Waste Less Food

This summer, I planted my first ever garden. I absolutely loved growning vegetables. Then, I had to learn quickly how to conserve everything because there was so much growing. When you spend time tending to each plant, you cannot bear to let anything die. So, I learned to can and freeze and give away.

I just finished reading an incredible novel, The Guernesy Litterary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It takes place in a small island in the English Channel between England and France. The time is World War II. The island is occupied by German soldiers. Food is scarce for everyone as they are isolated on this tiny island. This book further opened my eyes to the need to be less wasteful even if you don’t live in a war torn society. We should always appreciate the food we have. I felt compelled to investigate further into food conservation.

Timothy Jones of the University of Arizona studies food loss in the United States. He claims that 50% of food is wasted in the United States and that 14% of American food purchases are wasted…thrown out. This could be because the portions served are too large and much gets tossed in the trash. It could be that fruit is left to rot in the crisper. Bread is left to go moldy. There are so many possibilities.

What we need to do is think of ways to make use of all of this food before it goes to waste. Keep a watchful eye on the bread box and in the fridge and make arrangements for the food before it becomes inedible. Here are ten useful tips:

1. Bananas: if you see that bananas are going brown, throw those in the freezer. You can thaw them out whenever you want to make banana bread or muffins.

2. Onions, Carrots, Celery: usually we chop off the ends of these vegetables and toss these away. However, you can store them in a bag or bowl in the freezer. Once you have a good amount, toss them in water and make a soup stock. Furthermore, don’t toss the leaves of the celery, there is great flavor found in the leaves.

3. Vegetables: can be blanched and then frozen: green beans, peas, corn, etc…

4. Herbs: if they are just about to go bad. Chop up the herbs and add to water. Pour the water and herbs into ice cube trays. These can be melted into sauces later to add tremendous flavor.

5. Eggs: did you know you can freeze eggs? I just learned this. You can break them out of the shell, whisk it up and pour them into ice cube trays to use later.

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6. Stock: if you make a large pot of stock, freeze it in small containers or into ice cube trays to use in sauces.

7. Zucchini: if you have too much zucchini, make zucchini bread and put it in the freezer for later.

8.  Mashed Potatoes: if you made too much for dinner, save them in the fridge and fry into patties for breakfast and serve with eggs.

9. Chicken, pork, or beef bones: Throw into a stock pot. Add enough water to cover, celery, carrots, onions and garlic. Let it boil for several hours. Strain it. You will have amazing stock.

10. Fruit: make into smoothies or homemade jams and jellies.

These are just ten conservation tips. I am sure there are several hundred more but these will get you thinking in the right direction. Being less wasteful is better for our wallets as well as our environment and a great lesson to pass on to our children.