Here it goes for this week.
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| Wasted potatoes |
This week I had to throw out some mashed potatoes. They may have been okay except that they were stored with meat, so didn't want to chance it. We probably made too many in the first place, so we'll try to cut back next time.
Now onto true confessions. We don't waste much food anymore with the help of our public accountability, but we have another area that we struggle with. We eat out way too much and that's not good for us nutritionally or financially. We have never been able to sustain the habit of menu planning and cooking at home for any length of time.
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- Everyone has a job or school that keeps them busy.
- No one in the family likes to cook.
- Everyone in the family likes takeout food.
- No one likes to plan menus.
- Everyone in the family can drive.
- No one likes to shop.
- Everyone has money to spend.
We have tried a lot of different ideas to get us to eat at home more often realizing that planning is the key to success. We have had family meetings to plan menus. We have assigned menu planning on a rotating basis to everyone. We have subscribed to menu planning and cooking sites. We have had serious talks about the health consequences of most take out food. We have had a theme to our menu plans like Mondays are pasta days, Tuesdays are chicken days, etc. And the list goes on with Wally's planning being my favorite. He randomly opens the cookbook and then we get to choose from between the two recipes he has opened to.
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| A few of our past menus. |
I am going to take another stab at this and use public accountability as the new tool in my belt. So each week along with food waste, I am going to report on how we did with our menus and cooking. Maybe I'll try posting menus or describing a new recipe we tried. We'll see. Does anyone have suggestions?
Sounds as if you are taking all the right steps! I look forward to reading about how it goes, and hopefully stealing some ideas from your menu plans!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouragement. The first step is to have my family read this post, so they will know what I want to do.
DeleteCan't wait to see how it goes for you! This is the first year that I stick to our menu about 90% of the time. Some things that might help is making a big crockpot meal and eat it for a few days, or a nice batch of soup. This will cut on a need to go out. I try to make a batch of chicken in a crockpot and then cut in pieces and freeze. We use it for salads, casseroles, fajitas etc. etc. Just my 2 cents :) Hope, it helps!
DeleteThanks for the suggestions. I think cyber support may be my best tool yet.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
ReplyDeleteI've learned how to make "fast food" at home. My family tells me that my pizza is better than any they've had anywhere. I use Frugal Girl's thin crust pizza dough recipe (yes, you must use a pizza stone or pizza pan,not a cookie sheet), a can of tomatoes blended in the blender for sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese and store bought "pizza seasonings".
We also have "fast food" nights with burgers on the grill, french fries (either homemade or store bought frozen) and chocolate shakes. Nothing beats a homemade chocolate shake!
Menu planning is a must but also keep ingredients for quick meals for when plans change, etc. Quick meal staples: Jar spaghetti sauce & spaghetti or canned tomatoes, beans & taco seasoning for veg. chili, etc.
I could go on and on because this is something we've been working on for years now! Hope it goes well for you!
We have gone through all of those phases before, but can't seem to stick with it long enough to make it a habit. Thank's for the encouragement and tips. Maybe this time will last longer.
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