Save and eat your leftovers.
I would say that I have about a dozen leftover dishes in my refrigerator right now. It might be cut-up veggies, extra cooked chicken from dinner that I will use for another recipe for the men in the house, or leftovers from a meal the night before.
I save everything, but am not always good about using it before it goes bad. I will try to get better at this in 2020.
Today for the daycare lunch, we had leftover taco meat from our dinner the other night. The kiddos love taco salad with chips, lettuce, and cheese. I can use a lot of leftovers with the kiddos, and I guess they don’t mind, because they always tell me, “You make the best food, Ms. Kim!”
My hubby takes leftovers to work frequently which saves quite a bit of money, since you figure a lunch is between $7-$10 a day when you go out to eat (if it is fast food.)
My sister incorporates a leftover night into her menu at least once a week. I think that is a great idea. Make that night be your busiest night, so you don’t have to worry about what you are making for dinner and you don’t have to spend more money getting something out. I am going to try that here as well and then maybe so many containers of leftover food will not be piling up in the fridge.
In 2018, it was estimated that the US wasted nearly thirty to forty percent of its food supply. https://solutions.rdtonline.com/blog/2018-update-on-food-waste As detrimental as animal agriculture is to our land and water supply, we should not be wasting what we have produced. We really need to do a better job of not wasting our food. There are certainly enough people in the US that could use it!
So, next time you make a big meal, save the leftovers. If you know you are not going to eat them, maybe ask a neighbor if they would like them and then you are spreading a little kindness as well! I have had daycare parents bring me fruit they will not be able to eat before it gets bad, and I have really appreciated it, so I am sure there is someone you could think of that would appreciate your gesture as well.