This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Rubbermaid®. All thoughts are my own. Affiliate links may be used to create the dry erase menu board.
Before our family started meal planning, we would waste so much food. We would forget what we had, eat out too often, and most of all, our ingredients would go bad before we could use them. It was a constant struggle! At one point, I decided to use a meal planning service that came complete with grocery lists and recipes. It helped me to A: learn how to cook, B: how to separate ingredients and stretch and dollar, and C: save dinnertime! I created a terrible version of a meal planning board that nearly worked, and suffered through the early version for several years until we had our kitchen redone by Home Depot. Now it’s time to refresh our DIY dry erase menu board and incorporate a few more measures to freshen up our fridge, like the new Rubbermaid FreshWorks products.
In order to create my Dry Erase Menu Board, I visited the craft shop for a mere $3.00 worth of paper and stickers to add to my already-owned shadowbox frame. Here’s a short VIDEO tutorial on how to create a dry erase menu board of your own!
Your end result can hang in your kitchen to tout your healthy meals, but to come full circle on seven days of dishes, you’ll need a few more measures. For instance, you may bring home strawberries for a salad on day six, and cilantro for home chopped guac on day seven, but how are you going to keep them at their peak all week long? I, for one, don’t really have time to grocery shop multiple times a week, so I do things a little differently now.
I’m a wise woman in my fridge. I was able to test out Rubbermaid’s new line extension of FreshWorks, a food storage system that can keep produce fresh up to 80% longer* than traditional store packaging. Couple that with the fact that my two-nager (see: a child that is only 2 years old, but acts beyond a three-nager) likes to rotate which fruit she’s going to repeatedly delve into over the week, and I can easily have a bin of strawberries or grapes go bad.
I started to ask myself, what makes these different from storing a paper towel in with my leafy greens (cuts down on moisture) or changing the strawberry container mid-week to avoid bruising? Aren’t my other Rubbermaid bins just as good? Well, yes, to be honest. I adore my BRILLIANCE bins because I can see straight through them… but they are AIR tight. Tight enough to keep a naked half avocado green for well over a day (and that’s saying something). But being airtight isn’t so good for my fruits and veggies.
FreshWorks Produce Bins are food storage containers that use patented FreshVentTM technology to keep produce fresher up to 80% longer* than traditional produce packaging. It uses a built-in FreshVent™ lid (you never have to change any filter), which naturally regulates the flow of oxygen and CO2 to create the optimal environment so produce stays super fresh. The sturdy, thin, green CrispTrayTM at the bottom raises up my strawberries away from moisture and promotes proper airflow to help reduce spoilage. It actually kept my strawberries happier for longer so Scarlett could round out her blueberry craving and come straight back to strawberries without wasting a cent.
Much like a sweater, if it’s hand wash only, it’s not going to live long in my house. These FreshWorks Produce bins go from holding produce (out of the store packaging) to the refrigerator to the dishwasher without blinking an eye. My three bins are great for my berries, grapes and perhaps celery, but there are 6 sizes to choose from that each stack and are modular. I’m now scouring the internet for the largest Freshworks bin to hold my leafy greens for salads.
How would these bins help you stretch your produce farther? With a dry erase menu board for your kitchen, can you save yourself even more money? Let me know what you do to keep your food fresh for your dinners!
*Based on strawberries in FreshWorks™ containers vs. store packaging. Results may vary depending upon produce and use. ** Source: USDA 2014
I need to make one of these so badly!
Love the idea of these containers for when I eat on-the-go. It’s hard to keep veggies and fruit fresh when I’m working remotely from coffee shops or my son’s after school activities. I think you just solved me problem!
Great idea!
I have seen these containers. I need to get a couple and try them. I like your board too. I do the same thing with just paper every week. Your idea is easier.