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Melissa Soto's avatar

Melissa Soto

Washington County Staff

"To set time aside weekly to prepare healthy meals for my family and reduce the amount of food waste. "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 181 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    26
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    5.0
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    6.0
    zero-waste meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    18
    pounds
    food waste prevented

Melissa's actions

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

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 5.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Planning

Plan to Use My Garden or CSA Produce

I will check to see what will be ready to eat in my garden or CSA box this week and plan recipes that use these ingredients.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Planning

Make Time for Meal Prep

I will set aside time to prepare meals in advance.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Shopping

Stick to Your Grocery List

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

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Cooking

Cook From Root to Leaf

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

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?


  • Melissa Soto's avatar
    Melissa Soto 8/22/2024 6:19 AM
    My biggest challenge is trying out new recipes. Has anyone found a new recipe during the challenge they liked and are willing to share?

  • Melissa Soto's avatar
    Melissa Soto 8/08/2024 10:42 AM
    It's going well. I can tell there is a difference in the amount of food that we are eating as left overs versus making a new meal.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Planning
    What meal plan method works for you and why? Have you tried some in the past that didn't work?

    Melissa Soto's avatar
    Melissa Soto 8/08/2024 10:42 AM
    Joined a broadcast channel for recipes to gather some new ideas. I like it because I get a notification on my phone that way it's easy to remember and if I am interested, then I click on it and it takes me directly to it.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Shopping
    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?

    Melissa Soto's avatar
    Melissa Soto 8/08/2024 10:40 AM
    Only put one extra item in the basket this weekend!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Planning
    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?

    Melissa Soto's avatar
    Melissa Soto 8/08/2024 10:40 AM
    On week 2 of creating a meal plan. What I have found out is that we save so much more food this way.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Planning
    How easy has it been for you to plan your garden or CSA produce into your meals? Do you ever let your seasonal food go to waste?

    Melissa Soto's avatar
    Melissa Soto 8/08/2024 10:39 AM
    I was only able to plant tomatoes and cucumbers this year as the rabbits ate everything else. We took our first haul of cucumbers this weekend. I plan to make pickles and jar the extra cucumbers this season.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Planning
    Do you have days when you don't have time to spend making food? How has meal prep helped one those days?

    Melissa Soto's avatar
    Melissa Soto 8/08/2024 10:38 AM
    I meal prepped breakfast for the next two weeks! Sausage burritos and sausage egg and cheese muffins
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Cooking
    Are you more likely to "hide the vegetable" in a dish or make it shine as the main ingredient? Why?

    Melissa Soto's avatar
    Melissa Soto 8/08/2024 10:37 AM
    Make it shine! If I can prep the vegetable and put it in the front of the fridge, I am more likely to grab that then something that is unhealthy.