Desperately seeking dinner

re: Desperately seeking dinner

cj — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:14:27 GMT

I appreciate this article and have been a frugal eater for years, my husband and I are in our 70s and though not poor, I usually cook extra so we can have leftovers for a day or so, he is not a picky eater. Growing up in the 40s our parents made the most out of every bit of food that came into the house. Usually pots of soup, pasta, chili, lasted for days at our house. Certainly better than the fast food that people blow money on nowadays!

re: Desperately seeking dinner

Hokulea Kealoha — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:39:38 GMT

i am into my second year of unemployment. I suppliment my megar savings with a temp job I get now and again. I have lived though similar times before and know exactly what you ment about the foods you used to conjure up a pretty tasty meal. I do the same all of the time.... We do waste and we are not as creative when we are living the life in the fast lane and watching too many gimmie gimmie the lastest thing commercials on tv... Its easier to go to Burger King than cook a few things

I was a saver and somewhat frugal before my life change... Thank God or I wouldnt have survived this...

To the man that wanted soup kitchens for the homeless... what this country needs is not precooked foods for people on the street. what we need is community based living arangements for people in transition. The Homeless of today were once working people many with children, or like me a single woman with no family and few friends that can help me. I really need to live with a family for a while so I can get back on my feet, or have a studio apartment with facilities... nothing fancy, but free for a while till I get a job. In other countries a unemployed person would get a small stipend regardless of how they lost their job... I failed to "qualify" for unemployment due to a loophole in the rules... Not my fault. I will do any sort of legitimate work, if offered. I dont need food. I need cash to keep the electricity on my phone on and my internet going so I can continue to look for work. I need to have some money for gas for my car so I can interview, and since I have lost nearly 100 lbs in the last two years, I need new clothing....My good clothes hang on me like a scarecrow...

The government has no clue what we really need or they wouldnt spend billions on GM and AIG and studies on the ridiculous global warming scam. While they scream the sky is falling the sky is falling...it really is on countless Americans who through no fault of their own are unemployed and in a terrible bind...

Pres Obama are you listening? Your Auntie Hoku from Hawaii is talking to You....Aloha

re: Desperately seeking dinner

Barbara Allen — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:31:45 GMT

My husband and I make a game out of making something creative with the leftovers we have, rather than go out to eat or order take out. He proudly boasts to his friends that his wife can "take nothing and make it taste like a restaurant meal!!"

Most of our leftovers become our next-day lunches, so it isn't something we do everyday. But we both love the zen of "making do!"

re: Desperately seeking dinner

Caroline — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:06:11 GMT

Last summer I invested in about 30 disposable storage containers, sized for single servings. As soon as we finish a meal, leftovers are dished into these containers. Only one day's leftovers goes into the fridge; the remaining containers are dated and put straight into the freezer.

My teenagers are thrilled that there is always a healthy, late-night snack or quick dinner available. By dating the freezer items, we eat the food within a reasonable period of time. We call these items "individual dinner servings" instead of leftovers, and nobody ever feels like they are getting a second best dinner. Instead each person grabs their favorite, and we unify the meal with a fruit salad or veggies for all.

As a time saver, I often double recipes and put the extras into the freezer. This works well in particular with homemade soup or chili.

re: Desperately seeking dinner

Fred Seaborne — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:03:47 GMT

One of the best ways to keep fruits and vegetables longer is to remove them from their wrappers (take lettuce and carrots out of the plastic bag, peel bananas and put them in a large bowl, etc) and then store them "in the open air" in your refrigerator. They will last much longer that way. I almost never have to discard any produce when I follow this practice.

P.S. Another nifty trick to avoid spoilage/waste: when you want a snack, look through your fridge for excess/leftover persihables instead of automatically and mindlessly reaching for non-perishables like canned or dried foods. Try to use up food items that will soon go bad anyway, and "save for later" your other foods that have a longer shelf life.

re: Desperately seeking dinner

m1653 — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 16:29:54 GMT

There is nothing for me to "Turn my nose up at. I have not had anything to eat since yesterday. There is Cold water, Relish and Ketchup in my fridge. I'm too poor to see the Attorneys about Bankruptcy, now what?

re: Desperately seeking dinner

phyllis smith — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:42:11 GMT

As a single parent of 6 I had to be thrifty. Of course, I was raised the same way. So one night we cooked & the next was a "creative leftover". My kids don't like left overs unless it's turkey. What they do in their house is their business. I still like my leftovers. And, to your readers; this is just an article. In this day & age we are all aware of how to properly store things. The jist of the article is to stop wasting so much. I personally can find better places to use my money than on take out 4 or 5 nights a week.

re: Desperately seeking dinner

Yolanda — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:39:59 GMT

This article is so funny to me. My mother will not throw anything away until i have to force her to. even then the look on her face as im throwing it away is terrible. i guess i dont understand because i was such a spoiled child. as for my mother she lost her mother when she was 12 and raised 9 brothers and sisters. she always tells me i need to appreciate life more and i think she is so right, so i really enjoyed your article

re: Desperately seeking dinner

Bethany — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 20:33:41 GMT

We, tha american people are so spoiled. Sometimes the leftovers are even tastier. Great article and I look up to you non-wasters. We dont even know how lucky we are. Happy New Year!!

re: Desperately seeking dinner

gail — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 06:41:20 GMT

What bugs me is how quickly some foods go bad that I really want to have handy - such as sour cream or cheeses. I have a few solutions: I found that never touching some foods with your fingers - at all - helps reduce the bacteria growth. So I dish out just enough sour cream and don't touch other foods with the spoon. Or I cut a block of cheese without taking the wrapper off. Another way to use up foods you know will take too long to eat up before they go bad, is to just freeze half the package right away. Even some vegetables can be cut up and frozen raw - like onions and peppers.

But I stopped worrying about whether people in Africa were going to be hungry if I didn't finish my dinner long ago. They'll be just as hungry whether I finish or not. So send them something from time to time if you can. And just buy less junk for yourself. And the local shelter is always happy for more food items that you aren't going to use.