According to an article from PLoS One, food waste in the USA has progressively increased from about 30% of the available food supply in 1974 to almost 40% in recent years. For a family of 2 with 1 income, this translates into a throwing out $3,266 worth of food (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Expenditure Survey 2008).
To minimize the amount of food I throw out, I conduct a quarterly eat-down. What is an eat-down? It is when you focus on creating meals using only what you have on hand (fridge, freezer and pantry). Rather than stop at the grocery store once a week, I'll simply go "shopping" in my own kitchen, using up items before they spoil and saving money in the long run. It’s actually fun trying to come up with creative recipes. Anyone have a good recipe that calls for cream of celery soup and jar of cocktail onions?
If you decide to implement an eat-down at your house, I’d like to hear your strategies and results. Simply add your comments to this post. I’ll do the same.
To minimize the amount of food I throw out, I conduct a quarterly eat-down. What is an eat-down? It is when you focus on creating meals using only what you have on hand (fridge, freezer and pantry). Rather than stop at the grocery store once a week, I'll simply go "shopping" in my own kitchen, using up items before they spoil and saving money in the long run. It’s actually fun trying to come up with creative recipes. Anyone have a good recipe that calls for cream of celery soup and jar of cocktail onions?
If you decide to implement an eat-down at your house, I’d like to hear your strategies and results. Simply add your comments to this post. I’ll do the same.
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