Spring clean your diet

April's a great time to clear out your fridge, pantry & freezer & review your shopping habits to set you up for a healthy summer! It may be easier to run down your fresh food supplies before starting this task.

Refrigerator

• empty everything out (but for food safety don't leave these food items lying out too long)
• check use by dates & discard anything that's out of date
• go through all those half used jars & bottles, check use by dates & decide if you will actually ever finish what's in those jars & bottles
• if not clean them out & recycle the containers
• wash the shelves & drawers with hot soapy water and let them air dry.  Wash the inside of the fridge to clear up crumbs & spillages
• as you put the items you're keeping back in, make a note of what needs used up soon & plan meals around those
• are their items you could buy healthier alternatives: lower fat cow's milk/sour cream/cheese, plain yogurt to flavor with fruit yourself?

Freezer

• discard anything that's been lurking in there for too long!
• discard bags or containers with no label & you've no idea what they once were!
• are there ingredients ready to put together for a quick, healthy meal?  If not, think about what items would be helpful to you to keep in the freezer
• you can help yourself prepare a fast, healthy meal on busy nights by stocking your freezer with your own 'ready meals', such as frozen vegetables, pasta sauce, portions of chilli, soup and so on.

Pantry

• lay everything out so you can see what you have & easily clean the shelves
• check sell by dates & discard anything that's out of date
• do you have items that are still sealed & in date but you bought & now realize you'll never use? Donate them to a local food bank.
• decide how to group items to make cooking easier for you.  Is it helpful to you to have all the herbs & spices together or would it be better for you if the Italian herbs were beside the pasta for example?
• keep items you use often accessible & if you have children decide what items you'd like them to be able to reach or not

Did you find you discarded a lot of food? 

Meal planning can not only save you time but also save you money as you only buy what you need for meals & leftovers to stock your freezer and there's no waste.

Before you go shopping, take time to plan out meals & write a list of ingredients plus a list of items you'd like to have in your pantry to make cooking at home more enjoyable & achievable as you'll have all the ingredients you need on hand!