As it always does, Friday night rolled around recently and, being the lazy sod that I am, I made the executive decision to ixnay plans for cooking dinner. After all, it’s been a busy week and a woman needs a break every now and again, right?
Okay, the guilt did overcome me for a millisecond or two, but thankfully by the sheer force of will, I ignored it.
Between busy weekdays, homework, hockey and soccer practices, grocery shopping, laundry and other wonderful activities that are part and parcel of being a parent, one has to give themselves a well-deserved break every now and again. I don’t know about you, but cooking meals for the family gets a tad uninteresting – and tiring – by the end of the week. Oh, it’s also really boring and just plain annoying as well, but I digress.
If you haven’t picked up on it already, mom needs a break. Mom needs a break because she’s tired and doesn’t want to have to worry about the kids having a balanced meal according to the most up-to-date food guide or some nutritionist’s recommendations. Mom doesn’t care. Mom wants to kick back, have a vino and watch some trite, light and fully-entertaining fluff on the tube. Kids: fend for yourselves.
On this liberating vein of self-fulfillment, I threw caution to the proverbial wind and announced to the family that we were having leftovers. I also introduced a new word to my kids: scrounging. We were going to scrounge in the fridge for leftovers and other morsels and from our findings we were going to make a meal. No pizza tonight, no order-in Chinese and no boxed chicken fingers for this klan. No, we were going to make the best of what we had and mom was going to follow her own advice about being frugal, efficient and making the best of what she had.
Whatever disappointment and irritation that was felt after hearing this pronouncement was immediately displaced by agreement that was borne of raging hunger. I had a captive and willing audience.
How did I swing this? How can you have a break every so often, save some money and clean out your fridge as well? It’s simple:
How to Save Money, Food and Clean Out Your Fridge At The Same Time – 5 Simple Tips
1) Make a regular date and stick to it – It could be Friday night, it could be Sunday morning. Whenever you chose, stick to that date and don’t waver. Let it be known in your household that from now on, you will not be cooking on that day and that it’s every man, woman and child for themselves (in a manner of speaking. Babies are exempt from this directive).
2) Plan the week’s menu - By doing this, it will make it really easy to end up with some yummy leftovers on your cooking day off. Strategically prepare food’s Monday through Thursday (or any days preceding the day that you’ve determined as your “lazy cooking day”) and kick back with the grub on the day you’ve chosen to be idle. The food will taste so much better when you’re eating it, knowing that it has taken the minimum amount of preparation for the maximum amount of gain.
3) Make sure you have the goods in place – This is easy to do. If you’re like most parents, you’re cooking regularly so you will likely have leftovers in the fridge or freezer. If you don’t regularly store leftovers, now’s a good time to start. Make it a habit to cook a bit more of your meals than are required and store the rest in the freezer for a lazy day, or in the fridge as leftovers. In doing so, you’ll always be prepared for that day or evening when you’ve decided to avoid your Chef status for the evening.
4) Prepare easily re-heatable foods – You know the score: some foods reheat better than others. Some ideas for quick and easy foods? Pizza, pasta, meatloaf, soups, stews and most types of casseroles. They heat up quickly and well and taste so much better a day or two later.
5) Banish the guilt! - You cook for your family regularly. Don’t feel guilty about this lazy day of scrounging and eating leftovers. You deserve it and you’re doing your part to decrease the amount of wasted food. You’re also getting your fridge cleaned out in the process 
BONUS: Get the kids to help you clean out the fridge while scrounging! They’ll love it!
How often do you eat leftovers? Do you cook for your family every day? Will you start having a lazy day off as a way of using up the leftovers and cleaning out your fridge? Answer in the comments below.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t like leftovers but I’ve really been making an effort to eat them because it saves money and time. I’ve been throwing everything we don’t eat in the freezer – then once a week I add it too a pot of stock and make soup. It’s not bad – the food gets eaten, it doesn’t take too much effort, and my family is reasonably happy to eat it.
Tamara recently posted..Sleep or Sweep?
The soup idea is a great one, Tamara! I love the thought of pulling out something from the freezer and making it new again. It definitely gives a new life to those never-ending leftovers
I actually love leftovers – mainly because it means I have a night off from cooking but I actually think some things taste better on night 2. My kids are fine with leftovers, as long as it was something they tolerated to begin with. My husband and I have a running joke that I give him a look when he reaches for a second helping because I want to make meal 1 last until night 2
Funny – some people love leftovers and others can’t stand the idea of heating up what they consider “old” food. I don’t understand this because leftovers are the perfect solution to evenings when you’re feeling lazy and don’t feel like cooking. Also, it decreases the amount of wasted food as well. I guess these preferences for or against “recycled” food are deep-seated and not easily changed. Too bad for those who shun last night’s dinner. They’re missing out
I totally do this! I cook a lot and we rarely eat out. So on some nights, like tonight actually, I’ll say I’m not cooking again until the fridge is cleared out! Sometimes it’s actually 2 nights of leftovers! I don’t care as long as the fridge is cleared of leftover meals. Then we’re saving money by me not cooking every single night & not wasting food. I think it’s an excellent idea! These are great tips!
Natalia recently posted..Five Piece Spring Outfit Formula
Thanks, Natalia!
It’s finally dawned on me that I’m wasting money by making so much food then throwing it out, only to go back to the grocery store to buy more supplies. It’s crazy! I think the key is making the rest of the family realize that what’s there is what’s going to be eaten, and until it is, there are no more meals. We waste much too much food in our society these days and this is a good way of cutting back on this bad habit. Thanks for your comment!