Most of the posts this month have been focused on saving time to help get a meal on the table! I've written about Meal Planning and Eating Seasonally, The Essentials of Meal Planning, Progressive Cooking, Post-Market Prep, and Overnight Prep. So now let’s look into some methods that can help save money and/or waste less food. The easiest way to reduce your grocery bill is to continue to use up and be aware of what’s in your fridge and pantry. Throwing out expired food and leftovers is the biggest waste of money!

I mentioned this in the Essentials of Meal Planning post… I believe in a quick weekly fridge purge before meal planning so you’re starting with food that you already have! When done weekly, it only takes a couple of minutes to go through your inventory and clear out expired items, noting those that can be used for future recipes. It’s a helpful habit to practice.

But not everybody wants to do this every week and sometimes things happen and the fridge can get a little out of hand. This actually happened to me last week as I had been out of town a couple of weekends in a row and we also had a house guest and his food. Yesterday, when I went to meal plan, I didn’t really know what was in my refrigerator! If you know that feeling, then The Essentials of a Fridge Sort can help. It’s so nice to have an organized space that’s calming and filled with nourishing ingredients. This process, not surprisingly, is very similar to a Closet Sort.

THE ESSENTIALS OF A FRIDGE SORT:
1. Prepare for the sort by planning it at the end of a cooking week when the fridge is at its emptiest but also before a grocery store trip so you can add any staples to your list.

2. Take EVERYTHING out or you can also work shelf-by-shelf. Remove every item and then you have a few options: ditch anything that needs to go, set aside staples to put back in the fridge, freeze items that can be frozen and won’t get used in the next couple of days (for me: bacon, tortillas, chickpeas), or list leftover items to use in meal planning for the week (for me: a couple of jams, mint, and some white miso).

3. Clean! Wipe down every shelf, drawer and the doors. If it helps, rethink the space. Would adjusting the shelves help? I've removed one of our shelves so we have room for taller items on top. Also know that the door temperature is significantly warmer than the back. It’s best not to store milk or other sensitive products in the door.

4. Restore the fridge. Remember: calming and filled with nourishing ingredients. Store like things with like and arrange them by frequency of use. Our condiments are gathered in a shelf on the door and all of our sauces for asian cuisines are stored in a box on the bottom shelf. The items I want to use the most or soon are stored on the top shelves, like a pitcher of water for my monthly habit, a basket of end-of-season cherries, and some homemade pie dough! I also like to consolidate and move things to smaller containers.

5. Finish and celebrate your accomplishment! After putting everything back in pretty containers, gather those items that are to be used up within the week. A couple of days later, the leftovers have been consumed, the ingredients to use up have been... used up, and new items have been added:

What do you think? How's your fridge looking these days?

+ A look inside some famous people’s (probably art-directed) fridges!: well+good's Refrigerator Look Book.

We’ve been focusing on Meal Planning and Prepping this month with a few ideas to save time and help get food on the table easier, including Progressive Cooking and Post-Market Prep. Another method, probably the easiest, is to prepare parts of a dish the night before: Overnight Prep. Let time work for you! The obvious example of this is slow-cooking, with which I have very little experience. (I sometimes do something similar in slow braising meats like the shorts ribs or pulled pork.) But my favorite practice is to soak breakfasts overnight. Do a little prep the night before, add a little chopped fruit in the morning or some time in the oven while you’re getting ready, and you can enjoy a delicious and filling breakfast!

MY FAVORITE OVERNIGHT BREAKFASTS:
1. Chia: (pictured)
Serves 2. Whisk together 4 tablespoons chia seeds, 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup, and 1 cup of milk (I use coconut milk with a little water added) in a bowl. Cover and chill overnight. In the morning, just stir and top with fruit (dried or fresh)!

2. Muesli:
Serves 2. Mix 3/4 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1 medium apple (shredded), the fresh-squeezed juice of 1 orange, a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Cover and chill overnight. In the morning, just top with fruit and maybe some toasted nuts!

3. Oatmeal:
Serves 2. In a medium pot, bring 2 cups of water or a water/milk combo to a boil. Stir in 2/3 cup steel-cut or rolled oats and a pinch of salt. Cook for 1 minute and let cool, cover, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, bring the oatmeal to a simmer and cook until tender, only a couple of minutes. Stir in a little extra milk, some chopped fruit, a sweetener to taste, some toasted nuts and maybe a splash of vanilla.

4. Egg Tomato Casserole:
Serves 4. Grease a 2-qt baking dish. Cut 4 slices of bread into 1-inch pieces and layer them in the dish. Cover with 1/2 cup shredded cheese. In a bowl, whisk together 5 eggs, 1/3 cup milk, a few chopped chives or scallions and salt and pepper. Pour over the bread and cheese layer and then top with slices of 1 tomato and another 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Cover and refrigerate. In the morning, just place in a 350° oven and bake for about 30 minutes (while you’re getting ready!) until the eggs are nearly set and the cheese is golden.

5. Baked French Toast:
Serves 4. Grease an 8" square baking dish or something comparable. Place 6 slices of bread (preferably day-old and thicker cut) in the dish. In a large bowl, whisk together 3 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour the egg mixture over the bread then cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, sprinkle with 1/2 cup chopped nuts and another tablespoon of sugar. Cover with foil, place in a 375° oven and bake for about 25 minutes, and then uncovered for another 20 minutes until golden brown. Top with some fruit and/or syrup and enjoy!

Breakfast is a lot easier with these overnight recipes! I also make crepe batter, pancake batter and even bacon the night before. Yum!

Another cool idea, you can make-ahead smoothies for a few days or for the whole week! Check out these ideas from Hello Natural: How to Prep a Week's Worth of Green Smoothies and 10 3-Ingredient Smoothies You Can Make Ahead.

+ A note on my cooking and recipes: I keep a gluten-free house so all of the recipes I make are either gluten-free or easy to convert. They are delicious either way. You’ll see more of this with the Lean Pantry stuff. Thanks!