The other day A. was looking through the fridge and,
predictably, stumbled upon some green vegetative matter hidden behind the tomato paste
and adobo chilies.
"What is this?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," I replied. "But it might have been kale. Or it
might have been the single organism that all life originated from 4 billion
years ago."
"Can't you just buy what you need, when you need it?" he cried,
exasperated. "Must you buy half the grocery store, only to let it rot away in
the fridge?"
He had a point. I get seduced by the asparagus that is
finally in season, or the sweet potatoes that remind me of that recipe I want
to try, or the cremini mushrooms I’m sure I’ll use a thousand times over. Then
all that wonderful produce dies a slow death in the crisper.
So this time, I thought I would try something different. I
made up a List of Endangered Foods, and marked down anything in my fridge that
was in danger of going extinct. Whenever I make a meal or a snack, I have to
look at that list and use at least one ingredient from it.
So far, it’s working remarkably well. Having that list on
the fridge means those foods are top of mind, not pushed behind the box of
baking soda and forgotten. Also, it makes me come up with new and creative
combinations in a quest to use up as many of the endangered foods as I can (see
Exhibit A above – leftover brown rice, shrimp from last night’s dinner,
garlic-sauteed spinach from breakfast, and slightly over-roasted pureed sweet
potato that Baby M. refused to eat.)
What methods do you have to make sure all the food in your
fridge gets eaten? Or do you let it all eventually go to that big compost heap
in the sky?
P.S - There are some exciting new developments here at The Wholesome Hedonist! You can now subscribe for
email updates of the site or follow me on Pinterest or Twitter by clicking on the links on the sidebar. I'll report interesting food articles, yummy looking recipes, and the occasional update on the fascinating life of a mom on maternity leave.
P.P.S - I will be on a much-anticipated vacation for all of next week so it will be kind of quiet around here. But I promise to be back with tons of news, recipes and fun stuff to share. Meanwhile, let's all join our heads in prayer for a calm and uneventful four-hour flight in a crowded airplane with a 10 month old. And we might as well pray for the other passengers, too.
P.P.S - I will be on a much-anticipated vacation for all of next week so it will be kind of quiet around here. But I promise to be back with tons of news, recipes and fun stuff to share. Meanwhile, let's all join our heads in prayer for a calm and uneventful four-hour flight in a crowded airplane with a 10 month old. And we might as well pray for the other passengers, too.
this is such a great idea. I'm in the middle of cleaning out my fridge now and throwing out so much... and I just noticed on my credit card analysis that groceries are my biggest expense...
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it Rahim! Plus it will make for some interesting meal combinations :)
ReplyDelete