Ikea published a free anti-food-waste cookbook and I have mixed feelings
Ikea, purveyor of home goods with Swedish names, has recently published a free downloadable e-cookbook focused on food waste fighting.
(Click the link above to get the free download.)
They call it scrap-cooking; basically taking what would usually be scraps and turning those into something delicious.
And all the recipes are contributed by actual chefs, not furniture-designers. Ha.
Here's a trailer:
On the whole, I feel happy about this cookbook! Food waste fighting is a passion of mine, and I think it's great that Ikea is joining in to help people.
The book has great food storage ideas (clear containers, people!), and some good basic recipes for using up odds and ends, like omelets and smoothies.
Plus, there's good info about things like composting and pickling.
What about those mixed feelings?
I'm really not trying to be overly critical, but here's my hesitation:
America and other wealthy nations do have a huge food waste problem, but I think parts of this cookbook focus on minutiae.
For instance, there are recipes for making pesto from kale stems, risotto with radish leaves, rice pudding with used tea bags, and even faux "bacon" from banana peels.
In fact, banana peels feature in multiple recipes, from chutney to bacon to cake.
I don't think there's anything wrong with eating banana peels, mind you.
But I don't think that banana peel trash is mainly what is causing our food waste problems.
Bigger problems:
- not eating leftovers
- thawing meat and forgetting to use it
- buying too much food at the store
- letting produce go bad
Also: not eating the inside of a banana, let alone the outside!
New habits are essential
The above problems are not really solved with recipes.
New habits, not recipes, are the most foundational part of fighting food waste.
And that's why, in my food waste course, I didn't really spend much time on recipes or things like "How to use overripe bananas", and I focused on habits instead.
We live in the internet age, which means ideas about how to use up bananas are a quick Google search away.
But Google is less likely to give you good habit ideas, such as doing a fridge sweep every other day.
Off-the-wall food waste ideas could be discouraging
If you get the impression that food waste fighting involves frying corn silk into a garnish, or cooking fish collars (I wouldn't even know where to get one of those!), you might feel a little like quitting before you even get started.
Or you might think it's something only a fancy chef can tackle.
But fighting food waste is something that all of us can do! There are plenty of simple, attainable things to try, like:
- slicing and freezing bananas for smoothies
- using clear containers to store leftovers
- adding odds and ends to scrambled eggs
Beginners need to start at the beginning
If you are new to fighting food waste, I don't think you need to worry too much about using the greens from your carrots, or about eating shrimp shells as a snack.
(Yes, there is a recipe for shrimp shell snacks! It might be more delicious than it seems at first glance.)
Instead, work on a big, simple issue first, such as actually eating your leftovers.
Or keeping your fridge organized so that you can see what you have.
Basically, pay attention to the biggest source of your food waste, and work on that first.
Focus on the big payoffs first and then focus on minutiae
This reminds me a little of money-management advice; instead of spending time trying to save pennies on a box of cereal, you should shop around for car insurance first.
Or rather than researching individual stocks to buy, you should first focus on paying off your credit card debt.
(And honestly, experts say buying individual stocks is not usually a great idea anyway!)
If you have already learned how to eat your leftovers, manage your fridge and freezer, and curb your food shopping, then sure, feel free to make banana peel bacon.
Or if banana peel bacon is just something you really want to try, then go for it.
Just don't get distracted by the shiny, unusual food waste fighting ideas. If you have limited time and energy, spend your time on the basic, big wins.
Readers, the floor is yours! I'd love to hear your thoughts.
P.S. If you are interested in my food waste course, don't buy it right now. The home and gardening bundle is coming back for a flash sale at the end of July, and you can get my course (plus lots of other resources) for a lower price then. I'll keep you posted!
I think your point is well taken -- focus on big stuff first. But this focus on the small is common when the discussion has been around for a longer time. People/companies are trying to find a space to make a contribution and we tend to move from bigger to smaller/general to specific. It currently happens in academic research. Understanding the science of COVID is a good recent pattern to use an example.
I think I would find that book interesting but not really very practical. It's the food-waste version of what my mom would have called "penny wise and pound foolish". I strongly agree with you, Kristen. I think it's good advice to take things slowly for many things--finances, learning to cook, managing food waste. Go first where you get the biggest bang for your buck (I'm full of old-fashioned sayings this morning!) and as that becomes second nature to you, move on to something more challenging.
My boss does this trying to make sure I use my time well - he focuses on the teeny tiny things I could get rid of or do differently instead of the bigger items. Not a fan of focusing on the minutiae myself.
100% agree. The funny banana peel bacon recipes might be amusing but the main way to fight food waste is to make a list before you go shopping, edit the list according to what you actually have and need, and then eat what you buy.
Buying the same thing every week without checking what you have in the fridge is how you end up with too much food and end up throwing it out.
Also buying things because you think you should want them (like fresh fruit and veg) is pointless if you aren't actually going to eat it! So only buy fruit and veg you actually like and know how to use. Maybe buy one new fruit or veg each week if you're trying to increase your (or your kids') fruit and veg consumption. But buying 5 new types of veg that will just end up in the bin is utterly pointless.
Here, plastic straws are banned, which is fine, but meanwhile between 500,000 to 1 million tons of fishing gear are discarded or lost in the ocean every year.
That said, people should eat their beet tops! They're good for you. And many people don't know cilantro stems are more flavorful than the leaves.
@Rose, Where I live there are some local companies that upcycle fishing rope into mats and swings, and they look awesome. Here's one company as an example: https://wasteknotwantknotn.wixsite.com/home/shop
@Rose, I love beet greens! So delicious!
My thoughts on things like this can be summed up with a big sigh and an eye roll.
Also, I am mystified by the banana peel craze. I like trying new food things, and I'm all for using all parts of foods, but I have no interest in banana peel bacon. My chickens can have all my banana peels. 🙂
During COVID lockdown I repurposed assorted containers I already had to reorganise my fridge. All approximately the same length ( depth of my fridge , front to back) and now nothing is ever hidden at the back of the fridge!The “drawers” slide out easily, so I no longer open a second container of Mayo while the first one lurks behind the cheeses, a glance before shopping reminds me what is in the “ cheese drawer”, and it’s so much easier to keep track of assorted small tubs of leftovers when there is a “drawer” for them.
This has been the single easiest way to avoid food waste, and the fridge that used to be too small is big enough now!!
@Coral Clarke, great idea! I think I'll give this a try myself.
Wise advice Kristen. I made the switch to clear storage containers after reading about it in your blog. It’s been a total game changer in using up food. Week in and week out, it adds up. Also, your advice to buy less food has made a big difference in less waste around here.
Agree whole-heartedly and said as much on that other social networking site. 🙂
Thank you for this post! Since reading your blog I’ve been more encouraged to fight food waste here, but in the more practical ways you’ve demonstrated. I agree that some of these not so common recipes could easily discourage someone who’s not used to fighting waste. I honestly wonder if some of the recipes would encourage more food waste since people may be tempted to buy those ingredients and neglect to use the rest of the fruit/vegetable etc. Maybe one day we’ll get to banana bacon, but we’re good with banana breads and nice cream for now! LOL
Great points, Kristen! Clear containers are a must, and I make sure to always keep the leftovers at the front of the fridge too. If something starts to get a few days old and I know our plans for the next few days don't include leftovers, it goes in the freezer for a lunch or camp meal later on. I don't peel carrots or potatoes ever and I guess that also counts as a "waste saver."
@Julie, I don't peel carrots or potatoes (or cucumbers) either. Ever. I've never heard anyone ride say that!
*anyone else
Different cultures have much less waste or eat much smaller servings. In a less wealthy America, there was less waste. Now we turn up our noses at a "green" soup maybe made with the greens from vegetables--beets, carrots, etc.
That being said, I am intrigued by fried banana peels. Does it make a sweet treat after dinner? Are there any health benefits from the banana peel itself.
A freezer dive from the saved greens and peels from prior meals with a good recipe at the end of the month, may just get a family through.
I think banana peel bacon is basically a vegan answer to bacon, as its made with smoky flavors. I'm not sure how it compares nutritionally!
"Basically, pay attention to the biggest source of your food waste, and work on that first. " - definitely agree! And I just really like the idea of cucina povera - literally something like "poor kitchen," but the idea highlights how you can use what you have/what's readily available to make simple, high-quality meals.
Something my mom helped me learn is using turn tables (Lazy Susans) in the refrigerator. I use them in the back corners for tall bottles that get pushed to the back and on upper shelves where short containers get shoved to the back. Give a spin easy to see what's hiding in the back.
@Karen, I use turntables in the frig as well, and find them very helpful. One of the best things I've changed in recent years, as far as I'm concerned, for keeping tabs on what's in the frig.
@Karen, as a variation on the terrific turntable idea, I use one of those white wire pantry step thingies on the top shelf in my refrigerator so I can better see what's lurking up there.
I agree with you that for many folks, this won't address their worst waste problem, and might intimidate some. I also am envisioning sitting my family down to banana peel bacon and expecting them to eat it. I can then see myself throwing out a lot of banana peel bacon. Banana peels taste awful to me - I tried one because I was curious when I was younger. I wonder if cooking helps that, because my first thought on seeing re-use of peels was no way was I eating banana peels. Plus, my worm farm worms love, love banana peels. I wouldn't want to take away one of their favorite foods!
I do think that this might introduce some further waste-fighting measures to folks who have pretty well mastered the practice of using up all they buy, and using it before it goes bad. I remember my dad, born in 1918, who said they always used all of the pigs they butchered, except the squeal. They ate parts such as brains, liver, kidneys, tail and feet, and made head cheese from the head and used the intestines as sausage casing or cooked them as "chitlins" (I've never in my life heard anyone call them chitterlings).
I will check this Ikea scrapbook out, out of curiosity. If nothing else, I am dying to know how on earth you make rice pudding out of tea bags.
Yes, I agree with everything you said. Some of these ideas are like black belt food waste fighting level!
@JD, I grew up in a household where there was always a tray of wobbly head cheese on the top shelf of the fridge, courtesy of my grandparents. It was of necessity because we were quite poor when I was a kid, and I know that it is now fashionable to love the foods of your own culture, but head cheese is the stuff of nightmares to me. I can't even stand to use liver and kidneys in turkey stuffing or gravy because they remind me of headcheese. I had a first date with a guy who took me to a restaurant for chicken livers and that was the last time I went out with him!
@Kristen,
Nigella Lawson makes a curry out of banana peel. Supposedly, cooked, they're very similar to eggplant.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022140-cauliflower-and-banana-peel-curry
Funnily enough, eggplant is one of those foods that I routinely refuse to eat. The texture is just not good to me.
So that is a solid vote against me cooking banana peels.
@Lindsey, I first got acquainted with headcheese when my MIL asked me to get her some at the Wegmans deli. Evidently it was something she grew up with too--but I must confess that when I first saw it in the deli package, I almost lost my breakfast. So I feel your pain.
Banana peels compost great, so I feel no need to eat them. What has worked great for managing our food waste is keeping our fridge and pantry organized, cleaning the fridge the day before grocery shopping, using leftovers for my brown bag lunches, and planning meals around what we have.
In March 2020 when the pandemic was hitting, I had packed my deep freeze with meat. I thought I need to get a handle on everything that's in there. So I took everything out and organized it into sturdy reusable grocery shopping bags. Chicken in one bag, beef in another, etc. And made an inventory list and taped it to my frig door. As I used things, I noted it on the inventory sheet. I have continued this practice and just updated my sheet yesterday! It's been very helpful.
@PBE, that's a great idea!! Our fridge is small (we are full time RV-ers) although we have a second small fridge in our shed on our RV lot. Even if I didn't didn't separate things into bags, listing the inventory on the outside and updating it could be very helpful!
Food waste is a significant problem at many different levels in the consumption and distribution process. For most households, meal planning and using leftovers can significantly reduce waste and cost. This is especially effective for the newly frugal.
However, I believe that we need to learn to optimize our resources. This includes using what others might consider to be scraps. I recently picked up a book from the library entitled Cooking with Scraps. I found it motivating. I started looking at broccoli stems and pickle juice differently.
By using all of the food we buy and produce, we put less strain on our budgets and the environment. For example, I have a freezer full of chicken broth and veggie broth made from what many consider to be garbage. I save my chicken carcasses, onion ends, celery leaves, Carrot peels and herb stems to make broth. This significantly reduces the cost of many recipes.
As someone who has tackled the big stuff, I’m enjoying looking at food differently and trying to use all the food in my kitchen in different ways. But you are certainly right — you have to walk before you can run!
You are the perfect person to learn how to cook with scraps! You've already got the main things under your belt, so that means you can work on the small stuff now.
@Bee, pickle juice makes a wonderful brine for fried chicken.
@Rebecca in MD, Yes!! So good.
@Bee, that's how I make my broth too. And then the strained bits can be composted after, (except for the bones of course.)
I wanted to add that my mom would save the water she boiled veggies in and used it for making bread to add the vitamins that seeped into the water and reduce water waste. The flavor of the veggies never seemed noticeable in the bread. But maybe that's one reason her bread was soooooo delicious!
Fish collars come on little fish shirts. Also Fish cuffs. Since they wear out first, of course.
Yeah, the much larger problem is not finding ways to eat banana peels (ewwww-so "unappeeling"), but not buying a big bunch of bananas when you know from experience your family will only eat 2-3. All joking aside, I do agree on cutting waste--it's so important, and it saves considerable money. I have a tendency to buy too much at the store: "that looks good! And that! I'll make a casserole!" then I'll work late and eat cereal and milk instead. Where this book is useful is calling our attention to the problem so that hopefully, it will become second nature to buy less, waste less, use everything.
For me, it’s staying on top of my fridge contents. Every Friday before I grocery shop, I do a “sweep” and decide what to incorporate into the next week’s menus ( if possible)plus I also check inventory to avoid buying something I already have plenty of. A quick wipe of the shelves and done. This really only takes minutes if you do it every week. Am I ever tempted to skip this? Yes! But I force myself because it’s so much harder loading new groceries into a disorganized fridge.
@Sandy Heath,
I do a sweep too and cook or freeze odds n ends on saturdays. I always listen to good music and it does not feel like a chore more like just something I do.
I always try to factor in time as a cost, too. And the energy (and extra ingredients) needed to prepare something like banana peel bacon. It seems quicker and less expensive (and just as good-- if not better-- for the environment) if I toss my banana peels into the compost (which we use to grown other food). But kudos to Ikea for bringing the issue to the forefront; I'm sure there are some people who don't even realize it is an issue.
I agree with you about the Ikea cookbook, and that the focus should be on developing simple food use habits that reduce waste. One of the things I do that has really helped me reduce food waste is planning my weekly menu around what ingredients I already have on hand. As an example, this week I wanted to make a whole chicken that I had in the freezer for approximately 6 months. For my first meal I made a rotisserie chicken on my Weber grill on Sunday. Today the leftovers are being made into chicken sandwiches because it is too hot to cook and I have lettuce and tomato on hand. There will be enough meat left for a stir fry later in the week , and of course I froze the carcass and giblets for making wonderful homemade stock in my crockpot (which of course is heat-wave friendly).
As others have said, it is very important to keep track of what you have in your refrigerator before it goes bad. For instance, I had some fresh broccoli from the farm stand in the refrigerator. In order to keep it from going off I blanched it and put it away for using in the stir fry. Keep an eye on your fresh produce. You can par cook it to keep it from going bad and get longer storage that way or blanch and freeze it for later if you don't have a plan.
All my banana peels, carrots tops and radish stems go into the compost, which becomes soil for my garden, so I don't think of things like that as food waste. I've tried a few recipes like this before (not these exact recipes) in the interest of perhaps saving money, and pretty much every time we don't like the results. So the 'food' gets tossed anyway. So that is another tip for avoiding food waste -- only purchase what you know your family will eat. I could buy cauliflower at the best sale price possible and serve it up in a great recipe and my husband is not going to eat it, so I'm better off buying broccoli instead.
Since there’s a bit of levity today with the banana peel bacon — one way to avoid leftovers is to have teenage boys. The food won’t make it to the leftover stage.
We have a four tier system for using up things at our house: we try to buy reasonably and eat everything before it spoils. Things that I don't want to eat (like apple cores that I don't want to make into apple jelly because we have enough from my last canning enterprise), go to the dog. Things he won't eat go to the four backyard chickens. Their poop and things they cannot or won't eat, go to the compost heap. When the hens get too old and stop producing eggs, their tough old meat becomes soup for us or food for the dog. There are areas I have difficulty being frugal (like not buying a book but waiting until it comes to the library) but we do pretty well on the food waste front.
I aspire to your level of waste-avoidance!
@Lindsey,
btw apple cores are toxic to dogs bc the seeds have some weird chemicals dogs cant digest
I agree with you based on the video alone. I think our biggest problems with food waste (in the US ) is what you said, not eating leftovers, not getting to produce in time etc.. This stikes me as a more "foodie" fad situation. You can compost all those items (I guess not fish collars though. I didn't know they wore formal wear...) so that would reduce the waste. Just watching that video, I know if I made my teen boy that burger, there would be waste because he wouldn't go near it..lol
@Michelle, love the remark about the fish formal wear. I STILL don't know what a fish collar is.
Not only do fish have collars, they have fingers! (In the UK, "fish fingers" = US "fish sticks.") And you'd better not get me started on "fish balls."
And I make fish cakes! https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/homemade-fish-cakes/
The comment number is back! Thank you for adding that to the newly designed page!
I had lunch once with someone who ate the brown fuzzy skins on kiwi fruits, not just the green inside parts, just biting into them like eating apples. I tried it and I guess it is fine, but it isn't why I eat kiwis.
Yes! I hired a guy on Fiverr to add the comment links for me because I have no idea how to do it. I'm so glad to have them back.
The spacing is still a little weird under the post title, but I've send in another request to have him tweak those.
@Heidi Louise, I saw that too and everyone else’s comments on a previous post about it missing…glad I’m not the only one who loved that hyper link and comment count! 🙂
I didn't realize how much I personally would miss it myself!
@Heidi Louise, Until I read your note, I thought you were supposed to eat the skin of the kiwi! That is how I have always eaten them, washed and then eaten like an apple!! My husband, who grew up in California, never said anything when I ate them that way so just now when I read your comment I asked him if I was the weird one, and he said he thought they were to be peeled. However, when I did not, he figured it was an Alaska thing and just adopted the same method for eating them. Holy smokes. What else don't I know??
@Lindsey, I think you know lots and lots!
The first time I had one, I had only seen them before in photographs of beautiful fruit pizzas and salads, which had peeled kiwi, so that's how I thought they were supposed to be.
I looked it up now; google stories indicate lots of nutrients are in the skins, and people eat them both ways.
@Kristen, I like it too!!!
I, too, was super happy to see the comments number back. Thank you for the little things! 🙂
“Pay attention to the big payoffs first” I like that. I think that for everyone it’s going to be different. For me I’ve identified some issues and I’m trying to rectify them. My issue is over buying! I like to buy but I need to remember that I’m one person and I may not eat it all before it goes bad. It’s something I’m trying to work on. Also planning is something I need to work on- making a list and not deviating can help me and it’s something I’m still trying to work on. I am usually pretty good with other areas like eating left overs since it’s easier for me to heat up something or pull out something pre-made and eat it then make something new
Totally agree!! We so often make things too complicated. No need to get fancy with it (unless you love that) or create more work. It's about just eating what you buy! Knowing what's in your refrigerator! Being willing to make a meal of things that don't "go together." And perhaps not buying so much to start with.
I don't know how Ikea is marketing the book (I just clicked on your link to see what's in it), but the content totally matches the title "The Scraps Book". It's about using up the scraps that would normally be discarded and thrashed. And I can see that being really appealing to people who already mastered the basics of using the leftovers, not overbuying and generally not wasting the food, but want to go even farther with their efforts.
So I don't think there is anything wrong with the book, it is just written for a different audience than you probably had in mind when you looked into it. 🙂
We've battled food waste for the first time in forever thanks to having a new fridge. After a decade of loyal service, our $50, 1952 Philco died earlier this spring (compressor *sob*), so we now have a brand new Frigidaire. We rent, so the new fridge was our landlord's choice, though he sweetly asked us what size unit and what bells and whistles (none--we loved our 1952 fridge's simplicity) we would like. Even though it's the most basic model he could find, it's taken some getting used to! There's way more space despite it being only slightly larger than our Philco, which means it's very easy to overbuy for only two people. The produce drawer (which we didn't have previously) has proven to be the Abyss of the Forgotten Fruit.
After throwing out $10 worth of neglected food over the course of May--a big uptick from $0--I took everything out and rearranged it. The deli drawer was nixed in the process (stored safely away), and the produce drawer became the repository for my husband's work provisions, which means I'm in there everyday vs. never. Produce had the center shelf in our Philco, with overflow on the top shelf, which we have returned to in the new fridge. If we see it, we eat it! June fared MUCH better than May in the waste department, thanks to rearranging. I'm also relieved that reusable bags are allowed back in stores, as I can bring just enough bags for what I *know* we need and fill them while I shop. Now we're back on track for our traditional $0 waste!
I've often wondered if a bigger fridge would help me with my food waste efforts, but maybe not!
@Kristen, I think it’s the subconscious compulsion to fill empty space, whether it be a house that’s too big or, in our case, a fridge! 😛 Containing exactly what we will need and use, the new fridge looks half empty where our Philco would have been perfectly stuffed. One feels like one didn’t buy enough despite the reusuable grocery bag trick mentioned above.
@Kristen,
We downsized our fridge the last time we bought one and we have less food waste. There just isn't room for food to languish in the back until it surfaces as a science experiment.
It also saved us money on the purchase price and in running costs.
this reads like you're being a bit poopy on the book (maybe since you are pushing something similar?).
It's a great resource if people are looking for something like that. We aren't all the same and maybe the banana peel info is something that triggers for someone else (just not you who have pre formed notions about what people want apparently?).
Well done Ikea - a great resource!
@Heather Daw, I don’t think she would ever do that. She is not that type of person. Her point is just: it is easier (and a bigger impact) to just use up the food you buy. Then you can move on to bigger and better things like banana peel bacon if you want. It don’t start there or you’ll Get discouraged.
It is a whole lot simpler to use up your beet greens in a salad than make a recipe with them. 🙂
Thanks for the post! I really appreciated the review. As a mom of four kids you just can’t do it all and I’m happy to just find clever ways to use up the things I already buy.
Ahaha, well, I am extremely small beans compared to Ikea; the day anyone considers us to be in competition with each other will be a shocking day indeed. 🙂
I am super curious what banana peel bacon tastes like, but not curious enough to make it. I wish there was a free sample somewhere.
I wonder how many people googled "fish collars" after this post?
I just read Cooking with Scraps and while I thought the book had a lot of valuable information I thought some of the recipes were not very practical.
What I mean is for example pickle brine potato salad. All you use up is a little pickle brine but you need to get all these other ingredients.
Most of the recipes were like this, one little ingredient to use up and now a lot more ingredients bought to make the recipe.
@karen, I also read Cooking with Scraps and was inspired by the pickle brine potato salad. So I simply added the brine to my existing potato salad recipe - and the additional flavor is fabulous!
I agree with you! This type of cooking isn't always an option for many Americans either. For many Americans banana peel bacon would be too time consuming. This book would be helpful to someone that has extra time and has already mastered their food waste though, as you stated.
To take it one step further, much of Western culture is focused on staunch independence. When we focus too much on ourselves, which I am very guilty of myself, we fail to see how our actions impact the greater good. In regards to food waste, a dedication to the greater good/environmental conservation would curb food waste. It's definitely a multifactorial issue.
The mention of pickle brine made me chuckle because I save my jar of olive brine to make "dirty" martinis! I have never realized how I am reducing my food waste by doing this, but now I will be happier with every dirty martini!
I love your comments! Ditto, is my reply.
I wanted to chime in about restaurant food waste by customers. My husband and I cringe when we see perfectly good food being wasted. If we know we are going out I bring a container with me and take the leftovers home for another meal. (Or ask for a doggie bag, I bring my container to avoid single use container waste.) Most restaurants serve HUGE portions anyway and I have to eat small meals due to a GI issue.
One time we went out to a very fancy steak restaurant and the family next to us was visiting out of town and couldn't take their leftovers with them. They offered us their leftover steak because they felt the same way about food waste. I took it since I would be thoroughly reheating it anyway. We offered to pay for part of their meal or buy them dessert but they refused. $50 worth of top quality steak for free?...A frugal win!
I think the 2 most helpful tips you gave us are to : keep up with your fridge, checking what's in there every few days, and to not over buy groceries. If I do both of those things I manage our food usage so much better.
Banana peels are known to be full of pesticides. Bananas aren’t on some lists of pesticide-laced foods because the peel is disposed of, but if you’re going to make banana peel bacon, make sure you get organic.
Kristen, two things have curbed my food waste a great deal:
Your Food Waste Friday posts. It made me look at my fridge differently!
Buying a bottom freezer fridge. When mine broke down, I shopped for a good fridge, and the sales man told me that having the produce at eye level reduces waste. He's right! I see what I have and nothing in the fridge is ever buried.
I freeze all the veggie leftovers and make soup. Sometimes I use ends of things to make veggie broth, and sometimes it lands in the compost.
Oh yeah, I love having my freezer on the bottom! It makes the fridge contents so much easier to see.
I skimmed through the Scrapbook, and partly, yes, it's penny wise and pound fool. But there are pretty nice ideas, too. I never knew I could make feta brine to a vinaigrette ( might try this using picle juice instead of vinegar), plant cakes, and caramellizing watermelon rinds and pineapple cores. There was my style pesto (without cheese) etc what I do make already. Reciepes were too specific for this type of cookbook, but maybe it's the way in North America things needs to be done. Haven't seen this in Swedish yet. They might not be translating this, this seems too... American?
To be honest, I usually end up using one or two receipes from any given cookbook, this is no different. Maybe I'm the problem ;-D
This is the year I started my zero food waste endeavors. To help me out, I've bought 3 or 4 books on the subject to use as reference. A few that I looked at but didn't buy were of the IKEA type. Lots of whacky novelty recipes incorporating scraps into meals. Sure, I can chop cilantro stems like a champ, but I find--and pardon the pun--using banana peels in a cake very unapeeling ;). The same goes for aquafaba (bean water), using strawberry tops in a salad or turning them into some kind of jam. Just no.
What's more, sometimes making some scrap of leftovers into a whole 'nuther dish like some recipes suggest actually creates an even bigger problem. Example: I had some raw almonds that needed using up. Aha! I'll make almond milk. Then I had leftover almond meal. What do I do with it? Aha! I'll dehydrate it and blend it into a finer meal and then bake with it. Bake what? Aha! Some really dry muffins.
It would have been so simpler to just eat the raw almonds rather than go through all that trouble to turn it into all these unappetizing things. T