This week, I’ve decided to join Food Waste Friday hosted by The Frugal Girl. For starters, I think it will be interesting to see what I actually am wasting each week all in one place –because I tend to think I’m really good about using things up but when I start to write it all down, I notice I’m still being pretty wasteful. Plus it’s actually rather fun to photograph food that is on its way out!
It’s kind of embarrassing to think of all the food that gets thrown away that should have been used in some way. But living a more sustainable life is all about holding yourself accountable. Feel free to join in on your own blog, or just leave comments below or on The Frugal Girl.
So here goes…remember, there’s no judgment here. 😉
A portion of fruit salad that a made over a week ago. We ate most of it, which was actually a way to use up some other fruit which was looking a bit pekid (kiwis, browning bananas, strawberries and grapes). I found two small plums that had to be tossed as well.
This sad little cherry tomato that got lost in the bottom of the produce bin of our fridge and 1/3 of a cucumber. But the rest of the cucumber will become a salad very shortly!
In addition to what I’ve wasted, I also am going to share a few things that I didn’t waste… just to give myself some hope.
Tuesday I made a delicious soup from a chicken carcass along with a bunch of carrots and celery that needed to be used up. I also salvaged a leek which had been sitting on my counter for well over a week. I intended to use all these in another dish that I never bought lamb for…so I was really pleased to be able to make sure of these still. And the addition of the leek to the chicken soup is new for me but tastes delicious. I also harvested the spinach which has been growing in our salad table for the last few months and threw that in the pot!
And these rather sad looking heads of lettuce (we ate about two-thirds of the lettuce) will actually not be going to waste. Friends of ours here in town have geese and they have begged everyone they know for old lettuce and bread. The geese love them and once the lettuce or bread goes past the point of saving, I don’t have to feel quite so guilty.
I don’t want to come across as a know-it-all, just wanted to suggest to wash your lettuce completely, dry it very good and then put the leaves you’re not gonna eat immediately in a freezer bag in your fridge. That way it keeps for at least four to five days 🙂
We always try not to waste any food, too, but fail at times. To be aware of it is very good start though.
Maja x
Hi Maja,
Thanks for leaving a comment. I actually do that from time to time, but find that the lettuce only lasts 2-3 days before it starts to get slimy. But I think it also has a lot to do with the type of lettuce you do this with. A frilly lollo or iceburg will last considerably longer than Feldsalat (lamb’s lettuce) or other more flat lettuce types. Iif I am going to use it up within a few days, it’s certainly a lot easier to have it ready to go in a bag…and maybe I need to dry it more thoroughly before bagging it…
The biggest problem I had with food waste after my kids grew up and went out on their own was learning to cook smaller amounts. I had a very popular eatery in my dining room for many years and it wasn’t unusual for my wife and I to prepare meals for ten or fifteen guests on a fairly regular basis.
Normally now there are just the two of us for meals and not much need for seven or eight lb. meatloaves, four gallon stockpots of chili or stew, ten pound batches of baked beans to accompany the whole pork hindquarter that is being barbecued in the backyard, etc.
Old habits die hard but I have just about gotten things under control well enough that we don’t have to eat the same thing for days on end and still toss part of it out.
Food is more fun when you can have something new every day and not waste so much. 🙂
Regarding lettuce…I found it keeps best if washed, then wrapped in a cotton kitchen towel and placed in the veggie bin in the fridge. No plastic. Amazing how well it keeps. Now and then, moisten the towel if it begins to dry out. I use this method with loose leaf lettuce we raise in our garden, too. ~~Rhonda
Thanks for the tip, Rhonda! I’ve actually read this before but never gave it a try. I guess I finally should! 🙂
Hey Rhonda, I’ll give it a try 🙂 I know this works well with asparagus! Maja x