Too Much Food?

TastyReuben

TastyReuben

Nosh 'n' Splosh
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Do you ever get in a situation where you find you have too much food to deal with and get through over a given time?

I bought a pineapple the other day (because while pineapples are plentiful here, ripe ones aren’t, and this one looked ripe), and every day, I tell myself, “Must cut that up today, bucko…” and there it still sits.

We have loads of festive cookies…and MrsT brought back a bagful of more cookies from her last trip…and a fresh-baked gingerbread loaf with a very short shelf life…and there it sits.

The freezer’s full, so that’s not an option, and we can eat only so much.

This time of year is terrible for me in that way, because I see all the holiday things in the shops, and I simply must have them, then fast forward and we’re still eating Santa’s North Pole Delights in June, they’re four months past their best-by date, and stale, but they must get eaten because we bought them!

Anyone else fight that dilemma of too much food, mainly from impulse buying?
 
Our freezers get too full of proteins because BOGOs are hard to resist. I've been trying to do better and use up before buying more, even tempting BOGOs, and that's been working for frequently used things like ground beef, chicken thighs, shrimp, but now it's the holidays and they put things on sale like BOGO turkey breasts and...
 
I do have a problem with those buy-one-get-one meat sales around here, or when I go to ALDI and they have a limited-time type of sausage out…and I still have some from last time…and seasonal beer, because we don’t drink nearly as much beer as we used to, but the Christmas/Winter beers are available for a short time only.
 
Yeah I do have that happen but I always make sure I bring it to the food bank before it expires. I am a regular food bank donor anyway, having experienced poverty and disability myself.
That's a downside of being with two, most packages are for at least four. But whatever is left gets donated and not wasted.
 
TastyReuben said:
Do you ever get in a situation where you find you have too much food to deal with and get through over a given time?

I bought a pineapple the other day (because while pineapples are plentiful here, ripe ones aren’t, and this one looked ripe), and every day, I tell myself, “Must cut that up today, bucko…” and there it still sits.
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That pineapple can be cut up and frozen. I've done that many times. Then, after thawing, you can puree it and use it in baked goods. I like to put it in pancakes or banana pineapple bread (pineapple orange bread would be good, too). I've also used it mixed in with cream cheese for stuffed French toast.
TastyReuben said:
Anyone else fight that dilemma of too much food, mainly from impulse buying?
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Sadly, yes.
 
Not often. We're quite strict about what we buy especially with perishable foods. I make up a shopping list each week and we stick to it.

I probably have a little too much in the way of veg to get through this week mind you. The supermarket shopping list app through a wobbly at the weekend when hubby did the shopping and doubled everything (again). Rather than ring me and ask if I really wanted 4 more avocados on top of the 2 ripe ones at home, he bought 2/4/6 or even 10 of everything. I'm not certain why he thought i wanted 10 corn on the cob (luckily they are very cheap at the moment)! Thankfully he's away this week, so I was only catering for 1, not 2, so only ended up with 2 not 4 of everything this time around. It only seems to do this when he resurrects the previous weeks list and amends it. If you make a new one from scratch, it is fine. :scratchhead:

We do regularly donate to the food bank as well, but I need to be going that way and they are only open on Wednesday's for those needing help, so fresh stuff like veg won't last from Thursday when I'm next there through to the next Wednesday. I can drop the eggs in because they'll last just fine, along with other stuff, just not the fresh veg.
 
I have to admit, it does happen occasionally, especially if I happen to be in a Farmer's market or a supermarket I haven't visited before.
Most of the excess food is either vegetables or cheese. Yesterday, for example, I went to a supermarket I haven't been to for over 5 years. All I needed to buy were potatoes and milk. I came out with potatoes, some lovely baby courgettes, milk, cream, blue cheese, cheese cuts (the little chunks of cheese left over from the deli counter), a Belgian witbier and 2 pots of capers.
There are no food banks here. Heck, there are barely any normal banks. What usually happens is that I cook up a storm and give half away to the gardener.
 
Right now, I see that I have about a third of a 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes sitting in the fridge, and I can’t even believe I’m typing this, but when we had afternoon tea on Sunday, we started with Prosecco cocktails, and didn’t use the whole bottle, so there’s about a quarter of two-day old Prosecco in the fridge I need to do something with.
 
TastyReuben said:
Right now, I see that I have about a third of a 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes sitting in the fridge
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Italian tomato sauce. It lasts at least a week (or more) once cooked. Crushed garlic, olive oil, basil, oregano, tomatoes, cook for about 20-30 minutes. You can use it for pasta, or for pizza.
 
TastyReuben said:
Right now, I see that I have about a third of a 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes sitting in the fridge, and I can’t even believe I’m typing this, but when we had afternoon tea on Sunday, we started with Prosecco cocktails, and didn’t use the whole bottle, so there’s about a quarter of two-day old Prosecco in the fridge I need to do something with.
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I decant any unused wine into freezer suitable containers and freezer it (deep freeze, not fridge freezer) it is pretty good at preserving it for another time. I've got both red and white in the freezer at the moment after my hubby cooked a recipe that used 50ml of red and 75ml of white, for which he opened 2 new bottles of wine and then left them in the fridge!
 
TastyReuben said:
Right now, I see that I have about a third of a 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes sitting in the fridge, and I can’t even believe I’m typing this, but when we had afternoon tea on Sunday, we started with Prosecco cocktails, and didn’t use the whole bottle, so there’s about a quarter of two-day old Prosecco in the fridge I need to do something with.
Click to expand...
Drink it? LOL! Or let it go flat and use it in the challenge?
 
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