No Waste Food Challenge Results!

One month ago I decided to try something different and attempt a ‘No Waste Food Challenge’. I didn’t have 100% success, but I did a lot better than I ever have before!

Here’s 7 things I learned.

1 – I’m less likely to eat out because I think of what’s in my fridge first.

2 – I’m totally comfortable eating a random assortment of things and calling it a ‘meal’. Olives, a pb&j, and carrots with hummus makes just as good of a dinner as gnocci carbonara with an Italian chop salad. (Well, maybe not just as good, but it gets the job done.)

3 – I like the simplicity of fewer options. It reminds me of my Greece vacation. I had a very small fridge in my room. Down the road was a little Greek market that I bought a few things from and that was it. I had pistachios, carrots, Special K bars and oranges. It was so easy. I used way less mental bandwidth to decide what to eat.

4 – I’m really lazy about going to the grocery store multiple times a week. I just don’t want to do it. I cashed in on the free food at the office, scrounged extra hard in my cupboards to avoid going to the store, and would settle on eating crap rather than running to the produce department.

5 – I ate WAY less fruits and veggies this month because I didn’t want them to go bad.

6 – I make too big of portions when I cook. I need to remember to either freeze it or make less.

7 – I spent way less in groceries (about $150 less), but spent way more at Target! In my budget, I have groceries and toiletries in the same bucket. I’m thinking I should split these going forward.

I feel good about getting through the month using so much less, but I do think there’s a happier medium to be found here. Going back to my mason jar salad regiment will help me get more veggies back in and not waste anything!

(Seriously, I actually cooked all the stuff in these pictures! Mom would be proud!)