Sunday, January 23, 2011

Using up Spinach ...

I am hooked on Green Monsters ...


Guess that's not the worst thing in the world!  

I had one for breakfast on Friday, and then went out for lunch and had 1/3 of an order of Pad Thai.  The hubby and I had the other 2/3 for dinner with some pepper crusted salmon.


On Friday night we went to "No Strings Attached".  It was not great, but not terrible.  We split a blackberry banana fro-yo for dessert.

On Saturday the hubby and I got up early so we could head out of town to visit my mom a couple hours away.  I had scrambled eggs and a glo bar for breakfast, and a small turkey sub loaded with veggies for lunch.  We came home Saturday evening and went for our friend Maja's birthday.  We had sushi and then sang some karaoke.


Another friend, Pedro, made this amazing German chocolate cake:


I ate about half of this piece:

 

This morning I enjoyed 2 whole wheat pancakes with bananas, and blackberry syrup (2 tsp maple syrup, 1/4 cup blackberries):


I had a veggie and protein loaded stir-fry for lunch (with 1/2 cup rice) with the hubby and my best bud.  I then spent the afternoon doing homework - yuck.

This evening I realized I had a bunch of spinach to use up before Tuesday.  I decided to make this soup, that uses 1 whole bag of spinach (along with 1 can of tomatoes, 4 cups chicken broth, 6 or so cloves of garlic, and about 1 cup of tortellini).  It made enough for the hubby and I to have it for supper tonight, and for one of us to have a large portion of it tomorrow for lunch. 


I always find that I throw spinach out, so I have to remember to make this soup instead.

What food item gets thrown out the most at your house (because it goes bad/expires before it gets eaten)?  How do you prevent food waste?

18 comments:

Jessica @ Dairy Free Betty said...

FREEZE IT!
I toss my spinach in the freezer as soon as I bring it home, it totally works too!!!!!!! :)

Yelena said...

What a fun weekend!

All things considered, being addicted to green monsters is a great addiction.

I sometimes waste produce, especially if I buy something new that I don't know how to cook with- right now it's lemongrass.

Eden said...

I love you with all my heart Jolene, but I will always cringe at drinking spinach. sorry nothing against you.
I do try to use up everything, and freezing works but I usually eat everything before it goes bad because I'm a bit of a pig, lol! Or I'll just give away stuff to my dad or my neighbor. But thats rare, I dont like sharing ;)

Simply Life said...

We're pretty good about using up most of the food we buy or freezing it if we're not going to eat it right away - but certain cheeses end up going bad before their eaten so I've started buying the smallest quantities I can find or changing the type of cheese I buy if it doesn't come in a small package!

Lauri (Redheadrecipes) said...

Spinach is one thing that we NEVER waste! I add it to everything--> pasta, smoothies, sandwiches, soups, rice dishes, etc! I do end up tossing a lot of stuff though b/c I WAY overspend t the grocery store!

I've been wanting to see No Strings Attached!

Alanna said...

mmmm, all that food looks so yummy!

Cynthia said...

Veggies usually go to waste the most. But I try to prevent that from adding veggies to other dishes, like soup, pasta, and even Green Monsters. I haven't had one in a while, but I loved them.

BrittanY! said...

u made me just want sushi : ) YUMM!

we throw away milk a lOT and cheese...because its my hubbys and he never eats LOL!

Kacy said...

That soup looks great!

I miss green monsters, I don't know why I stopped making them!

I always end up throwing out bread. I wish they made half loaves. I would freeze it, but I don't like the way it tastes afterwards. I'm picky.

Kris | iheartwellness.com said...

Hahaha spinach is the one item I always use and need to buy throughout the week. I never let it get near its due date...

I would have to say nothing, we use everything all the time. I swear I spend the same on groceries for us 2 as a family would for a family of 4!

I wanted to see that movie ;)

xxoo

DessertForTwo said...

I always always throw out scallions. I've tried wrapping them in wet paper towels, putting them in water, a ziplock bag, you name it, I've tried it. I can't seem to get them to last more than a few days. Sooo, I started growing my own :)

Anonymous said...

I've wondered what that movie is like...I need to just blow off work one afternoon and go to something and calm my mind...

Great eats and pics as usual :)

Beaglebea said...

I go through a huge carton of spinach in one week...and that cake looked awesome.

Kelsey Ann said...

along with green monsters, it wouldn't be a bad thing to be hooked on that German Chocolate Cake.. right? he did a darn good job on that, the icing looks really traditional and professional as well!

Tracy Simmons said...

Leftover pasta always gets tossed in my house. I always make a lot thinking it will get taken for lunches, then it get forgotten. Now I usually just make what we are going to eat.

Anonymous said...

It's usually sauces and condiments that get tossed at our house... usually because we buy new ones to try and don't really like them. When we're feeling cheap we try to stick to what we know :-)

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

That soup sounds great - I love spinach in soup! What a great way to use it up! Spinach is probably the top thing I throw out, too (although I don't buy it very often).

Anonymous said...

i always throw out wrinkled cucumbers!! Can't seem to use them up...I guess if I don't cut them up right away I get way too lazy! God I can't believe you only had half that piece of cake!