Overhaul of the way I deal with food

GeorgieLou

Tink_04 - I'm happy to eat anything. My DC would choose pizza / Supernoodles / jacket potato / pesto pasta / lasagne / macaroni cheese, dependant on which one you asked. Unfortunately, they wouldn't choose the same as one another, so it's difficult. 

joedenise

I do Slimming World Georgie (hope you don't mind the abbreviation of your name!) and my DH eats exactly what I eat and the kids and grandkids also eat whatever we're having when they come for meals, obviously that isn't happening at the moment!

I would be inclined to try to find some healthy recipes that the whole family will eat.  The other alternative is to do some batch cooking, preferably using stuff you've already got in the cupboards, fridge and freezer so that you can freeze individual portions for yourself when the rest of the family have something different.

What sort of things are you all eating, it might help us come up with some ideas which you could try.  I'd certainly be making use of the internet to find some recipes using up stuff you already have because that will help clear stuff and save you money, both of which are a good idea!

jbkmum

@GeorgieLou So that's where you need to find common features between those meals and combine it to make it less effort. For instance, you have the same "carb" but you might have fish whilst they are having sausages. So if me and oh are having a spicy curry then I'll reheat a milder curry for DS
Stuff like that

theoretica

Are there any patterns to what food you waste and why?  Is it stuff that has gone out of date or gone off before you cook it, or cooking too much and not using leftovers?  Is it mostly vegetables, or mostly meat or bread or what?

GeorgieLou

joedenise - don't mind the abbreviation at all! I'm following Rosemary Conley, and terrified to come off of it, as it seems to be slowly working for me! 
As an example of what we're eating, last night DH & eldest DC had chicken Kiev, new potatoes and blistered green beans. Younger 2 DC had fish burgers with curly fries. I had baked sweet potato, with half a tin of beans and a side salad,
Tonight DH & eldest DC have streaky bacon, scrambled egg, chipolatas and plum tomatoes with toast. Younger DC have pesto pasta. I'm having spicy chicken pasta.

jbk that may work too. It would be lovely to all sit down together to the same meal.

theoretica - I wouldn't know why, however a quick glance in fridge shows me we have different cheeses that will probably go. Various berries about to turn, and fruit on the sideboard too. Yes, we do waste food that goes off before we use it. Our freezer is packed full of food and we normally just grab whatever is at the front.

Blue_Doggy

The berries can be frozen if they haven’t already turned, just wash them and open-freeze them, then pack them in usable portions. The other fruits could be washed, cut up and frozen, too, or cooked, portioned and frozen (thinking crumbles, or served with cream/ice cream/custard)

 

Hard cheeses can be grated and frozen for future use.

GeorgieLou

Blue_Doggy That's a solution that will save the food in this house, and shamefully it'll probably stay in the freezer forever. I really need to sort it out!

theoretica

So two things need to change - rather than grabbing what is in front you want to grab what goes off soon.  Or sort through every few days and put the stuff that needs eating at the front.  I have had some rather unexpected meals and unusual combinations out of eating what needing eating, but see it as completely matter of course that it gets eaten in preference to eating something else and then throwing it away. The other change is an awareness of what you have already when shopping so you don't buy too much cheese at once.

littlegreenparrot

How are old are the children? Is it feasible to get them involved in meal planning and cooking? 
It's an important life skill, and if they're involved they might be more inclined to try things/ eat the same things. 
For example, pizza bases are dead easy to make. Slice up some peppers/ mushrooms/ bit of ham etc, they can choose what they want to put on their bit. 

I quite often roast a load of veg if it needs using up, courgette, onion, squash, peppers. Once it's all roasted it will happily sit in the fridge for a few days, then it's easy to add to pasta/cous cous/ chuck in a sandwich etc.

greenbee

I was rubbish at meal planning until recently - I'd been away for work, came back home to self-isolation and panic buying! As a result I had to work with whatever came in my veg box (no choice, no advance info until last week) and what the milkman could deliver (this has improved - I got eggs last week!). So I went through all the cupboards and freezer and made a list. I had lots of home made ready meals because I travel for work and did some cooking in the new year to fill up the freezer with proper food. I also had a lot of mince, a ham, a frozen turkey (emergency reserve from Xmas!) and various bits of frozen fish. Plus odd bits of fruit and veg. Various pulses and carbs (of which I eat very little), plus lots of herbs and spices.

For the first couple of weeks I made VERY detailed meal plans and looked up recipes. My plans were worked out to the last calorie and gram of carbs to make sure what I had lasted as long as possible, and made the most of the fresh food. I went back to the Fast 800 for the first month, as I knew I had some weight to shift and it was the best way to make the food last. Excess carbs (fruit, potatoes, carrots) from the veg boxes were rationed/frozen/souped (quite a lot of potatoes were given away). I had a supermarket delivery a couple of weeks ago which was VERY exciting (haven't managed to get a slot since), and the milkman and veg box have improved so I now have more choice - but the planning is still helping. There is NO waste. Outer leaves of lettuce/cabbage, ribs of kale/cabbage, dry ends of celery/rhubarb/asaparagus, old salad and herbs etc all get saved in a bag in the salad drawer and turned into soup on Saturday which is either eaten or frozen. I still haven't finished the ready meals or the meat - and although I've added more frozen fish to my supplies, I haven't ordered meat yet and won't until the turkey has been dealt with. There is fruit for smoothies and lots of soup in the freezer for lazy days, and I'm starting to enjoy cooking. 

I'd suggest seeing how much you can plan based on the supplies you've got, so you can avoid going to the supermarket for as long as possible. You may have to get creative, but if you involve the whole family it could be fun. And see whether you can try to all eat the same thing - it's a lot less work for you! If everyone has input into the meal plan, and is motivated by the challenge of coming up with meals based on what you've got to try to clear the cupboards and freezer, then they might be more cooperative. Maybe incentivise them with some kind of reward based on how much money you save?