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Top 5 Places to Hide YOUR Food…A Visual Guide

I don’t know about you, but I love going out to eat. I love it even more when the service is stellar and the food is delicious and I feel like I got a good deal. A good value for me, usually translates into turning my one meal into two or three. I do not have a chef at home and I have no shame in my left-over game.

Seriously. Think back to a time when you went out to dinner with friends or family, had an amazing meal, and ended your wonderful evening with a smile and a to-go box of your remaining food with plans to turn that scrumptious dinner into breakfast and/or lunch the next day.

Fast forward to the next morning….you woke up earlier than you planned, because of someone else; finally had to do something you’ve avoided doing for months, stubbed your toe on the stupid couch, and had about an hour more of toddler whining that a normal person can tolerate. But there’s something to keep your spirits up. You had an amazing night the night before, you just need to push through for a few more hours, oh and you have those leftovers to look forward to. Okay, kids are fed, semi-clean, alive, and finally settled down. Now it’s time to sit down, open that box, and enjoy right? What if you open the refrigerator and look at every shelf, every drawer, behind the tall shit twice, three times, and your leftovers that you’re now craving are nowhere to be found?

THIS. THIS has happened to me THROUGHOUT my life (not just recently) and it crushes my soul. My food. I picked it out, ordered it, dug my fork in it numerous times, paid for for it, asked for a box, remembered to take it with me to the car, remembered to take it out of the car, and placed it delicately in the refrigerator for safe keeping until the following day and then THIS.

A version of this also happens when I go grocery shopping and buy something that in a normal house, would last a few days or a week. I get super proud of my choices when I buy chips or cookies or popcorn from the grocery store and don’t chow down the same day. Save those goodies for a day that they’ll really taste great. A few days later, you go looking for those salty snacks and you literally cannot find them anywhere. Did hubby or kids put them where they don’t go? Wait. No. My family eats all the good stuff on day one and two.

Well friends, I have found a way to combat this problem. I have a tried and true list of the best hiding places for MY FOOD.

5. In your car or trunk. Winter is your friend if you have leftover pizza, pasta, subs, etc. and you don’t trust your fam to keep their hands off your food. Use your phone to verify that the weather will be fridge temp or below, and shove that food under your seat. When you can’t count on winter for meals that need to be cold, your trunk is a great option for boxed snacks. A girly bag or nondescript box is the perfect cover for YOUR snacks from the grocery store.


4. At work/in your desk. File cabinet, extra drawer or lunchroom at work? Keep your snacks there (assuming your co-workers are better than your family with keeping their paws off your stuff). Pro tip: When grocery shopping, if you’re used to separating your frozen food from pantry food etc., you can piggyback on that idea and put YOUR food in a separate bag, leave it in the trunk (maybe under a blanket or behind a box) and take it to work the next day. I work from home, so my options are somewhat limited; but the fam knows mommy’s desk, phone and computer are off limits.


3. In an undesirable box in the pantry. Kids or husband tell you the Aldi brand of poptarts are a no-go in the future? You might have to buy them again, ditch those not-tarts (they really are terrible) and use that box to hold your yummies. A few nutty bars, and snacksize oreos can definitely hide in that box; just make sure it’s a bit above eye level so someone doesn’t see inside!


2. In a purse in your closet. This will work for me for the foreseeable future. No one in my house borrows my clothes. Find a dark colored bag that you don’t use very often, fill it with your faves, and then hang it on a hanger and stick it between some of your dark clothes. Fun fact: I would wear black t-shirts everyday of my life if I could, so my black bag o’fun hides among my black t-shirts.


1. Behind the tampons. No one in my house is going near those. They’re the perfect hiding place for any high priority snacks that need the best safeguarding.

Some of you might not get it, and think I’m a loon, but I’m not as bad as the disaster planning peeps. 

I know some of you can really relate, and my five ideas might not be enough for you, so here’s another resource you might want to check out. You gotta tell me though, where do you hide YOUR food?

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Katie Helgesen

Katie Helgesen is the Senior Director of Business Intelligence at Dealer Inspire, a fast-growing and award winning technology company near Chicago. Katie and her husband, Todd, have 4 awesome kids and love living in a small community centered on a lake in northwest Indiana. Baseball, t-ball, and soccer schedules are just a few pieces of Katie’s Mom Hustle. Her daydreams revolve around finding more “me time” and traveling. In real life, Katie keeps herself sane with naps, Netflix and eating out as often as she can.