Food Waste Friday | Dear me.
It's been a loooong time since I wasted so much of something.
Two weeks ago, my kids had a friend here and I made two boxes of macaroni and cheese for them. Oddly enough, there was a lot left over, and I put it all into a pyrex container and shoved it into the fridge. Unfortunately, it got shoved into the very back of the fridge on the bottom shelf and it sat there, hiding from me for way too long.
I also found a slimy tomato in my vegetable drawer, and I don't do anything with slimy tomatoes except chuck them into the compost.
I've been working on this food waste thing for so long now, throwing out a whole container of something feels pretty awful. But to encourage myself, I looked up some of my old food waste photos, and clearly, I've made some progress since then.
Here's one from May of 2008, after I'd been working on my food waste for a month or two. Ack!
I can almost hardly believe how much food I used to throw away.
So, if you're new around here, let this picture encourage you...if I can become at least partially reformed, there's hope for you too! And if you need some practical tips to get you started, my 10 Ways to Reduce Food Waste post might be helpful to you.
1. How awesome is it that the food that *is* wasted was from a box stuff, and not something you spent a lot of time over?
2. Aww....remember the cilantro years? How long has it been since you wasted any of that?
3. It's fantastic that you can look back and be encouraged like that.
That is true. Boxed macaroni and cheese almost doesn't even count as food, right?
Amen. Although it's still a treat.
I understand the feeling! I agree with The Mrs....at least it was boxed mac-n cheese. Throwing away a whole bowl of homemade mac-n cheese would be REALLY bad.
I absolutely LOVE pyrex containers, too...In fact, i just used a bunch of my credit card points to get amazon cards and ordered 2 sets...I'm easy to please, just buy me some food storage!
I love these posts.. Im FINALLY commenting! been following you for a while now.. you are helping me learn to cook as well!! I love this!! I dont feel like im a "wasteful child" like my mother always said, anymore! Thanks Kristen!! 🙂 Enjoy your day!
Waste free week for me! This hasn't happened for quite a while, and next week I'll be on vacation so it's a two-fer! Huzzah!
Holy moly! What a difference. I'll keep working at it.
Congratulations Tasha!
It must have made you slightly happy though that your kiddos haven't been clamouring for that mac and cheese?
Wow, you've come a long way Kristen, you should be so proud!
I have cilantro in my fridge right now, I hope I use it all up and don't have it to post in my Food Waste Friday next week.
I'm pretty proud of my ~1 cup enchilada sauce and a tiny bit of yeast. I've been doing so good, I'm waiting for the week where it all crashes down around me....
Happy Friday!
Wow Kristen - I had never looked at your old food waste posts - you've come so far! I guess I need to go back and look at my old pictures tool, because I've gotten a little disillusioned lately. I *am* wasting a lot less; I just need to remind myself of it every now and again.
I tossed a few things this week, but the one that hurt the most was the strawberries I put in my lunch bag and forgot about. I do have the last 4 on my desk right now, so they'll get eaten today.
That's a good perspective - to go back and look at how you've improved! I had my worst week yet since joining in on FWF. I'll blame it on vacation. Darn vacations, always messing stuff up. 🙂
Whoa that's progress I wouldn't fret too much about the macaroni! No waste for me second week running. One reason being that I didn't do a grocery shop last week. All week I have been soaking beans overnight and rustling up chilli's and all sorts of things from the cupboard and freezer. We've eaten well if a little too much of the same thing. It was my birthday and my Son's so the weekend was pretty much catered for outside the home. It's amazing what you can do when you try with basic ingredients! Jo
ps - Wonder how much cash I have saved in real terms not shopping and making do?
Kristen,
I listen to two weekly food shows via podcast and am always interested in the tidbits I knew and forgot or never knew - like the fact that tomatoes shouldn't be kept in the fridge. I don't know if you have other reasons for doing it but I do know that staring at those tomatoes hanging over my island make it really hard to forget about them!!
I normally store mine on the counter, but I think this one was starting to be iffy and so I put it into the fridge so that I could preserve it a bit longer. I probably should have just composted it or better yet, done something with it right away!
Lynne Rossetto Kasper of The Splendid Table said as long as tomatoes are not touching each other they can "age" well, they get a little dry and the sugars actually concentrate. I can totally see frying that egg up for a minute or two and having it with an egg. I took her to say that a slightly wrinkled, slightly dry tomato is great, just don't let it get moldy - so leave it out and consider it "getting better with age"! My guess is the cold and the condensation in the fridge will actually hurry the mold as opposed to delay it. Just a guess.
Ok so I have to admit that I thought this was sort of a weird post the last few weeks (new here). But since I just cleaned my fridge (as in took everything out and clean shelves and all...) I am totally sickend by the amount of food I just tossed! 2 pounds of grapes, 3 bowls of salad (premade for work this week...just didn't remember to take), leftover spaghetti, half a package of ham, 2 slices of bologna and 2 different bags of cheese. I am so disgusted with myself and family! I should have taken a picture...
Thanks for the motivation. I really enjoy your blog!
I post the link to your page on my facebook page and comment with my food waste, that way I know almost 558 people have a chance of seeing it! Not too bad this week: one avocado and one banana!
I have to compost some radishes I got at the farmers' market. I hate wasting food I got at the farmers' market.... Grrr.
I had a much better week this week, than last!! Only a few items to toss, but the potatoes with "eyes" are going to be planted in my garden, so not a total waste there!! Hoping to have an even better week, next week!! =)
Angie, are your potatoes just regular grocery store potatoes? If so, have you had luck getting potatoes from those? I thought they were sprayed with an anti-growth spray as a preservative and therefore wouldn't grow potatoes very well. But if that's not true I might give it a shot!
Grocery store taters usually are sprayed but the idea is deter sprouting - especially before the taters are sold - rather than eliminate it entirely. So the spraying isn't heavy enough to be 100% (thankfully). It's a balance between chemicals and cost on the one hand, and salability on the other.
It is still less than other people! I had a waste free week as well, actually I didnt have enough food - lucky for me there was room in my grocery budget for more food!
Fifi
I am inspired, I thought we were too hopeless to come so far, but you have so maybe we can too!
This is such a good idea! I found you just this week, but am starting to blog about my food waste on Friday and will be linking to your blog! Thanks for the inspiration, I'm always looking for ways to be more efficient in food usage/save money on groceries. 🙂
I love this idea, and am going to incorporate it into my blog. Waste is a sometimes hidden opportunity to save money and minimizing it is just the responsible thing to do 🙂
One pear.
I've noticed a trend.
http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-633719/Three-Tiered-Basket-Stand
This is the basket I use for fruit on the counter. It has many advantages: vertical, holds a lot, isn't ugly. But it turns out the wires are hard on the more tender fruit, although it destroyed an apple last week I don't consider apples to be tender. I need to either eat that fruit earlier, get a different basket (but it took years to find one that met my requirements), or resign myself to feeding the compost more a little more.