Search Results for: blog food waste challenge

Food: The Discretionary Necessity

When it comes to expenses, food is a tricky one. On the one hand, food is a necessity. We need to eat to live. On the other hand, it is also a discretionary expense. The amount of food we purchase, the type of food and the amount we spend on food are all at our discretion. We can make positive changes that will affect how much we spend each week or month on food. Two families, made up of the same number of people could have vastly different grocery expenses, depending on a number of factors, such as where they … Continue reading →

Food Waste Challenge

Don’t be one of the average families that throws away anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of the food that they buy! Think of all of the money that you will save by buying less and using what you have. I propose a challenge. Aim to waste as little as possible each week. I have to confess that I just threw away a handful of lettuce. We just didn’t get to it before it got all brown and wrinkled. That is a shame, especially when you consider that it was the more valuable organic lettuce. Such a small amount, at … Continue reading →

Getting Creative with Almost-Expired Food

Using what you have in your pantry is important when food prices have risen so much. Creating meals from your pantry can reduce your weekly food budget or allow you to skip a shopping trip or two. It also prevents food waste. Sometimes you are faced with just a few strange items to use up before they expire or go bad. This is where you have to get creative. I’ll offer you some tips, as well as links to a couple of recipes that will help you create real meals from a collection of end-date food. This post is part … Continue reading →

Frugal Food: Make Your Own Granola Bars?

It isn’t hard to make your own granola bars. They are tasty, healthy and very frugal. So why haven’t I done it? After going through a pantry challenge for a couple of weeks, we were running low and decided to do a big shop at our local warehouse club. I’m in a tricky spot. We are moving in a few weeks, so I didn’t want to buy too much food or household supplies. Any extras would have to be moved (costs money) or left behind (wastes money). Still, we really needed some basics for quick and easy meals and snacks … Continue reading →

Your Kids, Video Games and Fruit

If you have a tough time getting your children to eat fruit, you might consider unplugging their video games. In what some may consider a complete waste of time and money, researchers in the Netherlands have unearthed a fact that most parents have known for a while:  Kids who play video games promoting fruit don’t crave apples, oranges, grapes, kiwi or any other type of fresh produce upon completing the online challenges. According to the new study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dutch scientists expected their young research participants to crave more wholesome snacks after playing video … Continue reading →

What is a Freegan?

I know what a vegetarian is and I know what a vegan is. I’ve heard of the minimalistic movement and even subscribe to the 100 Things Challenge on Facebook (not that it does me much good). But, until I was watching the 10th season of “Project Runaway” the other day, I had never heard of a freegan. Contestant Fabio Costa (who is originally from Brazil, but now lives in Brooklyn, New York) told another designer that he was a freegan. He explained to that designer that he gets his meals from dumpsters, to which everyone in the room went “Ew!” … Continue reading →

Encouraging Your Child to Keep Going

We sign our children up for activities and sports because of the fun and the education. Often we allow the child to pick a sport or instrument to gage their interests. Some parents get discouraged when a child seems to have a lack of interest in any extra-curricular activities. The reason is simple. A child does not have the experience or knowledge to know what he may like. The same way we make them try different foods or know the right Christmas gift even when the child gave no direction is how we guide extra-curricular activities. Yes, you simply pick … Continue reading →

Get Set For Summer

Summer is pretty much here already, and school will be out soon. This is a challenging time for home-based professional parents for a few reasons, just one of which is the aforementioned end of the school year. There are other things that make summer a challenging time. For example, the plethora of fun things to do can make work seem unappealing, especially if you’re used to working at night and on the weekends. Many families take at least one vacation during the summer, and building that into your work schedule can also take some doing. With the potential challenges that … Continue reading →

It’s Time to Clean Out the Fridge for Savings

This post is part of the “Food Waste Challenge.” Learn more about it here. Has it been a while since you’ve done a big refrigerator clean out? Without opening the fridge door, can you tell me basically what is in there? If you don’t know what you have in there then you could be throwing away money. Let’s make it a priority this week to really find out what is in there and use it up before it becomes so many mini science experiments. Off of the top of my head, I just know that there are some things in … Continue reading →

A Little Here, A Little There

Any amount of exercise is good for you. If you can even just snag 10 minutes of exercise a day, you are at least on the right track. It is better than nothing. Of course the ideal situation would be that you get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. However a little here and a little there, it begins to add up. Guess what else adds up? If you are eating a little here, a little there than you are sabotaging any exercise efforts you have put in. I’m talking about unhealthy eating and I have to confess, … Continue reading →