Fresh Start Day 12: Use Food Twice (and Stop Throwing it Away!)

We’re “starting fresh” this January, completing 22 mini-challenges in 22 days for a cleaner, fresher and healthier kitchen and grocery budget. Just joining us? Read about the what’s and why’s on the mini-challenges, as well as the previous days tasks, and jump right on in!

Did you miss day 9 this week? There’s three days left in a giveaway especially designed for those who struggle with meal planning (and don’t we all need some help now and then? ) Don’t miss out!

Twenty-five percent (25%) of the food we buy will never get eaten. 

Unbelieveable.  And yet there’s more.

This CNN article (based on a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council) also claims that we buy more food than we can eat, one of the results of poor planning.

Need help in that area?  You won’t want to skip out on this giveaway.  It could be the ebook that finally provides a solution!

It appears that poor planning has much greater implications than simply not knowing what to make for dinner.

If 25% of the food we buy goes straight to the trash can, than the same correlation can be said of our grocery budgets.  Of the $330 my family allots for groceries each month, an average of $82.50 ends up uneaten or spoiled.  In the trash.  Wasted.

Do you remember the challenge from day three?  It was to create a grocery budget.  Think of the amount you ended up allowing for monthly groceries and divide it by four.  Now consider withdrawing that money from the ATM and promptly putting it in the nearest trash can.  Feel good?

I didn’t think so.

Day 12 – Use Food Twice

Your challenge is to take your food to the opposite of wasteful by devising ways to use food twice.  This is one way seasoned meal planners are able to pull meals together so easily, but it’s also one of the most effective ways to reduce our grocery budget.

We pay $2.49/lb for pasture-fed organic chicken.  At nearly $12 a bird, there’s no way I’m letting anything go to waste.  I don’t care if it’s even 1/8 cup of chicken that comes off the bones while making broth or leftover from taco night – I’m saving it.  It only takes a few taco nights before there’s enough chicken for a whole pan of enchiladas (which becomes a bonus meal of sorts since you didn’t account for it when calculating meat in the first place).

Below are a few practical suggestions to get you started and is no means an exhaustive list.  Think of some others to add and leave them in the comments!  Remember that the goal is to avoid the trash can at all cost!

Asparagus

• trim 2″ off the bottom and reserve for soup (add early so it will be tender for serving)
• add leftovers to a veggie-filled pasta dish, stir-fry or fried rice

Broccoli

• use tiny florets for salads
• use large florets for a side dish
• chop stems for omelets, quiches and pasta dishes

Carrots

• save tips and ends for flavoring bone broth (see “Veggie Pot” below)

Celery

• dry leaves for homemade celery seasoning
• save tips and ends for flavoring bone broth (see “Veggie Pot” below)

Orange and Lemon Peels

• reserve for citrus vinegar
• in a small pot, cover with water and simmer to freshen the air
• if organic, peel the zest and freeze for future recipes calling for it

Edible Fruit Peels

• add to smoothies
• natural source of pectin when making fruit butters

Leftover Cooked Veggies, Whole

• add last-minute to stir-frys, pasta dishes or fried rice
• use in a dish that requires the same vegetables (i.e. using leftover southwestern corn in hearty minestrone soup)

Leftover Cooked Veggies, Mashed

• make pancakes
• add to smoothie (sweet potato can be substituted for pumpkin)

Leftover Cooked Meat

• freeze unused portions; option to slice to chop for sandwiches, stir-frys or pasta dishes

Leftover Bones from Stock and Meals

• freeze all organic bones and use for stock

“Veggie Pot”

• a storage container in the freezer where you put tips and ends from root vegetables, to be used in broth or soups

“Chicken Pot”

• when having meals including shredded chicken (i.e. tacos), save all leftover chicken and keep in the chicken pot; use for soup, stir-fry or enchiladas when you reach two cups
• add miscellaneous shredded chicken as the result of making broth

“Pasta Pot”

• store unused random portions of pasta in a pot in the freezer; pull out to use in soups or pasta bakes when you reach desired amount

Potato Peels

• use on spider bites

Cheese

• save Parmesan rinds for minestrone soup
• freeze small amounts of random cheese; make macaroni and cheese when reach desired amount (double bonus: use leftover pasta pieces!)

Day 11 Update

The first company meal I decided upon was chicken enchiladas.  I can make two large pans (approx 16 enchiladas) with only 2 cups of shredded chicken, and most of that comes from making chicken stock and random leftovers.  The recipe calls for spinach, onions and garlic to be added to the chicken, which makes more filling and thus stretches the chicken.  This essentially means that I could serve (organic) meat for dinner without having to specifically buy it out of my grocery budget.  A big bonus!

The enchiladas can be time-consuming to prepare, but it can be done earlier in the day and refrigerated until dinner.  They bake for the time leading up to dinner and as long as I spray the pan with cooking spray, clean-up isn’t too bad.  We’ve made this on three occasions and company unanimously gives two thumbs up each time.  Because frozen spinach can be bought for $1/box year round, it doesn’t rely on seasonal produce.  Finally the ingredients are minimal (chicken, spinach, onion, garlic, cream of chicken soup, yogurt, shredded cheese, tortillas and seasonings) and making your own tortillas and cream of chicken soup makes this truly a real food meal.

The second company meal I recently added to the rotation is soup and fresh bread.  We hosted company earlier this week with tortilla soup (recipe coming soon), sliced avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese and fresh bread.  Only the avocado is seasonal and if it were more expensive than 50¢ than simply omit.

In the case of soup, I did all the chopping in the morning and let the soup simmer all day (including the beans).  A double batch of soup means leftovers for later in the week and the bread was part of a double batch two days prior.

Finally we’re trying paninis and french fries for a night with company next week.  There will be a choice of turkey (from Thanksgiving) or steak (one single leftover cooked steak), herbed boursin cheese (clearanced) or sliced gouda, and roasted bell peppers.  All between homemade bread of course.  The bell peppers are seasonal but could be substituted with fresh spinach or whole basil leaves, depending on what’s available.  Whole potatoes will become baked fries.

The meat only requires a thaw and the peppers will be roasted earlier in the day.  The bread can be made prior, leaving only assembly and grilling right before serving.  Since it’s a “make your own” panini, the grilling is part of the fun!

What about you?  How do you use food twice in an effort to waste less?