How to Use Portion Control to Control Your Food Budget

Portion control is part of dieting, but it can also help you reduce food waste and reduce your grocery bill.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that families throw away approximately 30 percent of purchased food. That means, simply enough, 30 percent of your grocery bill goes into the trash.

During the next week or two, pay attention to how much food you throw away due to spoilage, and how much you scrape from the plates into the garbage.

The reasons food is spoiling may be because you over-shop, have too many leftovers and don't practice long-term food storage.

You scrape food from the plate because the portion sizes are larger than you actually need on your plate.

Implement a portion control plan to prevent food spoilage and waste. Use a kitchen scale to portion the foods for meals and storage.

Shopping
Purchase only enough fresh fruits and vegetables as you can use in the next three to four days.

But don't ignore the good deals. For example, if the five pound bag of apples is too good a price to pass up, plan to make applesauce and can it for long term storage.

Apply this same principle to all your produce shopping. If you aren't going to use it within three to four days, don't buy it. If you can preserve it, plan to preserve it within the next three to four days.

Purchase bulk meats, poultry, pork and fish, but only if the bulk price offers a savings. Consider lesser priced meats for soups, stews and casseroles that can be frozen after they're cooked.

When You Get Home
Use a kitchen scale to divide the fruits and veggies into portions for each meal. Store each portion in a plastic bag or container and label it with the date. When you prepare the meal, then, you'll only use enough to feed the family for that meal.

Do the same for the meats and fish, approximating a reasonable portion size. You'll get better at judging this over time.

For example, slice a whole salmon into small salmon steaks and weigh each one. If you find that you're still scraping some into the garbage, next time cut the portions into smaller sizes. Use the kitchen scale to help you find the right portion sizes for your family.

Wrap the portions individually in plastic wrap and place them in freezer safe plastic bags and label the bags. Store the portions in the freezer. When you prepare the meals, take out only as many portions as you need for that meal.

Meal Preparation and Storage
Make your make-ahead meals that can be frozen within one or two days after purchasing fresh foods for these dishes. Once cooked, divide the food into meal-sized portions and place in freezer safe containers. Again, use the scale to determine just how large your portions are.

Label the containers, including the date. Separate containers prevent you from having to defrost two or three meals worth of stew, only to lose one or two of them to spoilage.

The Savings
Portioning food for meal preparation and long-term storage reduces food waste. After a few weeks, you'll notice you don't need to buy as much food at each shopping trip, because you already have food in the freezer, know how much food you need for the next few days, and don't have to replace food that spoiled.