Food Waste Friday | My fridge is clean, clean, clean!
Every week, I post a picture of the food that has gone bad over the last seven days. Why do I do this? Because in March of 2008, I finally got fed up with the amount of food I was wasting, and I thought that showing my waste to other people would motivate me to use up my food instead of wasting it. Because this often embarrassing practice was so helpful for me, I invited other bloggers to join me in posting their food waste photos, and Food Waste Friday was born. If you're not a blogger but still want some food waste accountability, feel free to participate by leaving a comment.
Not just clean as in, not-filled-with-rotting-food, but clean as in I-wiped/washed-the-whole-thing. I took drawers and shelves out, even. It was a rare event, indeed.
(I'm sure some of you super-duper-housekeepers are cringing at the thought that I don't do this very often, but alas, it is true.)
Since I cleaned a little deeper than usual, I found some things that had been lurking in the deep dark depths of my fridge for a while.
We'll go from left to right. First, we have Honey Nut cream cheese spread, which was just...weird. My kids wanted me to buy it, but most of them thought it was weird too.
Atop that is a bit of canned pumpkin. I should have just thrown it into the pumpkin bread batter, but I was being precise (baking being sort of scientific and all that).
The Dijon mustard had been in there for eons and I had a newer opened container on the shelf as well. So, there didn't seem to be much point in keeping the last bit of the super old stuff.
I bought the buttermilk from Target when I had stopped in for a few other things, and apparently buttermilk doesn't move too quickly at Target because when I got home, I realized the buttermilk was almost at its sell-by date. I used up most of it, but the last bit went bad before I could get to it.
And lastly, the red things are some very, very, very shriveled up grape tomatoes. And not only are they shriveled, they are also very, very, very old.
Then again, most very shriveled things are also very old, aren't they?
(this thought has been brought to you by Captain Obvious and the word "very".)
Anyhoo! I'm pleased to be starting out a new food waste week with an organized AND clean fridge.
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How did you do this week? If you blogged about your food waste, link us up by entering your info into the widget below. You'll save money, reduce your trash output, and get a little publicity for your blog! And if you don't blog, you can still share about your food waste by leaving a comment.
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Today's 365 post: Silhouette
Joshua's 365 post: The New Fad
It is refreshing to start with a clean refrigerator. I find it very motivating. Maybe I will wash my fridge today also.
Get that Bicarb out! 🙂
Haha I thought the grape tomatoes were raspberries when I looked at the picture! I was thinking 'now that's a shame...' *Whew - it was only a vegetable 🙂
Ha! Ha! I had the same reaction 🙂
Wasting fresh raspberries would be a crime indeed...those things are insanely expensive, especially at this time of year.
I thought the exact thing, glad to hear to wasn't!!!!
Oh just the thought of a super duper clean fridge brings joy to my heart! 🙂
I had a packed Friday fridge (by my standards!) - but it all had a purpose and place. I do however have waste boo! The plan was to cook the remaining Christmas Pud mixture but alas no - and now it seriously needs to go...
I did however try one of my puds this week (I have 4 - slight technical hitch with quantities used) and it's okay for a first year attempt - I've posted the recipe but it comes with a major disclaimer - I'm not a pud fan so cannot judge whether its any good or not.
Anyhow - just back from my first ever Aldi grocery shop and to say I'm impressed is an understatement. It's been a challenge meeting my self-enforced reduced grocery budget each week - but I came in under budget with very little sweat and tears... Wonder if it's a fluke?I'll be back next week to see if it was beginners luck or not...
Enjoy that sparkly fridge - do as I do and keep looking inside it (no I'm not joking).
What is pud? (I hope I am not embarassing myself)
No Maddie you aren't embarrassing yourself!A few people have asked what it is... I'm guessing not all countries have Christmas Pud? It may be called something else? Hang on let me Google...Hmmm maybe you don't have it? It's also called Plum Pudding. If you ever watch 'Dickens Christmas Carol' or a Victorian festive show they'd normally have a Christmas Pudding - they used to hide a sixpence in it. It's basically dried fruit and alcohol made in a basin with flour, suet and eggs. Very English! There's a photo on my post today of it turned out on a plate. It would normally be decorated with a sprig of Holly and some people set fire to it (sorry I mean flambe! that's the proper term I think) with more brandy for effect. It can be served with rum or brandy sauce or even custard. I'm not keen myself, but it's traditional to have one after dinner.
Wow! That sounds very English! I know what you mean about not being fond of a food but ya gotta have it for tradition. I'll hop on over to your blog to take a look, thanks.
Good writing style!
Good writing style!
Well we are having a leftover dinner tonight because we are getting too many leftovers and not eating them in a timely fashion.. The only things I wasted were some sweet potato fries from the dollar store that mom thought she would eat but decided against it and some frozen corn on the cobs that have been frozen way too long..
I washed my fridge out this week, too! When we came back from Thanksgiving with the in-laws, I opened the fridge to get out our water filter pitcher (we keep it in there because otherwise it grows algae), and some smelled absolutely awful. I never did find the source, but I washed out the fridge, and now it smells fine.
Yay for clean refrigerators! Mine smells like overripe banana 🙁 I had a lot of storage issues this week--things went bad that shouldn't have. Any advice on that front would be greatly appreciated.
I totally have a food waste post, and it's not just about what food I wasted, but also about how I'm going to try to decrease my food waste, but this morning my blog is giving me issues...sigh..my post might be late.
Quick suggestion to use up the bottom of a dijon mustard container (I've had some in my fridge for at least 6 months to a year and am pretty sure it never goes bad!) courtesy of Martha: http://www.marthastewart.com/274483/our-top-40-good-things?lpgStart=1¤tslide=5¤tChapter=1#/179412
Just chuck some olive oil, vinegar, and seasonings into the container and shake it up to create a nice already-bottled homemade salad dressing.
I was just going to suggest the same thing!
I have a curious/funny food waste story, not mine. Someone I work with told a funny story about her SIL. Coworker saw a couple of fruitflies around a pineapple, concluded it was bad, and tossed it. Her SIL - the relative she has the most trouble with - took it from the trashcan, cut it up, and served it. Coworker's story was very funny and not mean and we all laughed, but in the back of my head was the thought "I would have rescued that pineapple, too!"
I've noticed that my fridge doesn't get dirty very often. Some of it is related to the fact that I clean out old food (no moldering spinach) but the rest perplexes me. Can someone enlighten me?
PS: I would have kept the mustard, maybe combining it with the newer jar if they're the same type.
i would have done the same thing - with anything you could cut and discard the coarse outer skin. i am acutally wary of anything that sits and looks pretty for a long time without showing any signs of decay. i throw those out after a couple of weeks.
I would say the mustard is still fine, just add some vinegar or water to swish out the last and add some honey for a quick salad dressing or marinade.
And baking isn't THAT scientific , I often add way more pumpkin, zuchinni or bananas than are called for and it works out fine, maybe just hold back a little oil or other liquid.
Or add the pumpkin to smoothies or oatmeal.
I opened up a can of pumpkin to try to make my own "pumpkin spice latte/creamer". I was determined to not waste the can, so I added it to my oatmeal and pancakes. YUM!
Or pumpkin pie. I have a friend who likes the filling but not the crust so I make a crustless version sometimes ... aka Pumpkin Custard.
I need to clean mine!
There is nothing better than a cleaned out fridge...especially right before a grocery shop! Hmmm, guess I'll put this on my agenda today too!
I do not think the mustard counts! The bottom of some condiments are just plain icky, like the last bit of watery catsup and mustard;-). I usually toss the last tablespoon or so. I envy your sparkly clean frig!
Way to go, girl. If you think about it, a clean fridge is the beginning of zero waste weeks ahead. You are such an inspiration.
This reminds me of a story of a Very Dirty and Very Smelly Refrigerator and how it changed my life. 😉
Several years ago the power to our fridge went down while we were away on vacation. The pet sitter called and let us know that it died and that a brown puddle had formed underneath. Wonderful people that they are, they cleaned up the floor and tossed the worst from the fridge. They got an extra-nice tip when we got back.
Anyway, to make a long story short we ended up using my old dorm fridge for a couple of weeks as we sanitized the fridge. I loved using the smaller fridge so much that we ended up getting one with a good freezer and moving the full-sized one out to the garage where it spends most of it's time unplugged and collecting dust. We only turn it on if we're having guests over and need the extra cooler space.
As it's just the two of us, and as I work for a local grocer and can shop on my way home from work every day, this really works well for us. I know it won't work for most people, but for our two person household it's perfect! It forces me to think about how much space we have in our fridge when I go grocery shopping, helps prevent over-buying, makes us use up our food and leftovers to make room for more things, cuts down on our waste, and lowers our electric bill. 🙂
As it is myself and husband, we could also down size our frig. I don't think to dorm size but much smaller would work!! Although the hubs would still need his beer frig!!!!
I have to clean out the fridge, soon, too....uggghh..It will be interesting to see what stuff we end up throwing away!!!
Have a great weekend 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
Could you have thrown the tomatoes into a dish like pasta sauce? i've done that sometimes, but i know they can get mouldy in the fridge too.
No waste here--due largely to the unplanned getting home late from work three days this week. My husband has been foraging in the fridge for his dinner which means all the leftovers are gone! And I sauteed up the last of the wilty spinach for my dinner last night.
Since I haven't commented for awhile, I have to share more than just this weeks food waste. We tried hard before our thanksgiving trip to get rid of all leftovers by eating or tossing. Had to toss a few things... a salad dressing that a restaurant was giving everyone a sample to take home and we weren't fans of it and with the sodium and fat levels, just not something we were going to eat, a tiny bit of rice that if we weren't going away I could have thrown into some soup, there was a few other things... but in the end the fridge is at least mostly emptied out, well was... made a big pot of chili last night! 🙂
What a good reminder that I need to be gracious to my husband when I have to throw away food because it went bad! I get frustrated when I look in the fridge & see stuff that's gone bad & he says he forgot it was there (we're living in separate states & I go there on the weekends)
I think things get lost in the fridge & it's such a good reminder from you that it happens to everyone (even when you're trying not to waste anything).
Thanks Kristen!
A few things that help, gleaned mostly from this site:
* keep food in clear containers
* keep fridge unstuffed, so food doesn't get lost
* label food prominently
Living in separate states can't be fun. :-{
I have to label my foodstuffs prominently - the Hubby has been known to put pickle on his scone instead of jam...
Lol, I thougr very old, very shriveled tomatoes were actually some good looking raspberries and wondered why you were throwing them out!
Not a good waste week. I tossed out an English cucumber that got pushed to the back along with bunch of very limp celery. Some expired vanilla yogurt also got tossed. I tossed out two more things that I 'm not sure I take responsibility for, a homemade jar of crab apples the neighbor gave us. Um, I appreciate the gesture but they were AWFUL! And finally some spiced butter rum mix that my mom brought for Thanksgiving.
However since I was in the hospital last Monday for out patient surgery and was down for a few days and then hosted Thanksgiving, it's not too bad.
I need to give my fridge a good scrubbing as well but I'm not feeling it today. 🙂
We wasted some stuffing and sandwich ends, oats and pasta.
I would've thrown out the mustard too, especially if there was just a tad left. 🙂
I had a great week, a few losses but a lot more feasts.
William, I would have save the pineapple too 🙂
Kristen, could you have used the buttermilk in Irish Soda Bread? That's what I did this week. Was your buttermilk just too far gone? How did you judge that?
Well, it's a smell thing. If it's just a little more sour than usual, I use it in baking, but if it smells downright rank, I dump it out.
Fair enough. Sour good. Rank bad! 🙂
I had to thoroughly clean out the fridge at 2:00 a.m. one morning this week! Not by choice! 🙁 I had put a bag of solid-hard frozen gravy in fridge to thaw and somehow forgot to put in bowl. It leaked sticky, icky all over everything! I usually find other things to do at 2:00 a.m....like sleep!?! Anyhow, my fridge is squeaky clean! 🙂
Oh yuck cheeryshirley. Poor you! Yay, for squeaky clean though.