I’m going to be completely transparent right now, and tell you that I’m writing this post because I had to feed my dogs a whole acorn squash last night. I cooked it, we didn’t eat it, and it needed to be put to good use before it went bad. Which brings me to How to Waste Less Food point #1:

1. Don’t Buy Foods You Typically Toss - I want to be festive. I want to buy squash in the fall, but I know we don’t ever eat it. I like to think I’ll eat it. I don’t. Be honest with yourself. If you always throw out that big bag of spinach, buy a smaller bag. I know, I’m a Costco shopper too. If you HAVE to buy the big bag, try freezing some so it doesn’t go to waste. And if we’re really talking about spinach here, just cook that ish because we all know a gigantic bag of spinach cooks down to the size of a Tablespoon.

2. Meal Plan - I’m guilty of buying every single food that I like in the grocery store and then wanting to cook them all when I meal prep. I try to think about how many meals I actually need to meal prep, for how many people, and how much we typically eat in a meal.

3. Eat at Home/Eat Leftovers - Common sense, right? You’ve got food in your fridge. Will that Sesame Chicken taste delicious? Duh. But you’ll save time, money and calories eating what you’ve already got cooked in your fridge.

4. Measure Your Portions - I know that if I make more than 1/2 Cup (dry) of quinoa or rice, I’m not going to eat it all. Write down how much you cook at the beginning of the week, and then at weeks end, see what you’ve got left!

5. Consult with the Fam - I can buckle down and eat whatever leftovers are in the fridge, but it helps to have some reinforcements. I try to ask my hubby “quinoa or brown rice” or “are you thinking more chicken or beef this week?” This helps me gauge what to cook that won’t end up sitting in the fridge all week.

6. Soup - Soup? Yes, soup. So you cooked too many veggies. Or you have that gigantic bag of spinach and you know you’re not going to eat it/you’re tired of eating it. Dump it in a pot with some broth, garlic and onion and you’ve got soup. You can feel good about not wasting the food, saving money, and eating something nutritious. I feel like a superstar when my soup has 15 different kinds of veggies in it.

7. Be Creative - Instagram is beautiful, but it’s not reality. So you’ve got cabbage, a bell pepper, carrots and leftover pizza in your fridge. Whip up some cole slaw and eat it with your leftover pizza. [This was my actual dinner last night] Is it going to wow your friends on Instagram? Nope. But life goes on. Plus it saves you a trip to the grocery store, or a takeout place. I don’t know about you, but fighting all of the after work grocery shoppers is at the bottom of my list of things I want to do after work.