Hey there, friends. Thank you once again for posting menus week after week. They truly are so helpful. And we get little glimpses into your quarantine lives, including Nancy celebrating her son’s wedding from afar with such a positive attitude (click here and read comment #7). 

MONDAY:
– Leftovers (we have so many from last week!)

TUESDAY:
– Island Pork with Sticky Coconut Rice

WEDNESDAY:
– Pesto Pasta

THURSDAY:
– Stuffed Peppers

FRIDAY:
– BLTs

SATURDAY:
– Takeout night (support local!)

SUNDAY:
– Grill night with salad

Can’t wait to see what you’ve all got cooking this week – share your menu in the comments! As always, sending out lots of love!

Hi everyone. How’s it going? I hope well, wherever you are and whoever you are with. Sending lots of love!

MONDAY:
– Grammy’s Orange Chicken
– Rice and Salad

TUESDAY:
– Thai Basil Beef with Carrots (but with ground turkey!)
– Rice

WEDNESDAY:
– Cora’s Mexican Ground Beef (Turkey) Tacos

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Pasta Bolognese

SATURDAY:
– Take out from local restaurant!

SUNDAY:
– Grill night with salad

Your turn! Share those wonderful menus! Thank you in advance for your awesomeness. 🙂

We ended up doing takeout a few nights last week to support local restaurants. Praying they can all hang on through these locked down times. Here we go with another week with everyone home!

MONDAY:
– Spaghetti and Meatballs

TUESDAY:
– Zesty Salmon
– Roasted Potatoes and Side Veg

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Tortilla Soup

THURSDAY:
– Chicken Pot Pie

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Take out (support local restaurants!)

SUNDAY:
– Grill Night
– Salad

Please share your menu in the comments! Thank you!

Well, this has been a quite a week, hasn’t it? I look back on this past Tuesday and can’t believe how different things were: my conversations, our family’s plans plans for the upcoming weeks, I had my choice of parking spots at Costco. Fast forward two days: conversations changed dramatically, everything for the next 3-4 weeks is cancelled, there is a traffic jam just to get into the Costco parking lot. I have to say I’m grateful to be married to a person who studied viruses and can explain everything so clearly. And our family is 100% happy to do our part to flatten the curve. We are not panicked, and we are grateful for all the scientists and healthcare workers working tirelessly to guide and care for all the humans on this beautiful planet.

I’m still planning my menu. I’m hitting Frazier Farms right when it opens, hoping there is food on the shelves. If not, we’ll go back in a few days. From here on out it’s all about breathing, kindness and going with the flow!

Also, um, kinda funny(?) the weekly menu number for this week is 666. Calm down, weekly menu. 😉

MONDAY:
– Spaghetti and Meatballs

TUESDAY:
– Kitchen Sink Quesadillas

WEDNESDAY:
– Slow Cooker Pot Roast
– Mashed potatoes and salad

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Zesty Salmon
– Roasted Potatoes and Side Veg

SATURDAY:
– Take out (supporting a local restaurant!)

SUNDAY:
– Grill night
– Salad

Please share your own meal plans in the comments below! And let us know how you are doing!

Hi food friends! I really have been following my menus each week, so every week I’m having to come up with new ideas. Thank goodness you all share each week, it helps so much! So let’s do this…

MONDAY:
– Grammy’s Orange Chicken
– Rice and Salad

TUESDAY:
– Pesto Pasta
– Salad

WEDNESDAY:
– Red Beans and Rice
– Salad

THURSDAY:
– Chicken Caesar Wraps
– Chips and Fruit

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Grill night with salad

Your turn! Share your menus in the comments, no matter how simple or fancy!

Hello menu planners and aspiring menu planners. Let’s get a meal plan pulled together, shall we?

MONDAY:
– Rana’s Crockpot Sausage and Peppers

TUESDAY:
– Carnitas Tacos

WEDNESDAY:
– Baseball Team Dinner – Pizza!

THURSDAY:
– Grammy’s Orange Chicken
– Rice and Salad

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out night

SUNDAY:
– Grill Night with Salad

Your turn! Share your meal plans and dinner ideas in the comments below! They are so incredibly helpful to all of us every week!

Hello! I just want to take a minute and say THANK YOU for sharing menus every week! They are always so helpful and this week inspired every dinner I am planning to make this week. 

MONDAY:
– Pat’s Asian Chicken Salad

TUESDAY:
– Teriyaki Chicken Bowls (good idea, Tracey!)

WEDNESDAY:
– Naan Pizzas (in toaster oven instead of on the grill)

THURSDAY:
– Green Chile Enchiladas (my kids love this sauce by HATCH Chile Company) 

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out

SUNDAY:
– Grill night (whatever looks good at the butcher)
– Salad

Thank you in advance for sharing your own meal plans in the comments below! Have a great week!

Hello everyone! So far, so good with full-time work and the weekly menu…the meal plan helps so much! Hitting the grocery store over the weekend before the work week starts is key. Here’s what’s going on in the kitchen this week!

MONDAY:
– Chicken Piccata
– Mashed Potatoes and Salad

TUESDAY:
– Fried Rice

WEDNESDAY:
– Nachos
– Seven-Layer Dip

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Eat out night

SATURDAY:
– Pat’s Asian Chicken Salad

SUNDAY:
– Grill Night (whatever looks good and is on sale at the butcher!)
– Salad and Roasted Potatoes

Your turn! Share your weekly meal plans below! For real, your menus are so incredibly helpful when I sit down to plan each week, and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way. Thank you!

Well. Last week I was out of town over the weekend, so I got myself organized, wrote the weekly menu on Thursday to publish Sunday…and then didn’t realize until right now that my menu never published last week. So much for planning ahead! I suppose that just makes planning this week’s menu easier. 😉 

MONDAY:
– Eat out night (due to Mom traveling!)

TUESDAY:
– Spaghetti Bolognese
– Salad and garlic bread

WEDNESDAY:
– Beef Stroganoff
– Side veggie (whatever looks good at the store)

THURSDAY:
– Homemade Hamburgers

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Eat out

SUNDAY:
– Dinner at a friend’s (I happen to know they are making salmon with broccoli and rice!)

I started a full-time position this week, which I am incredibly excited about. Don’t worry, the blog isn’t going anywhere,. In fact meal planning is going to be even more important! 

Okay, time to share your menus! Tell us what’s cooking at your house this week in the comments below!

Happy New Year! (I can still say that, right? This isn’t Larry David’s blog so I’m going with it.) Since we still have one more day left in January, I’ve decided it’s not too late to share my new year’s resolution supporting the blog’s Eat Well, Heal the Planet annual goals. Drumroll, please…

That’s right, Waste Less Food is back! I am repeating my 2016 resolution because it’s an incredibly important and impactful one, and I personally could do with recommitting to this goal. If you are new to the blog, each year I choose a resolution where our family’s actions in the kitchen impact the environment in a positive way. For 2020 it is all about wasting less food!

First and foremost, go check out the post I wrote in 2016 the first time I made this my new year’s resolution. There is a ton of great information in that article, including more on the negative impact food waste has on the environment.

Today I want to build on that original post, providing tips for attacking food waste effectively.

#1: SHOP SMART

Being smart about the food you buy is definitely Step 1 in wasting less food.

Yes, that is Cate is 2009. She is now 15. Unreal.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Create a grocery list before you hit the store. This will help tremendously, both with food waste and budgeting.
• Buy ugly produce. It tastes the same, I promise. I often will pick up a piece of produce and go to put it back if it’s not perfect, then force myself to put it in the cart. The ugly fruit wants to be loved, too!
• Buy food from companies like Imperfect Foods. Imperfect Foods sources food that won’t be sold in stores, whether because it is surplus or imperfect (i.e. ugly). I’ve been ordering from Imperfect Foods for quite some time now and love the service. Click here to sign up! (Note: this is my referral link, which means we both get $10 with your first order.)

#2: FOOD LABEL DATES ARE NOT GOSPEL

Ignore dates on packaging. Seriously. The only food that the FDA requires a use-by date for is infant formula – no other food has date labeling requirements. The “use by” and “best by” dates printed on food packaging are a guide for enjoying food at peak quality and is not related to food safety. A “sell by” date tells stores how long to display products and, again, is not related to safety.  

When it comes to determining if a food is safe to eat, use logic, not the date on the package. Color, smell and texture will tell you what you need to know. And always make sure you store food properly to maximize safety and freshness. The USDA has a fantastic article that explains the dating systems used, as well as great tips for knowing if food has spoiled or not: click here to read it! 

#3: COOK AT HOME AND USE LEFTOVERS

Cooking at home has huge positive impacts when it comes to food waste and trash. When our family has had busy weeks where we’ve eaten takeout more, our trash bin fills up significantly more quickly, both with from food containers and random bits of food. There are many reasons why cooking at home is a great choice (Michael Pollan lists a few of them in this interview with the Boston Globe), and reducing food waste is one of my favorites! 

Leftovers are also huge when it comes to food waste. I used to be terrible about using up leftovers, but now (sometimes to my family’s chagrin) I am a champ getting those leftovers eaten! Whether it’s for my own lunch or dinner for the whole family, leftovers are super handy. 

#4: COMPOST!

The first time I made food waste a new year’s resolution, I also committed to composting. Composting is great because if you do end up with some food waste, you are putting it to good use! Rather than sending food waste to the landfill where it will create more greenhouse gases, composting food scraps at home skips the whole extra greenhouse gas problem and you end up with beautiful compost for your yard or garden. You can even compost in a small house or apartment using raised, rotating bins, as they don’t attract critters or cause a stink.  

I searched my blog and realized that I never followed up with you all about our family’s composting experience. I did in fact start composting in 2016 and we still do it! I decided to compost using raised, rotating bins. I highly recommend them! If you decide to go the rotating bin route, make sure the bin has two chambers, one for “cooking” and one for adding materials while the other side cooks.

Click here for a great Composting 101 article from Gardener’s Supply Company. Related, I love Gardener’s Supply Company’s dual-chamber rotating compost bin, which you can buy here. 

#5: MEAL PLANNING IS THE BEST!

Meal planning to the rescue once again! I know I’m biased, what with a blog called “This Week for Dinner” and all, but seriously, people, meal planning is huge when it comes to wasting less food. If your grocery list is based on your meal plan, you are automatically ahead of the game. Buying food that you have a plan for is huge in the fight against waste. If you aren’t meal planning already, hop to it! It’s the best!

Are you ready to waste less food? So am I! Happy 2020!