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| image: Clay Banks on Unsplash |
Would you throw away all of your household's lunch food every day for a year? Americans throw away 30% to 40% of the food supply. That's a huge amount. Of course, the percentage includes waste from farms, processors, stores, and restaurants. We're not off the hook for blame, however. Households make up the largest share of wasted food, often due to produce spoilage, missed expiration dates, or simply cooking too much.
Preventing food waste is about so much more than saving a couple of dollars. Our food "saves" actually help someone who is food insecure. While we can grow more food in the next season or raise more livestock over a year or two, food for this planet for a single season is a finite amount. My way of thinking is if I prevent food waste in my home, I need less food. I buy less, leaving more for the next person. As far as the planet goes, if Americans cut their food waste by 10% or 20%, that would provide over a billion meals per year for the food insecure. And it wouldn't cost us anything but our attention and time.
Hopping onto that train of thought, today I thought we could share our latest food saves, the foods that might have been thrown away, but were instead used.
My 5 food saves come from this past week's meals. Some meals contained a few "saves" as I was cleaning out the fridge. Here we go:
- saved beef fat from browning ground beef on Saturday and saved chicken fat from roasting a whole chicken: I used the last of the beef fat plus some frozen chicken fat in a greens and beans meal this week.
- soured milk: The last of the milk just got away from us. I had 3/4 cup of very sour milk that I seriously considered pouring down the drain. Instead, I used this sour milk in a batch of biscuits. They turned out very good.
- the cooking liquid from teriyaki chicken thighs: When I make teriyaki chicken thighs I marinate the thighs in a combination of soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic for a couple of hours. I then bake the thighs in the liquid, covered. There is always about a cup of cooked liquid remaining. It has lots of flavor, so I try to use it. This week I added it to the beans and greens mixture.
- watermelon rind: I used the white part of the rind grated in salads and cut into small sticks to add to the greens and beans dish. Steamed in with the greens it had a nice firm texture, a lot like bamboo shoots.
- bean cooking liquid : I watered some plants on the deck with the cooking water from beans.
So that last one wasn't something that fed us, but it did water an herb plant. Perhaps it added nutrients to the soil. and the plant will benefit?
Anyway, your turn. How have you saved food in the last few weeks? Your list can be as long as you want. Leave it in the comments, please.
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Lili, you are the queen of preventing food waste! My hat is off to you.
ReplyDeleteHere, I wish I were that good, and am trying to improve. One of the biggest tricks for me in this area has been to keep a container going in the freezer to store any bits and pieces. The tiny spoonful of leftover mashed potatoes that isn't really enough for a serving, a few remaining spaghetti noodles, a bit of gravy, etc... . Over time, that bag fills up and I add it to my dogs' homemade food, which they devour happily. The only things they've ever rejected (and that was just by my little elderly dog) were cherry tomatoes (left from a party tray sent home with us ) and a fresh green bean or two that I had picked before any others were ready and snapped into the current batch of food. There's no accounting for (dog) taste! ;)
Sorry, that was me, Cat. When I click to sign in, it doesn't let me, and I have yet to figure out the rhyme or reason as to why this occurs at times. I'm signed into google on my computer, so I don't understand why that doesn't translate to this blog server. One of the great mysteries of the universe!
DeleteHi Cat,
DeleteThis is very clever and a great way to use small amounts that no one wants to make a snack out of. Are there any human foods that you shouldn't put into the dogs' food? I know about chocolate.
I think some of the food waste comes from those dang “expiration” or “best by” dates! So many items aren’t “expired”. I think many people see those dates and automatically toss perfectly good items! Before dates, we would look at the food, smell it and maybe even take a little taste to determine if it was still fresh. And food items with vinegar, for example, are well preserved with that ingredient. I’m of course not saying be reckless with eating food from dented cans or signs of spoilage. But I think many households are throwing away food willy nilly. I have “reformed “ my sister to be a bit more discerning.
ReplyDeleteI can’t compete with Lili, but I’ve had a couple of saves recently. I made the old, delicious vintage 3 bean salad. I had canned pimentos the other week. My recipe has vinegar and a bit of sugar in it. I had quite a bit of liquid left over after canning. This was very similar to the liquid in the 3 bean salad recipe. I used it instead. The flavor was very good, especially with the added flavor of roasted peppers in it. Then, once the beans were gone, I added some more beans to the remaining liquid for another batch. I also made a vinaigrette with some leftover for salads. I just wasn’t going to pour that down the sink!
I had a lot of company recently and served pulled pork one night and marinated chicken another. Everyone has left except my daughter. I pulled out those protein leftovers, added peppers and tomatoes from the garden as add ins plus avocado, cheese, salsa etc and we had delicious burrito bowls. So that’s just a couple of ways I’ve reused food.
Looking forward to reading others’ saves.
Hi Lynn,
DeleteGreat save with the 3 bean salad dressing. I'm with you. Some of the recipes for 3 beans salad make sooo much dressing, there is always a lot leftover. And another good save with the leftover pork made into burrito bowls.
I was looking for a new cookie recipe to try and came across one that looked good. It called for dehydrated tiny marshmallows, which I didn't have. (They typically come in packs of hot chocolate mix, which I don't buy) I looked in my pantry and found a half bag of marshmallows on the dry side, so I took out my dehydrator to try it. It worked like a gem and the cookies were delicious.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruthie,
DeleteNow this is very clever! I make cocoa mix in winter to keep on the counter. I could dehydrate mini marshmallows to add to the cocoa mix jar. I never owuld have thought of this. Thanks for sharing!
Lili, that's a great idea for using your leftover liquid from teriyaki chicken. I never know what to do with it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMostly I'm trying to stay ahead of our garden produce before it gets wilty. I made more chocolate zucchini muffins yesterday to use up some grated zucchini that I had on hand. Exciting? Nope. But it didn't go to waste.
Hi Kris,
DeleteGood job using your grated zucchini! And for the record, I do think chocolate zucchini muffins ARE exciting! Do you ever freeze batches of these muffins to use in September when the zucchini is done for the season?
We were recently out of town for a few days, so I made sure nothing was going to waste while we were gone. It involved freezing some things, cooking and eating others, and gifting a few tomatoes and zucchini to my neighbor. She's a vegetarian without a garden so she was thrilled. They weren't clever saves, but saves all the same.
ReplyDeleteGood job on preventing wasted food, Live and :Learn! It's always extra work at a time when you're most busy preparing to leave. So I understand the particular challenge. I'm sure your neighbor particularly loved the gift of produce. It doesn't matter if the "save" is clever or not. Food saved means there is more to go around.
Delete