Home
About
Gardening
Food
    Recipes
    Anti-inflammatory Diet
    Carb Counting
    Dairy Elimination
    Heart Healthy
    Intermittent Fasting
    Liver-Friendly Diet
    MyPlate Guidelines
    Paleo Diet
    Trim Healthy Mama
Fitness
Wellness Tips
    Eating Well in Less Time
    Eating Well on a Budget
Contact
Subscribe
Down Home Dietitian - Healthy doesn't have to be hard.
  • Home
  • About
  • Gardening
  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Anti-inflammatory Diet
    • Carb Counting
    • Dairy Elimination
    • Heart Healthy
    • Intermittent Fasting
    • Liver-Friendly Diet
    • MyPlate Guidelines
    • Paleo Diet
    • Trim Healthy Mama
  • Fitness
  • Wellness Tips
    • Eating Well in Less Time
    • Eating Well on a Budget
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
Browsing Tag
money saving
Eating Well on a Budget Wellness Tips

Money-Saving Tip: When Good Produce Goes Bad

prevent food waste to save money

 

Wouldn’t you love to know how to keep produce from going bad?

We’ve all experienced the sad breakup – when you look in your produce drawer and see the wilting broccoli you bought two weeks ago looking sadly up at you.

“You were going to eat me for snacks, remember? I was going to be good for you!”

“But,” you think, “you’re past your snacking prime! And I already have dinner plans that don’t involve you. Tomorrow’s not good either. I don’t know when I’ll get around to eating you.”

You sigh…and if you’re a conflict avoider, you slide the drawer shut to deal with it another day. If you’re a rip-the-Band-Aid-off person, you toss it in the trash right then and there. All your good intentions, all your dreams for your broccoli relationship dashed, and all that good grocery money wasted.

I know you know what I’m talking about.

It is frustrating to see a piece of produce nearing the end of its usable life, knowing that you will not realistically have a chance to eat it before it sees the other side.

Well, I have a solution: catch-alls!

 



 

I’ll tell you how it works. Let’s go back to poor Mr. Broccoli. He’s laying there, wanting to be nutritious, but you know he doesn’t have a chance in the next few days. Right then, you place him in your veggie catch-all container. This is a large plastic container or gallon zipper bag full of all of your previous veggie good-intentions-gone-bad. Then they all go in the freezer to commiserate together. Don’t worry about peeling, chopping, dicing, stemming, or anything right now (unless you have time). Just toss the whole darn thing in the bag and put it in the freezer. Keep a separate container for your fruit catch-alls.

 

food saving hack to save money

Some of your produce may change color when you freeze it – it’s okay, it’s still good!

 

Then, when your catch-all bag is full, put a catch-all on your meal plan for the next week. Catch-alls are meals that you can make with just about any combo of frozen fruits or vegetables past their prime, but not yet covered in fur. Here are some examples:

Veggie Catch-alls: stir fries, soups, curries, breakfast scrambles/frittatas

Fruit Catch-alls: smoothies, compotes (just simmer diced fruit in a pot with some cinnamon – add a little water if they aren’t juicy fruits – until it thickens, serve alone or over ice cream!)

Catch-alls make it so that you don’t necessarily have to do anything with the produce the minute you notice it is on the way out. Often, you don’t have time right then to do much about it, but you can take a second to toss it in the freezer. Then, when you use the catch-all, you have an entire meal’s worth of produce that you don’t have to buy!

Here are a couple of tips to make catch-alls work their very best:

  • If your catch-all meal requires slicing and dicing, take the catch-all bag out to thaw about 30-40 minutes before you need to prep the produce. You don’t want them totally thawed (they’ll be soft and messy to cut), but you don’t want them frozen solid either.
  • There are certain types of produce that work best in certain types of recipes. For example, frozen mushrooms work best when diced small. Greens are best used for green smoothies or for soups after they’ve been frozen (I keep these in a separate container from my veggie catch-all bag for this reason). You’ll learn some of this by trial and error too.
  • If you have a second to peel a banana before putting it in your fruit catch-all bag, do it. Trust me on this one. They are much easier to peel before they’ve been frozen.

To get you started, here are a few recipes for good catch-all recipes. You can exchange the produce in the recipe for whatever you have!

 

Veggie: Red Curry Soup

Fruit: Green Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake

Veggie: Salmon and Red Potato Hash with Dijon Aioli

 

Give it a try – you won’t regret saving all that money and keeping all that food out of the garbage!

 



 

Related Articles

The Must-Try Meal-Planning Hack to Stop Wasting Food and Money

Streamline Your Healthy Life in 20 Minutes per Week

How to Meal Plan on a Budget (step-by-step walkthrough)

 

Share

  • Print
Share
Pin
Tweet
Continue reading

Down Home Dietitian

Diet culture is determined to tell you that you have to be miserable to be healthy.

That couldn’t be more wrong.

Subscribe to learn how to go from a frustrated, restricted dieter to a happy, relaxed relationship with food and fitness. Healthy doesn’t have to be hard!

Subscribe
https://youtu.be/xz9u4pUPFA0

Instagram

beckiparsons.rd.ep

I am OVER confusing advice, disgusting diets, and boring exercise.
Healthy doesn't have to be hard!
🍎 Dietitian
🚶‍♀️ Exercise Physiologist

Becki Parsons, MS, RD, CEP
Are you ready to start dating healthy changes? Pro Are you ready to start dating healthy changes? Prospective clients always want to know what it's like to work with me and what their plan will look like (understandably)! Everyone's plan ends up different, so I can't tell you what your plan will look like beforehand...I haven't gotten to know you yet! But I can tell you that we will work to match your personality, schedule, budget, goals and more to healthy changes so they are streamlined and aligned with your lifestyle. We are looking for a long-term relationship here...but that means dating first! 
.
♥️ Like this post if you've ever beat yourself up for "failing" at a new healthy change that, in hindsight, just wasn't the right fit.
.
💪 Comment below and tell me about it if you're feeling brave! I'll start...
.
.
.
#dietitian #lifestylechange #donedieting #antidiet #wellnessjourney #nutritionist #fitness #fitforlife #fitfam #wellnesscoach #wellnesscoaching #nutritioncoach #fitnesscoach #exercisecoach #olympianutrition #seattlenutrition #olympiadietitian #seattledietitian #seattleweightloss #olympiaweightloss #weightlosstips #weightlosscoaching
If you need a bit of accountability to keep yourse If you need a bit of accountability to keep yourself in the game for your goals - my Virtual Accountability Subscription is for you! One 60-minute goal setting appointment and 11 weekly e-mail follow-ups to stay in touch and keep you supported and encouraged along the way. Plus, you can get 10% off with the promo code "DHD22" if you start your subscription today - don't miss out! Click the link in my bio to get started.
You don't know why they are the weight they are. You don't know why they are the weight they are.

You don't know what struggles they may face.

If you think it's just "eat less, move more," you're missing a big part of the picture.

If you think they are eating more than they "should," keep in mind that you can't know that by observing one meal or even a few.

If you think it might be nice to compliment someone on their weight loss, I totally get it. I love to cheer someone on! But unless you are REALLY informed on their situation, keep in mind that you might be:

-Reinforcing an eating disorder
-Encouraging them to continue an over-restrictive deprivation diet
-Noticing the effects of a scary diagnosis
-Confirming their fears that everyone pays attention to their size.
.
.
#weightstigma #weightloss #weightbias #nutrition #fitness #exercise #dietitian #registereddietitian #antidiet #antidietdietitian #wellness #besupportive #eatingdisorderawareness
January 2021 I injured my back, causing an extrude January 2021 I injured my back, causing an extruded L5/S1 disc (think REALLY bad bulging disc) that led to sciatica. At the time, I had to stop doing all of my regular workouts including weightlifting, and focus on walking and rest for several months. Sitting, especially for long periods, became very painful. Since a lot of my job involves virtual appointments and computer work that was obviously a big bummer, to say the least.

I've really missed weight lifting over the last year or so, and I could not wait to get back to it. But if you've ever dealt with chronic pain and injury, you know that re-injury is certainly not something anyone is interested in. I waited a very long time to get back to lifting and make sure that I rehabbed my back properly with PT and bodyweight exercises before I started again.

Getting back to it has been awesome, but it certainly has its challenges. I have to choose my core work very carefully and limit my high impact exercises (I avoid jump roping for more than a couple-minute warm up, for example). I'm lifting much lighter weights than I used to, which can feel defeating after I had worked so hard. Prior to my injury, one of the goals I had been working towards was to increase my chin-ups. It was a hard-fought victory to get to three chin-ups, and I was pretty darn sure I was going to be starting again at square one when I got back to it. I put it off trying it for longer than I had to because I didn't want to know...lol. 🙈 I could not believe that over a year later, I'm still able to do two! Thank you body, for having my back. I've got yours too. 😉

P.S. I love this shirt from @activefaithsports - #icandoallthings #notsponsoredjustloveit
.
.
#sciatica #backinjury #spinehealth #fitness #physicaltherapy #workout #rehab #lowimpactexercise #weights #weightlifting #chinups #gratefulformybody #bodyappreciation #postinjury #bulgingdisc #corework #bodiesareawesome #backatit #icandothis #slowbutsteady #strengthtraining #lifting #weighttraining
This is one of my favorite things to hear from cli This is one of my favorite things to hear from clients, because it's often when we are focusing elsewhere that the weight loss happens. It is seriously 75% mindset and mental shifts, and 25% habits. It doesn't have to be hard!
.
.
#weightloss #loseweight #healthyhabits #healthymindset #healthydoesnthavetobeboring #healthynothard #healthydoesnthavetobehard #healthymind #healthymindhealthybody #olympiadietitian #olympiaweightloss #olympianutrition #seattleweightloss #seattledietitian
🔟more days to get 10% off your Virtual Accounta 🔟more days to get 10% off your Virtual Accountability Subscription! If you're ready to love your food life and feel awesome in your body but just need that extra bit of expert support and accountability to get there, this is the program for you!

- One 60-minute virtual appointment to get to know you, set goals, and make your plan ☑️
- Access to a variety of interactive communication tools that sync with your fave wearable trackers✅
- 11 weekly email check-in forms with a tailored response by Yours Truly including recommendations, resources, accountability, and encouragement to see it through and make your healthy life happen☑️
- BONUS: 10% off additional virtual follow-up appointments if you need a little extra support along the way✅

You know you've been waiting around to feel better and stop letting pain, limitations, or low energy hold you back from living your life. Why wait any longer? Get a Registered Dietitian and Exercise Physiologist in your corner - let's do this! Click the link in my bio and use the promo code "DHD22" to get started. 💪
.
.
#olympianutritionist #olympiadietitian #seattledietitian #seattlenutritionist #spokanedietitian #spokanenutritionist #loseweightseattle #weightlossseattle #loseweightolympia #loseweightspokane #losingweight #weightloss #feelingbetter #accountability #applewatch #fitbit #wearabletracker #highenergy #telehealthcare #seattletrainer #olympiatrainer #foodfreedomjourney #antidietdietitian
I have and will put my heart and soul into serving I have and will put my heart and soul into serving my clients - and I LOVE doing it! ♥️ 

I actually went to school intending to be a crime scene investigator. I had interned at the coroner's office throughout high school and had my eyes set on Eastern Washington University's forensic science program. I think I had known for a while that I was leaning away from that but when you're a senior and everyone is asking about your plans, it's nice to have an answer to give them. 😆

Once I got to @washington_state_university I changed my major to Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. I LOVED that program - the perfect balance of science and serving people. I was shocked to learn how many different settings dietitians work in: food service, workplace wellness, hospitals, clinics, sports teams, schools, military, community health...

Coming out of school I honestly wasn't sure which way I wanted to take my career, but I DID say that I would NEVER want to open a private practice. 😆 I am so grateful to have had the experiences I had that led me to change my mind. Being an entrepreneur is hard and messy and absolutely awesome. 🤩
.
.
#washingtonsmallbusiness #olympiasmallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #olympianutrition #seattlenutritionist #rd2be #rd #nutritionist #registereddietitians #dietitian #washingtonstateuniversity #neversaynever #wazzu #wsu #gocougs #wildlandfirefighter #zumbainstructor #bachelors #mastersdegree #exercisephysiologist #fitnessinstructor #fitness #seattledietitian #seattlefitness  #airforce #clinicaldietitian #sportsnutrition #sportsdietitian
It is not my job to: - Tell you what you "shouldn It is not my job to:

- Tell you what you "shouldn't" eat.
- Tell you what you "should" eat.
- To restrict your favorite foods.
- To force you to eat foods you hate.
- To give you a pre-made meal plan that is one-size-fits-almost-none
- To tell you how much exercise you "must do."

Outside of deadly allergies, celiac disease, dangerous addictions, and rare medical situations, there is almost never a food you can never have.

It is my job to tell you:
- How different foods are digested, absorbed, and metabolized, and how that relates to your lived experience, symptoms, or medical conditions.
- That healthy doesn't have to look a certain way.
- To get to know you well enough to recommend healthy strategies that may likely be good fits for you.
- To clear up what research does and does not say about food and exercise and health.

So often people fear RDs as "the food police." I'm sure they are out there, as every profession has their own bad apples, but most of my colleagues are awesome and will partner with you to live your best healthy life. 😊

Have you worried about these things when thinking about trying nutrition counseling?
Some movement is WAY better than none...in fact, r Some movement is WAY better than none...in fact, research shows that going to some movement from none brings the greatest health benefits. Don't expect yourself to show up over and over to do activity you hate - where's the happy in that? 

I am personally a cardio machine hater...they are great tools and an awesome fit for some people! I am not that person. I spend every step watching that stinkin' timer and thinking, "when...can I...get off...this...is so...boring!"

Think outside the box and try something you wouldn't have considered a "workout," but that will keep you coming back because you love it! It's amazing the doors that fun and enjoyable movement can open!

Ever tried geocaching? It's one of my faves! What are your favorite fun movements?
Food is meant to be enjoyed, absorbed, and metabol Food is meant to be enjoyed, absorbed, and metabolized, not obsessed over. That is all! 😁🍓
.
If you've ever been victimized by the mental anguish of a diet, pop a 🖐️ down below - we can start a support group!
Load More... Follow on Instagram
  • Planting a Small Permaculture Orchard on our Homestead
  • How Much to Plant in Your Vegetable Garden
  • Recipe: Immune Boosting Winter Smoothie
  • Choosing an Exercise Plan you can Stick To
  • Working Toward Your Health Goals When Life is Busy or Stressful

Categories

© 2021 All rights reserved.

Log In

Forgot Password?

Not registered yet? Create an Account