Ideas keep food on table, out of trash

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 eat.

Simple steps can make a big impact on reducing your grocery bill. Here are some favorites:

• Label and date leftovers. Keep a list taped to the refrigerator door and jot down what you put in.

• Salads also are a wonderful landing pad for those few nuts, a lone chicken breast, bits of fruit or leftover chunks of cheese.

• Catchall recipes, such as soups, omelets, rice pilafs and casseroles, easily absorb odds and ends.

• 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.

• Consider buying smaller quantities. Just because grapes are clustered in 2-pound bags doesn't mean you can't pull out half the bag.

Finally, we call one of our most effective strategies "intentional portioning." Start to notice how much food each family member eats and only cook that much.

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

Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross are coauthors of "Cheap. Fast. Good!" Reach them at www.desperationdinners.com.