Monday, July 23, 2012

Food waste Monday and a menu, week 7/23-7/29

Pin It       Are your Mondays always busy?  I try to do all of our laundry in one day, so between loading and unloading washer and dryer, folding, ironing, putting stuff away my day just flies by. I really wanted to clean the fridge but never got to it. I did look though quickly and I found only one thing that is definitely a food waste this week:


   I don't have any excuses :( It's almost the whole thing of celery. We only ate a couple of pieces. I always have a problem with celery, that's why we rarely buy it. For the past couple of weeks I kept moving it around in a vegetable bin thinking of how to use it but ended up just wasting it. I wanted to cut and freeze it for soups and stews but never found time. I know it's not much of an excuse but it is what it is.

   Other than that, we are doing OK. The problem is that I really don't want to cook lately. It's hot and I'm lazy...So we ate out couple extra times in July which put us way over budget in eating out category.  Another reason why I wasn't into cooking last week is this:


    I love pickles! Especially homemade. We buy cucumbers from a local farmer every year. It's actually been our third year to buy from her. Her cukes are delicious and not bitter and she always gives us a few pounds extra. Today husband will actually bring another half a bushel of each of cucumbers and beets from her. So more canning on my to-do list in the next couple of days...

  But we can't afford to eat out any more, so our menu this week will be very simple:

Mon.- Russian crepes with homemade apricot jam (not simple but I'm craving them)
Tues.- dinner with my sister (her place)
Wed.-pasta with tomato sauce (last soccer game of the season)
Thurs.- soup?
Fr.- tuna sandwiches, salad
Sat.- hamburgers with all the fixings
Sun.- shrimp pasta, salad

What are you eating this week? Any easy and inexpensive ideas that you can share?
  
PS-I will link this post to the amazing Kirsten's blog The Frugal Girl and her Food waste Fridays.
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17 comments:

  1. doodlebugmomJuly 23, 2012 at 4:07 PM

    I have the same problem with celery. Chicken tenders for supper tonight, won't be home tomorrow ( going to see the neurosurgeon and its a 2 hour drive, so we will eat out). As for the rest of the week, I will plan that when I get the grocery store ad tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LenaJuly 23, 2012 at 8:06 PM

      I hope your visit will go good tomorrow!

      Delete
  2. Live and LearnJuly 23, 2012 at 5:52 PM

    I've heard that wrapping celery in foil extends its life considerably.

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    1. LenaJuly 23, 2012 at 8:05 PM

      Really? I've never heard that before. I will try it next time I buy celery. Thank you!

      Delete
    2. CortneyJuly 24, 2012 at 3:32 AM

      It does- I use this all the time and it last several weeks! Just cut it up and wrap in a wet paper towel and wrap it all in aluminium foil.

      Delete
  3. AmyJuly 23, 2012 at 7:54 PM

    I'm hot, lazy, exhausted and not cooking much lately either. In fact, Adam did most of the cooking tonight and didn't even get home from work until 7:15.

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    Replies
    1. LenaJuly 24, 2012 at 2:31 PM

      It's nice to have a cooking husband :) Mine is rocking our grill but really cooks inside :)

      Delete
  4. Kathy Skinner (Kat)July 23, 2012 at 8:03 PM

    I have the same problem with celery myself! Do we get a recipe for your yummy Russian Crepes? Sounds so good! I want to try the hamburger/hot dog buns I saw at {Diary of a Stay at Home Mom} (http://familycorner.blogspot.ca/search/label/happy%20homemaker%20monday). Your pickles look really yummy too!

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    Replies
    1. LenaJuly 24, 2012 at 2:32 PM

      I'll post a recipe soon :)Probably next time when I get the pictures. They are pretty yummy!

      Delete
  5. DebbyJuly 23, 2012 at 9:40 PM

    Celery was the reason I bought my dehydrator!! Really crazy but it was the thing that pushed me over the edge to spend the $$ on the dehydrator. No more leftover celery now its all dried and stored in jars. I feel your pain on the canning front, I spent the entire afternoon over the canner, hot sticky work

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    Replies
    1. LenaJuly 24, 2012 at 2:29 PM

      I am really considering asking Santa for one of these...

      Delete
  6. Cindy@NorthofWiartonJuly 24, 2012 at 4:34 AM

    Canning is lots of work, but so nice after the fact. Celery keeps longer wrapped in foil, have done so myself.

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  7. lauraJuly 24, 2012 at 10:43 AM

    Hi Lena, I love pickles but rarely buy them (nobody else eats them). The foil tip is great - I've never heard of that before.

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    Replies
    1. LenaJuly 24, 2012 at 2:26 PM

      Nobody really eats pickles here but me. But I can eat quite a bit of them :)

      Delete
  8. Lili@creativesavvJuly 27, 2012 at 9:07 AM

    Not too bad, in the waste department. Your menu sounds great too!
    To get stuff like chopped celery into the freezer, with what seems like less effort, every time I get some out for celery sticks or soup, I get out an extra couple of stalks, chop it, and pop into a container for the freezer. It doesn't seem like such an insurmountable task that way, to me.
    So I ask this of every one I know who does pickles and jelly/jam -- do you store these in your fridge or on pantry shelves? I'm always afraid I'll lose a family member to my canning, so keep them in the fridge. So, I'm just curious about how others store these items.

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    Replies
    1. LenaJuly 27, 2012 at 10:51 AM

      I store in my pantry.It's dry, dark and cool there. My pantry is very deep. If you follow safe instructions while canning, you should be fine:)

      Delete

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