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| Is your mouth watering yet? |
I know I said, "BUY PLANTS" and I still stand by that!
Hey, it can be done, people!
Not all produce is created equal...
There are some fruits and veggies that I will call, "hearty" and there are others I will call "fragile."
Some examples of fragile foods would be:
-lettuce
-strawberries (really any berries)
-tomatoes
-bananas
-cucumbers
Some examples of hearty foods would be:
-cabbage
-carrots
-apples
-oranges
-broccoli
-potatoes
In order to make your fresh foods last longer, be strategic! Use the fragile foods first, and later in the month, when you're running low on produce, you'll still have the hearty foods to work with.
Last month, I noticed a sale on sweet potatoes. We love sweet potatoes (keep reading for a delicious recipe...) they were also around a $1 or $1.50 per bag. Because potatoes are hearty, I knew that they
would last all month so I went ahead and bought several.
Make it streeeeeeeeeeetch...
In my last post, you may have noticed that I was really specific about how much of each vegetable to use in each dish. That's because I want to stretch my veggies out as far as they will go. Invest in some small plastic refrigerator storage! I usually never use more than 1/4 of a green pepper at a time. I just chop up what I need and put it away. For small onions, I usually only use half. Sometimes, I even use half of canned goods at a time. For example, one can of corn can be divided--half in a tomato vegetable soup today, and the other half in a taco stir fry tomorrow.
In that documentary I watched, "Chow Down," the lady said that for one meal she and her husband ate 12 bell peppers. People. I don't know how that's even possible unless that's all you eat! But when you're mixing a handful of broccoli, a few carrots, onions, etc in with it, 1/2 a pepper turns out to be plenty.
Ah, the glorious freezer...
When you're at the grocery store and you spot a good deal, stock up! A couple months ago, Aldi had green peppers on sale 3 for $1. Well, I LOVE green peppers, so I bought about six packs! Of course, we wouldn't have been able to eat them all before they went bad, so I kept one or two packs in the fridge, and the rest I cut and quartered, put in freezer bags and froze them. Now, if I need green peppers, I can grab a bag, chop them up and throw them in! This is a great way to make sure you're produce doesn't go to waste. Wash, chop, and store in the freezer. Your produce is there for the next 31 days.
Eliminate Waste...
Keeping in mind that some foods expire faster than others, organize your refrigerator accordingly. Okay, so maybe I'm just weird, but I like to organize my fridge! If you stick the blueberries way in the back and forget about them, they will go old and then you'll have to throw them away. And you will be very sad.
I won't prescribe to you exactly where to put what (I'll leave the fun part up to you :)) but I will say, make sure everything is clearly visible (especially the fragile stuff) and is ordered in a way that makes sense to you.
As a side note, some things may not need to be thrown out...if it's moldy or slimy, by all means toss it. However, I caught by husband throwing away a black banana and I was horrified!
"Babes, no! We can put that in the freezer and make it into a smoothie or banana bread!"
Just take the peeling off first and put in freezer safe storage.
Tip: for smoothies, I've found it's easier to slice the banana into smaller pieces before freezing, they fit in the blender better.
Turn to the pantry last...
If you're at the very end of the month, like us (It's the 24th now) the fridge is probably looking pretty sparse. This is where a well-stocked pantry comes in handy. Here are a few recipes we've had this week, mostly from the pantry and from my hearty vegetables!
Hamburger Casserole
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| The seasoning I use in everything! |
1 cup of ground turkey
1 can of mixed vegetables
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of rice
Boil two cups of water, add a sprinkle of salt and a dash of olive oil. Once the water is boiling, add one cup of rice and turn the heat down. Cover and let simmer until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
I cooked my ground turkey ahead of time with some diced onions. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, some powdered garlic, and season all. When the rice is cooked, just combine everything together. The veggies, creamed soup, and the turkey. Mix it together and you're done!
Disclaimer: once again, maybe not my healthiest meal to date, but it is SO CHEAP and SO EASY.
Cabbage Stir Fry
1/2 head of cabbage, sliced into thin strips
1/2 onion
Sliced carrots2 finely chopped cloves of garlic
1 package of chicken flavor Ramen noodles
Pepper
Soy sauce (optional)
Saute all vegetables in a large skillet with olive oil. Season with pepper and chicken flavor packet *Do not add salt* Boil noodles for 3 minutes and add to veggies. Add a little sauce if you like! Tip: the key to cooking cabbage is not to overcook it! The longer it cooks, the more bitter it becomes. Sauteing it gives it great flavor with a little crunch.
Taco Salad
1/2 sliced onion
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
1 can of diced tomato
Shredded lettuce
Fage (Greek yogurt)
In a large skillet, saute onion in olive oil. Add meat and canned ingredients. To season, you can add a packet of taco seasoning. I didn't have any on hand, so I just used garlic salt, pepper, season all and chili powder. When all the flavors are combined and heated through, spoon on top of a bed of shredded lettuce. Add a dollop of Greek yogurt in place of sour cream!
Husband approved!
This recipe is so versatile! Variations: no meat, inside taco shells, or served over rice!
Can't Get Enough Sweet Potatoes (pictured above!)
2-3 large sweet potatoes
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar (optional)
Salt and pepper
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Wash the sweet potatoes well. Cut into small cubes. In a large bowl, toss cubes with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. *Careful, these are easy to over season* Bake until tender, turning them with a spatula occasionally. For great flavor, take them out just before they are done roasting, put them back in the bowl and add a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar and another small drizzle of olive oil. Mix well and put them back in the oven until they are browned to perfection!
Even at the end of the month, you don't have to run back to the grocery store and spend more of your hard-earned money! Be strategic and make those vegetables work for you!
It can be done, people!
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