Smart Saving: Eat What You Buy
Watch the Love Your Leftovers Video (YouTube; video displayed above). Be aware of ingredients and leftovers you need to use up. You’ll waste less and may even find a new favorite dish in the process.
Plan ahead
- Make a list each week of what needs to be used up and plan upcoming meals around it.
- Designate an “eat soon” area in your fridge by moving food that's likely to spoil soon to the front of a shelf. Print and attach this label (PDF, 30 K) to the shelf, on a shoebox or other container to corral food that needs to be eaten soon.
- Are you likely to have leftovers from any of your meals? Plan on an “eat the leftovers” night each week.
Use it up
- Leftover greens or veggie tops can be blended and frozen for winter soups or kept whole and turned into broth (which you can also freeze).
- Casseroles, frittatas, soups and smoothies are great ways to use leftovers, and odds and ends. For ideas on cooking with leftovers, visit our Recipe box.
- Share food you won’t get around to eating with friends or neighbors before heading out of town.
Wondering about the shelf life of a particular food or drink? Check out these resources for shelf life information about specific foods (external links): USDA Food Product Dating Guide,www.StillTasty.com or www.EatByDate.com.
A special thank you to King County, Washington for developing and sharing the content of "Food: Too Good To Waste” on the pages devoted to the topic.
