I was reading in the forums this morning and I saw Jeffrey had posted this article:
http://www.nationofchange.org/10-tips-reduce-food-waste-during-holidays-1322153327
It talked about how much food is wasted in the U.S. especially during the holidays.
I know this is something I have tried very hard to stop in our household. There's a commercial for plastic bags that shows folks throwing away about half of their food and how they should buy these great plastic bags to stop that.
I would like to offer a rebuttal to that ad. It's not the use or misuse of plastic bags that results in food waste, it is the fact people aren't careful and use what they have.
We had very few leftovers this Thanksgiving. We had a great meal and enough for another meal which we ate Thanksgiving night. Instead of buying a whole turkey, I bought a turkey breast. It was plenty for three of us for Thanksgiving and just enough for supper. I had planned to make turkey and noodles if we had any leftover after that -- I saved the broth. Since I didn't use it, it will be frozen for something else.
As for the potatoes, I made just enough. That was a tough one for me. I have a hard time judging how much is enough. But, I decided to make a little less than I normally would so there wouldn't be a ton left over. I figured there was plenty of stuff to eat. Our table wasn't sparse either time and we ate plenty.
In my every day cooking, I try to figure out ways to use those leftovers. Last week I used the ham steak for 2 1/2 meals. Leftover green beans from one meal were used to make a vegetable soup for another. Sometimes we have clean out the fridge supper -- some weird choices, but I hate to throw food away. Partially because I hate to see waste, but also partially because it costs money. I was not happy last week when I was using stuff up from the freezer and although we had eated most of the okra, that I had let it sit too long in the freezer. I tried fixing it, but it was beyond using. I know I bought it on sale, but still, it was wasteful. I did manage to use up the small amount of hashbrowns that were in the freezer - I chopped a green onion in with them to give it flavor.
Hopefully I will have no waste coming up during the holidays. Right now my freezer is kind of full from some of the sweet breads I baked and froze for our church bazaar. But, after that, I hope to empty it and start freezing some of the things I can use for other meals. I just need to be careful not to let anything slip to the back and be forgotten.
Wasting Food Costs Money
November 26th, 2011 at 02:28 pm
November 26th, 2011 at 03:08 pm 1322320121
November 26th, 2011 at 07:26 pm 1322335609
November 26th, 2011 at 09:23 pm 1322342583
LEFT OVER Roast Beef returns to table as:
curry
stir-fry
pot pie
shepherd's pie
beef wrap
beef barley soup
Mandarin beef salad
beef stroganoff
stew
enchiladas
quiche
pasta salad
spaghetti sauce
taco salad
for example. Likewise lists for poultry, pork, potato, greens. Wrapping anything in a WonTon wrapper or tortilla is suddenly Asian or TexMex miracle.
November 26th, 2011 at 10:36 pm 1322346994
November 27th, 2011 at 08:41 pm 1322426477