it. Sometimes I stop wanting something while I still have it. I have a few stalks of celery left at the bottom of the fridge, and a few carrots, which don't interest me now - I've been eating lots of onions. So I think I won't buy another bag of carrots when this bag runs out. So I wouldn't worry about the occasional food that goes bad.

Also I shop about thrice a week, so I don't have to worry about lasting the whole week, except things I get only at the HFS.

[juliebove]

I do that too. Part of my problem is getting the organic produce boxes. Although I have some control over what goes in the box, I sometimes get something I don't know what to do with or that we don't particularly like. Or like this week, daughter and I have been sick and are not eating much in the way of produce at all.

I got a fresh box. That helps me somewhat with the fruit. It vacuums all the air out of the box and keeps the fruit fresh for a few days longer than it would just sitting out. I don't have room in my fridge for both fruit and veg and hubby is not on a raw diet so I need room for his food too. Anyway... I like that the fresh box has a date thingie on the top of it. It's easy for me to see when something has been sitting around too long and needs to get eaten soon.

This summer should be easier. I will get most of what I need from my garden and most weeks won't be getting the organic produce box. There will be a new farmer's market opening very near here and hopefully I'll be able to get some things there that I am not growing. Yes, I will likely have excess of some things from the garden. That can't be avoided. But that's not as annoying to me as going out and buying something and then throwing it away because it rotted before I ate it.

[RawVee]

I think you should market it !!!! I say never waste a good idea...you could have it in hard copy and a pdf download....please keep me posted....


Wow! Love that idea! I have the same problem.

I LOVE opening the fridge to see it filled with all the stuff!

Hey, if ya'll are really interested, I'll make a PDF and gladly share it. :)

[magglepie]

That'd be great Rawvee! It sounds like a really cool idea :)

[mamaP]

Mommy of busy family bows at your kindness....(can someone help me up....):D

[magglepie]

only if you live in Minnesota ;)

[RawVee]

only if you live in Minnesota ;)

Magglepie, where in MN are you? My best friend lives there and I go twice a year. Do you live near Minneapolis? And if so have you been to Ecopolitan?

:)

[RawVee]

Mommy of busy family bows at your kindness....(can someone help me up....):D

Oh, mamaP, no need to bow. Sharing the raw love makes it all worth while. I'll help you up with a big hug!! :)

[trinity082482]

Sounds like my poor cabbage I bought. I wrapped it in a shopping bag and tossed it in the crisper.. Over a month later it was gross... Bah! I should have checked the bag. I never remember what I put in bags. Too lazy to check I guess :rolleyes:

[magglepie]

Magglepie, where in MN are you? My best friend lives there and I go twice a year. Do you live near Minneapolis? And if so have you been to Ecopolitan?

:)

I'm actually up in Moorhead in Northern Minnesota. Right next to Fargo. :)

[Naiad]

Fantastic idea! I'm off to whittle some spare time away making one for myself :D