Success after IF

Random cooking poll: In what ways are you wasteful

in the kitchen?

 

And on the flip side - share one cool time saving tip you use in the kitchen. 

Our IF journey: 1 m/c, 1 IVF with only 3 eggs retrieved yielding Dylan and a lost twin, 1 shocker unmedicated BFP resulting in Jace, 3 more unmedicated pregnancies ending in more losses.
Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.

Re: Random cooking poll: In what ways are you wasteful

  • Um...I don't cook at all? I'm sure that's wasteful in any number of ways. When I do cook, since I do it so rarely, I'm probably as inefficient as possible and waste a lot of stuff when I mess up.

    I don't have any tips since I don't do much in the kitchen. I suck.

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  • 1.  Wasteful - garlic.  I have zero patience with peeling garlic.  If a piece is teeny tiny I toss it and move on to a big fat piece that will give me more bang for my garlic peeling buck.

    And before you tell me... I know I can just put it in the garlic smasher with the peel on but for some reason I have a compulsion to peel.

     

    2.  Time saving tip - multi batch cooking.  You've already got the pots and pans out.  Why not prepare a double or triple batch while you're cooking.  Toss the extras in the freezer using a cheap hand pump vacuum sealer from zip lock found in the storage aisle in your grocery store.  Freeze them flat so they stack well and take up little space in the freezer.

    The key is to keep a running list of what's IN the freezer (by date) so you don't forget about it.  I used to use a wipe off marker and literally write my list on the inside wall of my freezer but when DH got me a super cool standing freezer for all my goods I started using a piece of paper stuck to the front of the freezer (in the mud room where no one can grimace at how tacky it looks).

    Viola - cook less, eat home made meals more! 

    Our IF journey: 1 m/c, 1 IVF with only 3 eggs retrieved yielding Dylan and a lost twin, 1 shocker unmedicated BFP resulting in Jace, 3 more unmedicated pregnancies ending in more losses.
    Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.
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  • I don't like to reuse aluminum foil.  Or ziploc bags (DH puts them through the washing machine, but to me, they aren't the same...).  But here's my tip:  I hate to waste any part of any meal, so for example, roast a chicken?  Put the bones in a ziploc the freezer for chicken stock.  Make shrimp?  Put the shells in a ziploc in the freezer for shrimp stock.  It's a great way to make some critical mass.
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  • DH wanted to add his time saving tip:

    when using things like peelers, zesters and mini-mandolin slicers it's not necessary to actually WASH them before putting them away.  Just rinse them well and toss them back in the drawer wet.

    (insert wife's eye roll here) 

    Our IF journey: 1 m/c, 1 IVF with only 3 eggs retrieved yielding Dylan and a lost twin, 1 shocker unmedicated BFP resulting in Jace, 3 more unmedicated pregnancies ending in more losses.
    Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.
  • We're not big leftover people. Well, that's not true. My husband is not a leftover person. So, if I make more than the exact portion size then it eithe gets thrown out or I'm eating it for lunch for the next week.

    Not sure about time saving, per se, but I make sure I'm prepared to cook. I read and re-read a recipe (if using one) an make sure all my ingredients are prepped. So, if something calls for a cup of chicken broth, I pour it out before I start cooking so I'm not opening the box right before I have to pour it in.

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  • Well my DH works in the F and B business and he is super crazy about food and stuff..like how long it's been sitting out, defrosting, if it has been cross contaminated.  So we do waste some food probably more then others becuase of his crazy ness (he just threw out some samon I had defrosted for him cause it "smelled" bad...)

    One way I try to save is to make enough for dinner and that DH can take it for lunch the next day. He is a  "Hot" lunch kind of guy, and sometimes the choices at his work (think lots of hot dogs, hamburgers, junk like that) get boring and are unhealthy for him..

  • I definitely waste a lot when I chop.  I am constantly tossing pieces of onion that I could totally use, but I'm too lazy to chop them (this is a result of the way I dice onions -- leaves a hunk at the end).  On several occasions this week I wished we had a compost pile for all of the peels and ends that I toss out.  We also make too much food on a regular basis.  We take the leftovers for lunch every day, but inevitably there is still food leftover at the end of the week that gets tossed.

    Time saving tips....  Use your crock-pot (lol)!  I also took a tip from Rachael Ray (even though I HATE her) and I keep something out to collect garbage as I'm cooking -- either a random bowl, the meat packaging, or the produce bag from onions, etc. 

    If I am making something that requires cooking chicken ahead of time, I'll try to remember to cook the chicken with another chicken dish earlier in the week (for example, if I need to cook chicken for chicken salad, I'll just roast an extra chicken breast or two along with dinner the night before).

    I also HATE to wash dishes, so I usually figure out how to cook dinner dirtying the least number of pans/bowls/etc.  This is unlike DH, who makes it his mission to use every damn pot, bowl, measuring cup, spoon, and whisk that we own whenever he is cooking.

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  • I tend to run the water while I do dishes.

    Hmmm, timesaving tip... get a DH who cooks? That's what I did :)  OK, this isn't all that time saving, but did you know you can freeze ginger root? We cook with it often enough to need it on hand, but not often enough that a big knob wouldn't spoil.  So we freeze it, and then just grate the frozen ginger on a rasp.  Easier than chopping!

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  • Waste: I make too much of everything and dh will do leftovers for one night but usually not more. Time-saver: I make and freeze things that I can use for multiple different meals. Like I will make a big batch of browned ground beef with minced onions and freeze it in portions. Then I pull it out for various thing like nachos, tacos, beefaroni, lasagna, chili, etc. I do the same thing with pot roasts. I will also buy a bunch of fish fillets or get a big one and cut it up. Then salt, pepper, dill (marinate them indry spices) and vacuum seal and freeze. Then pull out individual portions, broil and serve with a veggie.
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  • imageepphd:

    I tend to run the water while I do dishes.

    Hmmm, timesaving tip... get a DH who cooks? That's what I did :)  OK, this isn't all that time saving, but did you know you can freeze ginger root? We cook with it often enough to need it on hand, but not often enough that a big knob wouldn't spoil.  So we freeze it, and then just grate the frozen ginger on a rasp.  Easier than chopping!

    I have an even better tip for you on the gingerroot!  Keep a little pot of dirt by the sink and put the ginger back in the pot.  Water it occasionally and your ginger will just keep growing. 

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  • I don't reuse foil or ziplock bags. Sometimes I waste water when doing dishes - I keep it running between rinsing and loading the dishwasher. We throw produce away a lot of the time - it's hard with two people to eat produce before it spoils.


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  • Waste:  I don't cook a lot (my DH does ALL of the cooking for us, I only cook for Lucy), so we sometimes waste fresh produce and the like that I have bought thinking we'll use it up and we don't.

    Time saving tip:  This isn't for us as much as it for Lucy's daycare lunches.  I make a ton of stuff in batches and freeze it ice cube trays, just like I used to do her purees.  The kid loves whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce, so I make batches with veggies mixed in, cut it all up, freeze it in the ice cube trays, and then defrost two cubes for her lunch.  Saves a ton of time during the week :)   

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