Stocking your Fridge

August 9, 2011 By Leanne Vogel July 15, 2015

[source]

You told me that you loved reading about how I stock my pantry, so I just had to follow up with a stocking your fridge post! The two really go hand in hand. Lets get this party started!

Regular cleaning

Choose a day of the week that you’ll alternate between organizing your pantry and cleaning out your fridge. I like doing this on Friday mornings, before I go to the grocery store in the afternoon. It only takes 10 minutes or so to check the expiration dates on your condiments, organize things, give the shelves a quick wipe. My favorite fridge cleaning solution:

• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon baking soda

Figuring out what to put on your list

I like to plan my meals for the week so that I don’t need to worry about what nutrients I’m missing out on during the hustle and bustle of running my own business, training, blogging, and holding a full-time job. Basically, if I didn’t plan I would be living off the worst kinds of foods, and we can’t have that, now can we? Here’s the approach I take to planning my weekly menu:

1. Chose a couple of recipes that you plan to enjoy the following week. I like to pick:
   • 1 grain + vegetable dish like vegan taco salad or black bean and ginger pasta
   • 1 protein + vegetable dish like greens eggs no ham or spicy mango bowls
   • 1 snack condiment like vegetable hummus or vanilla almond flax butter
2. Write down the ingredients you’ll need for those recipes.
3. In addition, include quick foods on your list like apples, berries, carrots, cucumbers, baby tomatoes, crackers, etc. that you can add to your lunches throughout the week.
4. Go shoppin’
5. Once you have the ingredients you can prepare your chosen meals on the weekend and freeze for the upcoming work week, or make as needed.

Avoiding clutter

Make a list and check it twice. Now that you have your list, make sure you compare it to the items in your pantry and fridge before you go shopping to make sure you haven’t listed items you already have. The last thing you need is to purchase yet another box of oats when you already have 2 boxes sitting in the corner of your pantry.

[source]

Condiments

You’ll find condiments, a couple of old beers, and loads of fruits and veggies in our fridge. Our go-to condiments include:

• Maple syrup
• Flax oil
• Eggs
• Canola mayonnaise
• Unsweetened homemade apple sauce
• Pickles (a necessary evil)
• Pickled ginger
• Wasabi
• Braggs soy sauce
• Miso
• Daiya cheese

Fruits & Veggies

When we moved into our house from the condo, we chose a fridge that was at least 30% bigger. It has 3 produce drawers! It’s a tight squeeze at time, but it works. Depending on the season, we usually have:

• Gala apples
• Granny smith apples
• Lemons
• Limes
• Cucumbers
• Carrots
• Celery
• Fresh herbs: cilantro, parsley, oregano and basil
• Kale
• Chard
• Bananas
• Mango
• Field greens
• Bananas
• Spinach
• Grapes
• Berries – fresh or frozen

DO’s

• Organize your grocery list. Once you know what you need, map out where it is in the store. For example, I use the following sections on my grocery list – organic isle, meat and refrigerated, middle section [this is where you’re going to find most of the processed foods like cookies, crackers, chips, juices, etc. Stay away from this section as much as possible!], produce, deli. Once you have it mapped out you’ll find you will save so much time at the store!
• Try 1 new fruit or vegetable each week. When you go to the store, pick up something different. When you get home, checkout recipes using this ingredient online that interest you and go for it! Variety is the spice of life!

DONT’s

• Keep cooked grains in the fridge for more than 2-3 days. Although you may not see it, or smell it, funky bacteria can grow on your grains pretty quickly!

This entry was tagged: meal planning