The Green Side of Menu Planning

Cooking with fresh produce is good for the planet. And you.

In this economy we’re all looking for ways to save money. Here’s an idea that will save you some cash and help the planet in the process: plan a weekly menu.

Planning your meals ahead of time can be green in a couple of ways. First, if you know what you need before you hit the grocery store, you only have to make one trip.

Obviously, it’s best to get your herbs and seasonal produce from a farmers’ market if you can, so you may have to make two stops, but that’s so much better than four or five unplanned trips throughout the week.

Second, sticking to your list will make you a more strategic shopper, and you’ll be less likely to buy a host of mismatched items that could potentially go to waste. You’ll also save some serious cash this way. So many of us pop into the store when we’re hungry and we’re tempted by ready-made snack foods. Prepackaged or frozen foods are costly. They also contain unnatural additives and involve a lot of plastic and cellophane packaging.

When you plan a menu, you can also cut costs and waste by selecting recipes with overlapping ingredients. For example, in a given week you could make a pasta puttanesca, chicken piccata and a Caesar salad. (We’ll save the vegetarian debate for another time, but do buy organic, free-range if you’re the carnivorous type.)

The anchovy paste leftover from the puttanesca can be used for a Caesar dressing, while the jar of capers can be used for the chicken piccata as well as the puttanesca. The piccata will require lemon juice, as does the Caesar dressing. You will not need the entire can of chicken broth for the piccata, so consider using the rest as a soup stock.

Start with one recipe, and then use its ingredients to inspire other dishes. If you’re not the kind of cook who makes Caesar dressing from scratch, there are ways you can make simpler meals and still employ the same principles. For example, if you buy cheddar and celery to make your own tuna melts, you could use the leftover cheddar and celery on a chef salad later in the week.

Quiches can also be a great way to use leftover cheese and vegetables, and they will last a few days in the fridge. They don’t freeze well, however, so they’re best eaten quickly.

Another great way to use up bits of cheese is with homemade macaroni. No one will complain about a six-cheese mac made from of slivers of Swiss, cheddar, mozzarella, fontina, Gouda, and parm….

You can also reduce waste by making your own breadcrumbs instead of buying the packaged kind. If you have leftover sourdough or baguette, put it in the food processor and grind it into bits. The crumbs freeze well and can be used as topping on your macaroni as well as a base for a pastry-less quiche.

If this all seems completely foreign to you, put a few ingredients into a search engine and see what recipes come up. This is a great way to find inspiration. The more you cook, the more overlapping ingredient patterns you’ll detect.

If you don’t have a lot of time to cook during the week, consider cooking your weekly meals on Sunday. Make foods that freeze well and defrost them throughout the week. Stews, chicken noodle soup and chili all freeze well, and so do many red sauces and meatballs.

Bon Appetit!