Meg Kosowski

"Our mission is to eat more whole foods and reduce the amount of waste that comes out of our kitchen, while reducing the number of times we eat out at restaurants which also saves money and leftover waste!"

Points Total

0 Today
0 This Week
200 Total

Participant Impact

up to

1

advocacy actions

completed
up to

13

pounds of CO2

have been saved
up to

7

pounds

food waste prevented
up to

90

minutes

spent learning

Meg's Actions

Week 2 Focus: Shopping

Scrutinize Deals

I will resist the suggestion to buy the quantity advertised on sale and only buy what I know I will eat.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Order Half-Portions

I will ask for half-portions options at 2 restaurants and cafes to minimize food waste.

Completed
One-Time Action

Week 4 Focus: Storage

Preserve food

I will try a new method of food preservation, such as canning, pickling, drying or making jam. I will try 2 preservation techniques.

Completed
One-Time Action

Week 3 Focus: Cooking

Cook From Root to Leaf

I will try 3 root-to-leaf recipes, which utilize all parts of the vegetable, such as beet greens, carrot tops, and herb stems.

Completed
One-Time Action

Week 2 Focus: Shopping

Stick to Your Grocery List

I will only purchase the items on my grocery list and avoid impulse purchases.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Week 1 Focus: Planning

Attend Week 1's Workshop

I will attend a free Cooking Matters workshop on October 20th at 6 p.m.

Completed
One-Time Action

Week 1 Focus: Planning

Keep a Food Inventory

I will take a fridge and pantry inventory to stay up to date with what I have at home before I go grocery shopping.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Week 1 Focus: Planning

Create a Weekly Meal Plan

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu of meals and ingredients for my household of 2.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Week 1 Focus: Planning

Learn About and Choose a Meal Plan Style

I will explore different meal plan techniques and choose one that works for my household.

Completed
One-Time Action

Week 1 Focus: Planning

Track My Wasted Food

I will track the food that my household of 2 throws out so I can learn what we're wasting and why.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Feed

Meg Kosowski 11/08/2021 8:32 AM

We had a birthday dinner which included lots of leftovers, which is now a problem. The compost worms will get lots of wilted greens!

Read More
Reflection Question
Week 3 Focus: Cooking Cook From Root to Leaf

Are you more likely to "hide the vegetable" in a dish or make it shine as the main ingredient? Why?

Meg Kosowski 11/01/2021 9:23 AM

I love veggies and I dislike meat. I don't want to hide veggies I want to eat them. I was able to make a pasta meal with swiss chard which I had never attempted before and aside from over salting it I really enjoyed the meal.

Read More
Reflection Question
Community Order Half-Portions

Do you know if the restaurants you frequently visit offer smaller portions? Do you feel comfortable asking for them if not?

Meg Kosowski 11/01/2021 9:21 AM

I love this option because I always end up with leftovers. it's like they make the portions at restuarants huge to justify the insane cost and then they force you to take food home with you that you'll never end up eating. I think restaurants are the main driver behind food waste.

Read More
Reflection Question
Week 2 Focus: Shopping Stick to Your Grocery List

What are some of the things you typically buy that you weren't on your list? How do you think you might limit some of those purchases?

Meg Kosowski 11/01/2021 9:20 AM

I am able to do this if I shop online. IT's much harder in person at the store to stick to the list because it's a smorgasbord of food just waiting to be eaten.

Read More
Reflection Question
Week 2 Focus: Shopping Scrutinize Deals

Are you someone who typically chooses what you buy based on what is on sale? How can you make sure you don't buy more than what you need?

Meg Kosowski 11/01/2021 9:19 AM

I love finding deals, and I find it's easier to shop online for the comparison. Even though I spend more money on grocery delivery than I would at the store because of the delivery markup I find I'm buying less food this way and it's more coherent because I can shop for exactly what I need over time. Having a shopping cart pending for a couple of days before submitting the order helps to really focus what foods we need.

Read More
Reflection Question
Week 1 Focus: Planning Track My Wasted Food

What did you find you are tossing the most? How can you change your habits to avoid wasting this food?

Meg Kosowski 11/01/2021 9:18 AM

About half of our wasted food now goes to the worms in the compost farm. The other half is food they cannot consume. I would like to get even less dairy and meat in our food waste stream so that the worms handle almost all of it directly.

Read More
Reflection Question
Week 1 Focus: Planning Create a Weekly Meal Plan

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Does this surprise you? Where would you rather use this money? How has meal planning helped you avoid waste?

Meg Kosowski 11/01/2021 9:17 AM

I am sure we spend money on food that is wasted though I would be very sad to learn it was anywhere near 1500 annual dollars wasted! How terrible. To combat waste, I planted a garden. This will allow me to grow my own food and waste less from the store. It will also allow me to compost any waste back into the food web. I started a worm farm for this purpose. I would rather use the money on anything that isn't waste.

Read More
Reflection Question
Week 1 Focus: Planning Keep a Food Inventory

Are there food items you have been better about using up and not wasting since you started keeping an inventory of what's in your fridge?

Meg Kosowski 11/01/2021 9:16 AM

Keeping a food inventory has always been something I aspired to but never got around to doing. If I can figure out some standard meals, say 15 on a bi-monthly rotation, I will be in control of a standard pantry and shopping list as well, which means I'll know what I have and when I run out.

Read More
Reflection Question
Week 1 Focus: Planning Learn About and Choose a Meal Plan Style

What meal plan method works for you and why? Have you tried some in the past that didn't work?

Meg Kosowski 11/01/2021 9:14 AM

I have never been able to set up a meal plan for more than one person. When I lived alone it was easy to get my same favorites from the store and to stick to a rotation of easy, comfortable, appropriately sized meals. When our household doubled, it got harder to plan and the tastes got more fickle. For some time I have wanted to get on a track where we are not constantly trying to decide last minute what to eat and getting daily decision fatigue from that process.

Read More
Meg Kosowski 11/01/2021 8:20 AM

We are a little behind because of extenuating circumstances BUT we are sticking to the plan even if we're a little backwards.

Read More