Food Waste And Travel Savings

If reincarnation is a thing, I was once a pre- war housewife. Waste bothers me and I’m pretty good at stretching resources a little further.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not washing out sandwich bags – mostly because I don’t use them much. Paper plates are ok for parties but not daily use and I average two rolls of paper towels year.

Food waste is super annoying to me and I’m always dismayed when I hear people proudly proclaim they don’t eat leftovers.

Why is this important to someone who mostly writes about leaving home and doing fun things? The short answer is that saving money now is how you afford the fun travels later.

So I spent some time Sunday salvaging some fridge food and transforming it into something better.

– Roasted some veggies that were on the verge. Some chunks of onion, a few mushrooms, half a zucchini and shriveling asparagus all got tossed in olive oil and sea salt. There’s enough to provide veggies for a few meals and this is terrific because I try to eat veggies at every meal, including breakfast.

– Chopped up a pineapple that was also on the verge. I relish fresh pineapple but there’s a disconnect between putting it on the counter and actually cutting it up to eat. From the fridge it disappears super quick either as yogurt topper in the morning or just a refreshing snack.

– Whipped up some healthy, gluten free pancakes using two sad bananas, the end of a peanut butter jar, a little applesauce and some other pantry ingredients. These are now tucked into the freezer for breakfasts and dinners when I don’t want to cook.

– Discovered some blueberry jam that will make a great topping for yogurt or pancakes. Or, ooh, yogurt and blueberry jam on pancakes!

– Half a head of raw cauliflower, sour cream left from another recipe, and the end of the butter were added to potatoes and pantry chives. Together these were transformed into some delicious mashed potatoes. I’ll eat them as-is for a couple of meals and repurpose whatever is left into potato cakes for dinner one night.

– A green bell pepper got diced and frozen. I keep leftover peppers, onions and mushrooms in the freezer for quick fillers and toppings for quiche, omelets, pizza, etc. Otherwise, I would be throwing away shriveled up veggies all the time.

– Made a plan for some leftover guacamole with tomatoes, black beans and the rest of the sour cream. I’ll add a little sweet corn from the freezer and the end of some shredded cheese. If I add rice, it can be burrito filler or it could be a dip. I will either buy some chips or some tortillas while out tomorrow. Decisions, decisions.

I also made a mental list of some things that will need addressed. Some leftover cucumber, an orange pepper and a bunch of carrots were not pressing yesterday but they will be soon.

All of this took practically no time. An hour?

Not only is there now food prepared or ingredients ready for lots of future meals, the fridge is nice and tidy now and money has been saved.

Life is expensive. With the cost of everything going up, it’s more important than ever to be smart with our resources. And yes, that sad asparagus is a resource. You evidently thought it was a good idea to trade your hard earned money to get it so it’s smart to use it.

The rising cost of groceries has certainly outpaced income for most of us. When we throw away food, it’s like throwing away money. And wasting money cuts into adventure savings. For me, it’s worth an hour of my Sunday now to have adventures later!

This is the least glamorous part of traveling on a budget but it is vital. How could we travel at all if we don’t save money at home?

So you have food savings tips? Share them!