Now that Spring has sprung, it’s time to clean out the kitchen. This helps you to again realize all the food that you have on hand, and to use up those items which are nearing expiration. By doing this, you can best make use of your supplies of food while keeping waste to a minimum. Additionally, you can avoid purchasing multiples of different spices and other ingredients! Plus, it makes your transition easier if you have recently decided to adopt a plant-predominant or wholly plant-based diet. Knowing that the food in your kitchen is 100% compliant with your new diet makes it much easier when throwing meals together. Ready to get started?
Pantry and Cabinets:
Pull everything out of your cabinets and your pantry if you have one. Then wipe down the insides of the cabinets with some warm soapy water. Next, focus on grouping like items together, and making sure that those items which are nearing expiration are in the front of the cabinets. If you have multiples of some items, make a list of these, and how many you have and tape this to the inside of the cupboard. (I’ve found this especially helpful with my overflowing spices!) This makes grocery shopping much easier when you can go to the cupboard and easily see that you already have 3 bottles of fennel seeds, so definitely don’t add that to your list!
While you’re at it, brainstorm some meals you can make to use up some of those ingredients and jot these down in a notebook. You can then use this list to help plan meals for the next couple of weeks and purge the older food to keep the cabinets from overflowing.
Fridge and Freezer:
Much like the cabinets, again pull everything out of the fridge/freezer to wash all the inside surfaces down with warm soapy water. Check the expiratory dates and purge anything that is past due. If you are in the middle of transitioning to a more plant-predominant or entirely plant-based diet, it is also helpful to look at each item and assess if it meets your health goals. If not, in the bin it goes!
If you have items that are not opened and still within use by dates, consider donating these to family/friends or a local soup kitchen or food bank if they will take these items. Avoiding as much waste as possible is a part of the plant-based diet.
Before heading for the market, take a few minutes to clear out any foods that have passed their prime, or that you will not eat. (This makes it even easier to get your fresh foods into the fridge quickly upon returning home).
Use glass food storage containers to enable you to easily see what is in each container and help to conserve energy (since you’re not standing there with the door open searching for food). One benefit of glass containers is that they can extend the shelf life of produce in the frig and are dishwasher-safe. The glass containers do not have to be costly, and can be as simple as saving your glass jars from foods that you regularly buy (things like pasta sauce, roasted peppers, jams, etc.). The jars from foods purchased at Costco are particularly worth saving, as these tend to be larger, and therefore store more. Another bonus is that glass is endlessly recyclable, unlike so many other storage containers in our homes.
Food Prep:
When you return home from the market, immediately wash your produce, and get it prepared so that it is ready for use in whatever chosen recipes for the upcoming week. Wash and spin all your lettuce and store it in large containers in your fridge. Then go about washing and chopping all the other delicious foods that you picked up and store it in jars in the fridge. This will make cooking meals SO much easier during the week!
If you see a vegetable or 2 that are aging in the fridge, but not spoiled, grab a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and roast those veggies to get them used up that night, before they go bad. Alternatively, you can make a soup when cleaning out the fridge, or a salad or bowl. By utilizing strategies to avoid food waste, you will also save money, and who doesn’t want to do that these days?
If you like to batch cook meals, maybe try to do this the day following your run to the grocery store, so that you don’t spend such a large amount of time in the kitchen, all in one day. I do this, and batching is so much quicker when all my fresh foods are ready to go, and easy to incorporate into the dishes I make.
Try soaking the beans you will eat for the week starting the morning before going to the market. You will want to drain and rinse the beans a couple of times, but by soaking them for 24 hours prior to cooking, you can dramatically reduce both their cooking time and their potential for being a “musical fruit”!
Do you have any other spring cleaning tips that you employ in your kitchen? Sharing is caring, and we invite you to share your tips in the comments below.
Did you know that Marching Seasons was recently featured in Feedspot’s Top 60 Vegan Lifestyle Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2021? We are so very humbled to be included in such a great list of blogs in the Vegan and Plant-Based space. If you haven’t seen it, we invite you to check it out!
