Food Inventory

I decided that the first step in my meal planning month of January is to do inventory on the food I already have. Let me tell you, I was surprised at how much food I have in the freezer just waiting to be used.

When I make things like spaghetti sauce or chicken soup I make large batches and freeze most of it. When I find good sales on meats, I buy them and freeze them.

I have the freezer that is attached to the fridge and another small freezer that we keep in the garage.

I quickly lose track of what I have since I find it hard to keep pretty much anything organized!

I never do a food inventory and after doing one today I decided I will do one once a month, especially on my meats. I had to throw away a few items today due to freezer burn and I could've prevented this by using what I have instead of buying new meat. By doing inventory monthly I should also be able to save some money on groceries, especially at first.




I probably have enough items for at least a week without shopping, except for the basics.

Now that I have a good inventory of what I really have hidden away in my pantry, fridge, and freezers, I am going to use the random items first.

In my meal planning month I am also going to work on planning healthier meals.  To do this, I need to start by weeding out and using the least healthy items I have.  A few of these things include frozen french fries, chicken nuggets, steak-ums, and ice-cream.  I love my frozen foods because they are quick and easy in a pinch, but they are just not healthy.

I am not planning on dieting because I am just not good at that, but I do want to eat better and drink more water.  I wouldn't mind shedding a few pounds, but I also want my kids to get in the habit of eating better too.

Who else is ready for January?