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Don't waste food:
Count your meatballs (and other tips)

One of the easiest ways to save money on food is to stop throwing it away. It's sometimes easy to forget that the most expensive food you buy is the food you don't actually eat.

The typical American family throws away 14 percent of all groceries brought into the house, according to a University of Arizona study. It doesn't have to be that way. While working on our latest cookbook, “ Cheap. Fast. Good!” we discovered lots of easy ways to use more and toss less.

Some simple steps can make a big impact on reducing the weekly grocery bill. Here are just a few of our favorites:

Label and date leftovers. Keep a list taped to the refrigerator door and jot down what you put in. If you know what's stored, you're more likely to eat it.

When those containers start piling up, stage a “leftovers smorgasbord.” You may have to add a salad. Microwave everything else and enjoy.

Speaking of salads, they're wonderful landing pads for those few nuts, bits of fruit or leftover chunks of cheese. Only have one chicken breast remaining? Chop it and scatter over the leaves.

Catchall recipes, such as soups, omelets, rice pilafs and casseroles, don't have to be exact, so they easily absorb odds and ends. Keep a few of these recipes in a handy spot, such as taped to the inside of a cupboard door.

Pack “leftovers lunches” at night while you're cleaning up from dinner. Then, in the morning, just grab and go.

Check sell-by and use-by dates before buying perishables. The fresher the item, the more time you have to use it. Stores shelve newer items behind older ones, so reach to the back.

Consider buying smaller quantities. Just because grapes are clustered in 2-pound bags doesn't mean you can't pull out half the bag. Likewise, many stores sell half-cartons of eggs. And a quart of milk is cheaper in the long run if you end up pouring out half of a gallon jug.

Finally, we call one of our most effective strategies “intentional portioning.” Start to notice exactly how much food each family member eats and only cook that much. We count out cheese tortellini as we throw them into the pot and defrost only the exact number of meatballs we know we'll eat. If you know you don't need leftovers for later, this helps eliminate them before they happen and cuts the amount you spend in the first place.

Hawaiian Meatballs Over Rice calls for exactly 16 meatballs. This recipe's meatball count is very flexible, so use a few more or less depending on your needs. Either way, it's sweet-and-sour delicious with a ginger kick.

Serve Hawaiian Meatballs Over Rice with steamed broccoli and crusty rolls.

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