[Blessings2You]

But I do sometimes...expiration dates get away from me, salad dressing hides in the fridge for two years, etc. But I was brought up not to waste food!

So I found one of those big double decker cans of LaChoy sweet and sour chicken, we probably paid a couple bucks for it somewhere on sale. Maybe it was buy one, get one free. Anyway, the date on it is next month, so I hauled it out, cooked a box of Uncle Ben's fried rice, and combined the whole mess. It's in the fridge.

Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised, but I'm rather expecting asian-flavored sodium with little specks of chicken parts. We'll have a tossed salad to balance it out. As if.

My mother used to be able to make meals out of mayonnaise and kleenex, I swear.

[Kitty]

I hate to waste food, too. My biggest challenge is learning to cook for just me. Still! I'll make a recipe that is supposed to have 4 servings and think "oh, I'll just eat the leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day".....but sometimes that doesn't happen. And then it sits in the fridge for 3-4 days and by that time I'm afraid to eat it.

I don't like to do this but I've gotten to where I just buy alot of "sandwich stuff" and don't really cook too much anymore. I really wanted to go organic and eat much cleaner.....and I still do eat better than I used to.....but organic eating is just too expensive for my budget. I'll make some chicken and tuna salad and eat that for several days.

I have to be so careful not to get pulled in by the advertising in the grocery stores.

[Dejibo]

Went from a family of 4 with a gaggle of friends that were always over, to a family of 2 and our tastes have changed a lot since retirement. Neither of us eat as much as we did when we were active. Now, I sit at the table and think about how great it would be to have unexpected company, because I could easily feed them.

In my head, I still see the old recipes for 6 folks, and I buy when I think I need. then I get home and see my cabinets are rammed full, and I cant possibly eat all this food! I loved cooking for everyone, and now cooking is just no fun.

Isnt it wonderful when you sit around a table and see folks enjoying their food, jabbering away with each other and looking up to say YUM! great job mom!. I miss those days.

[SallyC]

Unfortunate, not much food wasted here.

Seriously though, that's what I like about Schwans.. Homemade taste in single or dbl serving sizes. Even desserts and fruits in single servings.

How did we Handicappers survive in the old days?

But, I hear what you're saying, B2Y, with more than two or three peeps = diff tastes, lots of waste. Things getting pushed to the back of the fridge or in fridge doors..

[mochagirl13]

I try not to waste food but I am addicted to sales. I always figure if I am craving something I don't wanna run to the store to get it. I try not to buy perishable foods. But trying to eat healthy sometimes leaves me no choice. Most days I'm too tired to eat let alone cook. But I do get a rush when I snag a good sale. And when you buy for 1 or smaller packages, you pay more.

[doydie]

I think if my husband would die that I would subscribe to one of the home delivery meal plans like Biggest Loser, etc. I know Schwan is one of those home delivery but does it come in single serving and can I lose weight on it? We eat out about 99% of the time, except lunches. My sister learned how to cook from my Mom. I was there also, I just don't know why I didn't carry that knowledge from the home.

[Blessings2You]

In my old life, I had a husband who didn't consider it a meal unless it had meat, potatoes, two vegetables, bread, and dessert. That got old, especially when I didn't feel well, the kids were sick, etc. (We get along okay now)

Now I have a husband who is happy with whatever's plopped in front of him (with a few exceptions, and I don't plop those things). And if I can't do it at all, he says "That's okay, I'll have cereal." He likes frozen pizza, frozen dinners, beans and weenies, egg sandwiches.

I do cook "real food" once in a while, a macaroni and cheese, chicken, or whatever. But I never feel as though I HAVE to. If I lived alone (God forbid) I don't know how much my eating habits would change. I'd probably eat WORSE because I'd be lonely, and nobody would be watching if I scarfed down a whole pizza or whatever. Pint of Ben and Jerry's.

[dd in pain]

Time changes everything

[mochagirl13]

I don't think living alone would change your eating habits for too long. I saw this Oprah episode once where this woman would order a bunch of food through the drive thru and pull over to an empty lot or alley and eat it before she got home.

I live alone and buy as much junk food as I want. I can't say I get a chance to eat it. My dbf sits up in the middle of the night eating it up and complains about me buying it. Needless to say if it wasn't for ms he would have been dumped a long time ago. He takes me to some of my doctors appointments and helps me do things around the house that I can't do.

[AstaireGal]

It's just my hubby and me at home and he must cook 90% of the time as I am a tri-plegic now. We handle the food issue in a few ways: when we buy meat on sale, we divide it into portions and freeze it in 2's (two burgers or two chicken cutlets) and defrost only that amt. We also have a 7 cu ft refrigerator and a similar sized freezer. They are from the 1930's (yes, we're kinda crazy in that we love vintage items from the 1910's-1940's) and you simply cannot "lose" food in them because they are not overly deep. We cook only enough food for one meal at a time; with the exception of things like homemade soup or spaghetti sauce; which we freeze in small batches. I guess I'm just too darn frugal (aka cheap ) to waste!