Hey All! So I decided to start a series for every Friday of this month to support myself and others in cleaning up our diets. I may sprinkle in a few tidbits here and there during the week, the the primary focus will be on Fridays.
So today’s focus is on the kitchen and planning, yay!
1: Out with the Old
It’s time to go through our pantries and refrigerators this weekend, and get rid of all the foods, expired items, opened packages, left overs that don’t serve our well being.
For example, in my freezer I have some black eyed peas I made fresh from about a month ago, a half bunch of green kale I wasted, and a jar of jam that hasn’t been used in month (that is being washed out for repurposing. The peas and kale are going into the compost.
2: In with the New Habit
After a recent trip to visit a friend in DC/VA, we had a great discussion about making the effort to buying fresh ingredients on a daily basis. Daily you say? Yes daily. If you meal plan, then that is a different story; you can get away with bulk shopping since you know ahead of time what you need. If you do not plan your meals, daily shopping allows for minimal waste of food. I’ve noticed in the past when I’ve bulk shopped for fresh produce, if I had not meal planned, I waste.
3: Let’s Meal Plan for Week 1
Let’s start with something simple; Meal plan your dinners for 4/5-4/9. Now you may ask, “Yoli, why should I menu plan?” Well my lovely, you should menu plan because A. It saves you time B. You can choose the best meals to upport you nutritionally instead of making a hasty decision at the store and C. It saves you money!
Check out what’s on sale, coordinate it with your weekly schedule, and plan accordingly. Plans do change, so have a plan B for nights that may be questionable.
I think we did well for the first Week. Let me know how it goes for you and if you have any feedback. Have a wonderful weekend!
Why are you throwing out the kale and peas after a month? I’m wondering because I freeze fresh food like strawberries, or spinach if I think they may turn in the next few days. This way I can pull it out for smoothies or to add to a veggie curry. Also, sometimes I make fresh beans and freeze them to save money and avoid using the cans. Just wondering about your approach—-wanting some food for thought per se.
Hi Einalem!
The kale was beyond saving. It was my lack of responsibility. I put it in a place where I don’t normally keep my veggies and overlooked!! most fruits etc if i know it is going to turn soon, I either use, freeze, or dehydrate. My bananas I had some recently that were super ripe, so I peeled and put them in the freezer for smoothies.
Also the longer you retain fresh veggies, the more nutrients are lost.
“Researchers at Penn State recently studied the effects of storage on the nutrient content of fresh spinach. Spinach stored at cooler temperatures retained more nutrients than at warmer temperatures. But even at 39 degrees, the spinach retained only 53% of its folate after eight days.”
Thus why I love the farmer’s market! Many of the farmers I frequent pick their vegetables within a few hours of the market.