That's why I usually eat my main meal out daily!

Yeah it's a pain sometimes. I just threw out one of my seafood crepes yesterday that I totally forgot was in the fridge (from Christmas dinner). I could have cried. They are time consuming to make. I now have tons of split pea soup in the freezer for work meals but after eating it for days now, I went out yesterday and bought 2 frozen meals so I wouldn't have to eat the split pea soup again this week. I really like the meal service sometimes because they give me more variety and less waste. I am trying to save money now so haven't used them in a while.

I have to agree about eating out for the main meal. I liked timing a late lunch so that the only thing needed in the evening was a light snack or even just dessert. Not being diabetic a piece of pie or small cake of some kind enough for dinner. Depending on what you like sometimes eating some of the things out such as chili and stew can be cheaper than throwing out freezer burned stuff. If you order a full sized meal not a lunch or senior serving depending on what it is you can use what you do not eat to make a small portion of perhaps soup by adding broth, bouillon cube, or just lots of different herbs and spices.

Only buffet I eat at is an Indian one which although it is excellent I am happy not to take leftovers home. The one I go to is ran by nice people who have offered to box up leftovers when my eyes said I was hungry but my stomach said no.

I like making a lot of something, enough to freeze 4 or 5 portions. When I've done this several times there is a choice on the days I don't want to cook. Especially the soups or stews or pasta sauces that take hours to prepare, frozen extras saves a lot of time.

Hubby used to work out of town a lot, often for weeks and sometimes months at a time. For a while I'd eat frozen dinners, but it didn't take long to get tired of those, so I would make a big pot of chili, stew, pot roast, spaghetti, etc., freeze half and eat the rest for a few days. Luckily, I don't mind eating the same thing over and over if it's something I like. The other thing about it was that I got to eat things I love, but that he doesn't care for, like spaghetti if you can believe that!!!

Of course, there were a few nights that I had popcorn for dinner and that was fun too!

We eat a lot of salads which are easy to change up with different ingredients. I keep one or two homemade dressings on hand, several different kinds of greens and two or three ready-to-eat proteins. For instance, I'll grill some boneless chicken breasts, portion them and freeze the individual portions. A quick re-heat in the microwave and the chicken is ready to top a salad.

Dawn, you just made all that delicious sauce and your husband doesn't care for spaghitti? Does he like other pasta shapes? Lol.

I'm still trying to get used to cooking for 1.

I always made lots so that there were leftovers, luckily we both liked leftovers. Habits are hard to break, I'm still peeling far too many potatoes, the roasts in the freezer are all larger, etc.

On the weekend I made a new recipe, it was excellent. I cut it in half, and there is still a big bowl of it in the frig.

I made mashed potatoes last week and there was a lot left over so I froze it. I also have the rest of a cooked roast in the freezer. I've never been one to freeze things like that (I always have soups, chilis, spaghetti sauces etc in the freezer) but not stuff to reheat like that. That is going to take time for me to learn, and remember that I have it, and then know what to do with it.

Jasdip, leftover mashed potatoes are great for cream of potato soup and potato cakes. Yum, to both of those.

I'm thinking about you, my friend.

Yes, MamaP, it's nuts! He loves lasagna and that is what most of the sauce will be used for even though I call it spaghetti sauce. As far as I know there is no difference between spaghetti and lasagna noodles, but he claims there is and that he can taste it. I think it might have something to do with lasagna noodles doing a better job of holding the sauce. When I do make spaghetti for both of us, I have to bake the spaghetti after I mix in the sauce because the sauce is then absorbed into the spaghetti noodles. Every now and then I make myself a small batch of not baked spaghetti and eat it for breakfast or an early lunch. Some of the sauce will be used for that.

Jasdip, that must be hard. Those cooked, frozen roasts make excellent enchiladas, stew, chili, or soup if you need some ideas of what to do with them.

Leftover mashed potatoes could taste good cold with enough butter and salt and pepper!!!

I do like moni - lots of different leftovers from which to choose. Tonight though, I fixed an omelet and made a batch of popovers. Yummy!

I always furrow my brow when people ask me how I manage cooking for two vs five. I haven't changed a thing, except I do it less often which I LOVE. Now half of what I make gets frozen for another week/month. The last serving usually ends up frozen singly for DH's take to work lunch. Stews/casseroles/soups anything with a sauce is soooo less costly than say a pork chop or a fillet....If I plan properly I only cook every other day or even less. That part I LOVE. When people say they hate left overs and then say they have been eating such and such for a week I get soooo confused. WHY?? That is what tupperware and freezers are for!!!

On the rare occasion when I have cooked for one, it has been to reheat something or make something simple such as grilled cheese or eggs. I think it is hard for people living alone that dislike or don't know how to cook. My elderly neighbor will have a tin of sardines or a jar of beets as a meal.

"When people say they hate left overs and then say they have been eating such and such for a week I get soooo confused. WHY?? That is what tupperware and freezers are for!!!"

That assumes one has a freezer large enough to accommodate multiple Tupperware containers of leftovers. I don't! I have an old fashioned, freezer-on-the-top refrigerator that has minimal space so not much room available for leftovers after the typical freezer inhabitants are accounted for. I do share homemade soups or stews, etc. with my sister, as she does with me but generally I stay away from dishes that generate a lot of leftovers.

I do take-out a lot. My local grocer has a wonderful deli case that offers some great take-out selections - tamales, seasoned chicken skewers, stuffed pork chops, roasted veg, little meat pies and calzones. And they do ready-to-go dinners for one: chicken tiki masala, beef stroganoff, turkey and dressing, lasagne and others. They also have a superb salad bar and a hot soup bar with 6 different choices.

I also often do breakfast for dinner, soup and a sandwich or just a big salad. Or a single baked potato with all the trimmings.

One of my very first jobs was in the shipping department of a college bookstore. There, I learned how to pack as many books in a box as possible. Decades later, I am able to pack my small freezer-on-top-of-the-refrigerator with the usual meats, veggies, etc. and still have plenty of room left for containers of leftovers. Smaller items and food in freezer bags which can fit into irregular spaces help make sure that the space is almost 100% utilized.

I thought you were going to say you did what I did. I typically at least half a recipe (I agree it would be easier to cook for four) but didn't. Apparently, the recipe was more like for 6 or 8 servings. I now have a HUGE pot of mediocre paella. I plan to zhush it up (I think I under seasoned it) and freeze portions. There is a alot. Oy. Why didn't I cut it down?

For years I cooked everything in large amounts, we had 5 boys. I had one heck of a time adjusting to cooking for 2 when that time came. Then grandson came to live with us, and we were up to 3. When he hit his teens, we again often had more at the table when he brought his friends in. Then he was out on his own, and we were back down to 2. I had a hard time learning to cook for 'just us'! As of six years ago, I am down to cooking for one, and I still haven't completely adjusted. Thank goodness for my Foodsaver! And lots of freezer space!

But seriously, buying groceries poses a bigger problem for me than the cooking does. I still, after all this time, have a tendency to buy way too much, especially fresh produce. Yes, I can freeze the extra, but then it's not 'fresh' anymore, is it.

Rusty

I live alone and I adjusted. Some days not as much but overall.... when I was working I'd cook up a storm on Sundays and have good food with a similar base or two for the week, but with additions that didn't make it seem like I was eating same/same. Worked well once I got to adjust.

For me finding creative ways to use up a roast is not really a problem. What is problematic for me is freezer space needed for items that normally would be consumed quickly such as bread and baked goods. Even a jar of spaghetti sauce is too much for one and is frozen in an ice cube tray.

Rusty, I agree about the shopping. I wish produce came in smaller packages. The premade ones tend to be expensive.

Wish I could buy half a head of cabbage or cauliflower, etc.....

I once asked the produce guy at the local supermarket why he didn't sell 1/2 cabbage heads for those of us who don't need or want a 2#+ head of cabbage and his answers were 1. they wouldn't let him cut and repackage items into smaller amounts and 2. "cabbage is cheap. just buy a head, use what you want and throw the rest away". I figure the first answer was probably BS because I typically see the huge amount of wasted/wilted produce on/under his cart that goes into the dumpster. The second answer was typical of our food wasteful society. I don't shop there any longer although I don't see cut produce anywhere else locally either.

Buy a head of cabbage or cauliflower. Use each raw in salad, both are very good that way. Steam/boil/roast the rest and freeze in portion size packages or containers what you won't eat in a few days.

My local gocery sells half heads of cabbage. And it also sells both broccoli and cauliflower by individual florets but at a slightly higher price per pound. They do various other veggies this way as well, like diced butternut squash.

Of course they can do it....it's just a matter of taking the time and having it displayed properly. And customer demand.

Cabbage lasts a long time. I use what I need and keep the rest in a plastic bag in the frig. What turns black, is easily cut away. Shredded cabbage, onions and carrots make a nice sauteed side dish, slaw, cabbage and onion cut in chunks and sauteed. I always keep a head of cabbage on hand.

This is the jambalaya that I cut in half. The Dutch Oven was still half full. I still have a good amount in the frig, but since it tastes real good, I don't mind still eating it.

Hi Jasdip. That looks delicious. Did you cook it on the stove top?

Unless you must have your veggies cut in certain ways if your store has a salad bar purchase veggies from it. Only drawback that I have found is that the onions are almost always the red type and they can turn some foods cooked with them into weird shades. They should have some smaller containers that you can place things into if not ask.

I have always made enough stew, pot roast, spaghetti sauce and soup to freeze and have leftovers. I still do but now I distribute some to the kids. My daughters work and appreciate the ready made food. For DH and me, most dinners consist of more portion controlled foods- cutlets, steaks, chops, chicken, seafood- with a side like salad or vegetable.

Hi Ava, yes it was all cooked on the stove-top. It was so easy, the spicy sausage, and chicken and vegetables were simmered in chicken broth. I used brown rice, and added more broth, which made it soupier than the recipe specified. But it tastes good.

"why he didn't sell 1/2 cabbage heads for those of us who don't need or want a 2#+ head of cabbage"

I wish they'd sell it that way also. lots of singles and couples who shop the stores! I don't like cooked cabbage but wouldn't mind to have a small amount to make a small amount of slaw sometimes. Also, bread in half loaf size. I do often freeze bread tho rather than throw it out. I hate wasting food.

I also had problems learning to scale down my cooking. for a long time it was for 4-6, then down to 3... then 2 and for a long time now just 1 - me. I also only have the very small freezer in my small fridge. but I do often cook up 2 chicken breasts and slice them up into strips and then freeze the strips. I can pull out 1 or 2 depending on what I'm having / making. And I also cook soup and freeze that and even eggs. I scramble up about 6 of them and then divide it out and freeze. a few weeks ago I made a small roast and froze several pieces of it to pull out down the road to make barley soup.

Tomorrow I'll cook up a few hamburgers, eat one and freeze the other for another day. Break up and brown some of the hamburger (grass fed grnd chuck) bag and freeze to make other dishes another time and make a meatloaf with a half lb. of it. That too I'll have for 1 or 2 meals and freeze what's left for another time. I don't do things like that very often but it helps keep a few things in the freezer so that I have it handy for a week when I'm not up to cooking much (that's often). I've really gotten tired of take out / fast food (don't eat much fast food - occasionally Arby's or CFA or pizza). I don't like what's available at most local restaurants either. Many days I'm happy with a pnb sandwich or eggs.

who all uses a Foodsaver? a small one? I think I should get something like that. Right now I have numerous what looks like snowballs in my freezer, and I live in the desert.

I need to seriously check those out in the next month or so. Any recommendations?

One thing that I did for hubby and I is to make up 5 lb of hamburger and pork mix and make it into meatballs. Cooked and frozen on baking sheets and put in bags. That way they can be made into many different meals.....sweet and sour; spaghetti and meatballs, etc, and just take out what's needed. It worked well for us, and I still have some left in the freezer.

I thought of this thread as I was tossing the rest of the bean sprouts into the green bin. At one time they were always sold in bulk, but now can only be bought in 1-lb bags (454 grams). There's no way I'd or even we, when there were both of us could use a whole pound before they got all slimy.

I have one of the smaller Foodsavers which is several years old by now. Bought it for a huge discount when some store was going out of business and it's more than paid for itself over the years. I buy the bagging material in rolls (Walmart) which are not necessarily cheap but still seem to be somewhat cheaper than buying the pre-made quart and larger bags.

In a pinch, I've also used the freezer style zippy bags (they're thicker which seem to seal better than the standard issue thin zipper bags which tend to melt) and usually seal quite well as long as you don't go too berserk on the Foodsaver heat strip. As far as freezer food life after vacuuming and sealing, I can't tell any difference between the plastic zipper bags and the bags sold just for the machine whether name brand or not. On the other hand, if I want to cook/boil/warm something in the unopened bag, my luck using zipper bags in boiling water has been iffy at times while the proper bags are no problem at all.

The only issue I've encountered with what I believe to be the smallest machine is that it isn't wide enough to do gallon size bag widths if I've used ziplock style bags.

The machine and bagging supplies might seem expensive until you add up what the food costs that has been freezer burned or completely ruined over some period of time. For that matter, I've also used the leftover "too small for food storage" bag material to seal plant seeds, small parts, etc., as well as food items that typically don't require refrigeration such as home made jerky, dried herbs, and vegetables from my dehydrator, and other items like seasonal fruit that can be minimally processed and frozen of which cherries and berries first come to mind.

I know what you mean about sprouts. They do have to be used up quickly and are not very tasty when frozen. I try to use them up in a simple salad consisting of spring onions, toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil etc.

Jasdip, I buy whole cabbage also and just cut off the black parts, as it gets older. I have found that if you buy the head that has all the big leaves, the ones you will pull off and discard, they are newer. The store removes the outer leaves as they turn brown, so if you get the ones with the big, tough leaves, they are the newest cabbage. I also don't core to start. I just remove the core from the part I am using.

Same here, Sherry!

Many of us are seniors (or sneaking up on such) and perhaps if we check nearby we can find others who might like half of a cabbage, etc. from time to time. Maybe go shopping together, as well.

Some friends in a seniors', church, social or other group might be interested, as well.

Also, sometimes small packages have higher unit cost than larger ones and it might be useful for people with such an interest to split them. Less packaging, too, for people sensitive to that issue - as long as one reuses the extra containers several times.

ole joyful

Your sharing comment made me recall an instance a good while back where the local supermarket was doing two-fers on several different vegetables., i.e. buy one head of lettuce, get another free, buy an eggplant, get another free, and so on. Made my selections, went to the register and had a heck of a time trying to convince the cashier that on some or even most things, I only wanted one. "But its FREE!!!!!" Finally gave up, went back to the produce section, doubled up on some items and went to check out again. While in line, found takers for every single second item I couldn't use and odd as it sounds, almost had a hard time convincing the takers that I didn't want anything for the extras I couldn't use. No use taking something you know you can't use or will spoil before you can use it.

Times have changed though and there are now times I check out and wonder if I'm even going to get to my car with the items I DO want, particularly if it's getting near dark-thirty.

That's a great idea, Txskeeter!!! I honestly would never have thought of that. I tend to offer any extras to a neighbour but it's like pulling teeth trying to get her to take anything even though she can use it. I like the idea of giving it to other shoppers, but how would that work at the till? Or ambush them on the way out!

Find the takers behind you in line. Share on the way out the door.

Leave the "free" item(s) on the after-till checkout apron at a non-operating till between your line and the door.

And stick around till they're taken, in case of questioning.

It's legit. to claim that you're not doing the store out of business, (this trip, anyway) as the receivers didn't have those products in hand as they stood in checkout line.

o j

" the smallest machine is that it isn't wide enough to do gallon size bag widths if I've used ziplock style bags."

small sounds fine for me. I doubt I'd ever have need for a gallon size bag of anything.

does Foodsaver still make/sell that model? I've only looked on Amazon. I'll have to check the Foodsaver site. they have so many different models it gets confusing. the same with the IPs. it took me a long time to decide between the IP models in the 3 qt size - and I think there's only 3-4 options of those.

Again, the Foodsaver 'VAC 500' model I have is several years old so is probably not available under that model name any longer. Just based on ads I've seen though, I think the basic design is probably the same even though the exterior has been jazzed up with new colors and logos.

My unit is approx. 14-15" long, 5-6" front to back, and about 3.5" high. The lid flips back to reveal the vacuum chamber and heat strip, folding back down to finish and then seal the selected bag. Very simple to use and about the only thing that could go wrong is that the vacuum motor decides to go bye-bye at some point in the future. Bags can be reused by snipping off the previously heat sealed strip portion and washing well although as with any product that is food related, care must be taken to sanitize properly before reuse. Personally, I don't find it worthwhile to do so...

I would say this though, unless you decide to do some major day to day sealing of everything you can get your hands on, I honestly see little reason to buy one of the bigger (and therefore more expensive) units that take up a lot of space. If however, you're one of those that prepares, dehydrates or buys in bulk then a larger unit makes a lot more sense. Learning to use the unit is simple although it may take several tries to figure out how big a bag you need, how much bag overhang past the food is required for the vacuum and seal process, etc. Although I rarely use the feature, you can also heat seal an item/items in a bag without using the vacuum feature at all.

Hope this answers your questions.

My meals are pretty boring. I make protein of some kind, either cook a piece of meat or fish, or even an omelette, then I usually steam a couple veggies. Or I eat a lot of salad with different veggies chopped up in that with a protein of some kind in it. I could prepare food and freeze but I like fresh veggies, plus I just don't make the time for it. Its ok with me, I am eating healthy and don't need to spend a lot of time preparing and cleaning up.

Found this discussion on the GW 'Cooking' forum and while it starts out asking about a different type of food sealer, there are also numerous comments regarding the use of smaller "Foodsaver" type machines. A good read for those considering purchase of the smaller variety appliance.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5577661/chamber-vacuum-anyone-bought-or-considered#n=39