Pretty soon Chris and I will cram ourselves and the boys into our little car and stuff it with (ideally) not too much luggage. We’ll be heading out to visit some family, following the footsteps of people who have also caught the vacation bug this summer.
Most responsible adults have dealt with the issue of leftover food before vacation. Do you just toss it? Eat nothing but leftovers the last few days you’re home? Leave it, then come home to a nasty smell? None of those options are very appealing, so here’s a quick list for how I deal with it.
- A few days before leaving, look through your cupboards and refrigerator and identify all the food that will go bad before you return
- Decide which of it you will eat before you leave and which can be stashed in the freezer (see this post for easy ideas)
- If you know you won’t eat it and you can’t freeze it, consider passing it on to your neighbors or a friend you’ll see before you leave. Few people say no to free food
- Look through the rest of your kitchen and decide what else you can use to create meals that use the food you need to eat before you leave
- Write down the list of meals and a list of any additional ingredients you’ll need to get from the store to complete those meals
- While you’re at it, make a list of food/ snacks you’ll need for the trip so you can get it all done in one trip
- While you shop, stick to the list! Buying only what you will use can help you save food, save money, and keep your kitchen working efficiently
Since we’re about the leave, I just did this in my own kitchen.
What needs to be eaten and how I’m going to deal with it:
- 2 honeydew melons – chopped and eaten; maybe take some on the trip
- 1 head cabbage – chopped, figure out how to freeze it? Maybe give it to the neighbors
- leftover soup – dinner/lunch
- 1/2 loaf bread – toasted, PB&J
- baby carrots – lunch
- leftover crockpot chicken curry – lunch
- swiss chard from the garden – cook, blend, and freeze it to go in green smoothies
- TONS of celery – chopped and frozen
- 3 oranges – lunch or bring on trip
- leftover chocolate zucchini bread – snack
- 1 quart homemade yogurt – breakfast and snack
- little bit of milk – drink or freeze
- 1/2 bag crispy rice cereal – maybe make granola bars or pop it into a sealed container. I’m afraid of it going stale – can it be stashed in the freezer?
- 1 zucchini – shredded and used as pizza topping
That’s what I’m planning to do this week. What about you? Anyone else headed out of town? Got any more tips for preparing your kitchen for being gone?
A few great ideas for eating healthy while on vacation:
- Healthy & Frugal Travel Meals from Passionate Homemaking
- Tips for Eating Healthy & Cheap on the Road from Wondering Souldier
- What to Eat When Traveling… from Mark’s Daily Apple (for the primal diet; but great healthy food on the go ideas)
5 comments
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Mom
07/23/2012 at 7:37 AM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You could throw that cabbage into a crock and let it ferment into healthy saurkraut while you’re away. Depending on where you’re going, take it along and make coleslaw for the family when you get there.
Tiffany @ DontWastetheCrumbs
07/23/2012 at 9:13 AM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I like the idea of shredded zucchini on pizza. Yum! For the cereal, I’d put it in a sealed container. If it’s stale when you get home, THEN you can put it in granola bars since you don’t be able to taste the difference anyway, lol.
We’re not leaving anytime soon, but I start preparing about a month ahead of time. I try not to buy fresh produce unless we have to (reducing any uneaten wasted food) and we eat mostly from the pantry. It helps to keep our food bill low too and off-set our vacation spending.
Tiffany @ DontWastetheCrumbs recently posted..What do to with over 50lbs of produce…
Athena @ Life's Abundant Adventures
07/23/2012 at 10:24 AM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I just faced the same issue. We just got back from vacation. luckily, we had a houseguest right before we left, so much of it did get eaten. But our neighbors did enjoy a lot of produce from my farm basket.
Hope you have a wonderful vacation!
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy
07/23/2012 at 8:09 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
You are so organized! You’re my hero
Have a great vacation!
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy recently posted..Preservation is the Theme {Menu Plan Monday 7/23/12}
Erin
08/15/2012 at 11:19 AM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
As I was just catching up on on your blog on my google reader I saw the bit about one head of cabbage and my first thought was freezer cole slaw.
I know the idea won’t do you much good now but maybe next time. 