April 17, 2009

It's Friday...

...and that means it's time to talk about food waste. I'm posting a photo of the food that had to be tossed this week in answer to a challenge by The Frugal Girl. She's on a mission to waste less food, and she's enlisting everyone who reads her blog. It's a good cause, because according to some estimates, we Americans waste about 25-40 percent of the food that's produced. You can read about the negative impact of all that wasted food and get all the facts at Wasted Food.

So we're doing our small part by trying not to throw any food away. This week I forgot about this almond milk and once it's opened it has to be used within 10 days, so it's NG. It wasn't in the Eat Me! section, so it fell through the cracks. Not too bad though, only about half full.

If you don't have an Eat Me! section in your refrigerator yet, get hip. Word is spreading. The idea was featured this week over at Wasted Food. For me, getting that email from Jonathan Bloom was kind of like getting a call to be on American Idol (if I could sing or wanted to be on television).

What tricks do you use to reduce your food waste? Or do you gleefully let it go bad, enjoying the science experiment aspect? Or maybe you have a teenager or a Labrador Retriever in the house? Please share your thoughts in the Comments section.

4 comments:

Marylyn said...

We rarely waste anything, because I use the "what-needs-to-be-used-up" approach to inventing casseroles and stir-fries. I am always aware of my options. I don't LIKE to have to go to the store on weekends, and I delight in making something delicious from what's on hand. HOWEVER...the cat food is another matter. Fortunately, there are both a hungry golden retriever next door and a stray cat that I feed every day. The dog will eat ANYTHING, and the stray cat eats the food the indoor-outdoor Princess Cat won't finish. Somehow, this stray cat managed to befriend her. Usually she chases strays away. I'm not adopting him, though. Just feeding him. He is afraid of me.

Kate Sommers said...

We do have a teenager in the house...a 6'3 still growing,surfing and eating everything he can get his hands on type so no problem with waste.I call him my St.Bernard puppy!
I've actually become creative in hiding things I want for later.I hide my chocolate inside a butter package in the freezer.So sad!
I have an idea for your almond milk,soy and all that.When you first open it pour half of it straight away into a plastic bag or container and freeze it.You can add it to shakes or let it thaw out for cooking when you need it.
When we were eating mostly an all raw food diet I made fresh almond milk from soaked almonds and made incredible almond milk shakes.
Mix almond milk,one or two frozen bananas(great way to use up ripe
bananas) a couple of teaspoons of almond butter a few dates and blend.It's really good and filling.

Betsy Talbot said...

I love the "eat me" idea and we've started using it at our house. Big thanks also to katesommers for the freezing suggestion - I never thought to freeze my almond and soy milk!

Another thing I've started doing is making a veggie/fruit shake in the mornings with soy protein powder. It is a great way to start the day and to use up any fruits/veggies that are on their way out.

Angela said...

I knew it- if you have pets or teenagers, it's not even an issue!
Katie- that's so funny that you have to hide your chocolate.

Thanks everyone for coming by, and for the great ideas. I never even thought of freezing the almond milk, but that's what I'm going to do. It makes 4 or 5 smoothies, and I might not want that many in 10 days. But for some reason, almond milk does make the best smoothies. And the date-banana IS my favorite!