I'm declaring banana bankruptcy.
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.
You know how when you have a banana that's getting a bit too ripe, you just throw it in the freezer to use later?
Well, if you do that about 20 times, here's what you end up with.
I'm perfectly happy to make banana chocolate chip muffins when I have an extra banana or two, but I really, really don't think we need to eat the number of muffins it would take to use up this many bananas.
And I could theoretically use them in a smoothie, but I seriously loathe the taste of overripe bananas in anything except bread or muffins.
So, I am turning these into dirt in my compost bin, and I will now have a lovely fresh start with the bananas.
I'm happy to tell you that I'm managing my current bunch of bananas very nicely. I noticed last night that a lot of them had turned yellow all at once, so I cut them up and topped them with peanut butter. They always disappear fast at my house this way.
I wish the bananas were all I wasted, but they're not.
The cilantro went south surprisingly soon (I did use up the entire bunch I bought after that, though!). I'm sad about the moldy cheese, but the two hot dogs left over from a cookout, I'm not that sad about. It's not like hot dogs are terribly nutritious, so I wasn't too motivated to get someone to eat them. I'm much more pleased that we ate up the cauliflower and broccoli and spinach, you know?
Oh, and remember how my freezer was getting a little bit out of control last time I hosted Food Waste Friday?
It's looking a lot better now.
I was really diligent about sorting through the contents and I made a point of using up what was in there. Now it mostly houses ice, ice packs, fruit for smoothies, some OJ concentrate, and a few items for Monday's main dish. That's a big improvement for me!
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Joshua's 365 post: Spinning
It seems as if all of the bananas at the grocery store are the same amount of ripeness. Either green or ripe with nothing in between. It would be nice if we could get various stages of ripeness so we could gradually use them with just the amount of ripeness we like. But it doesn't work out that way. Because of that, I usually don't buy very many at a time, or I end up with a bunch like you had.
This week a various produce that didn't make it before they were uneatable.
Over on my post today there's a photo of my new recipe Banana and Ginger Loaf (which has no added sugar or fat)... it uses up 2 large ripe bananas. One I used was turning black a touch - and it turned out mighty fine. In fact it just made it's debut at a charity coffee morning! The top plate of cake was Nom-Nom Bread! Thank you once again for this fantastic recipe...I love, love, love it! I recently came into possession of a US measuring jug that has cups marked on on it (twas my Gran's - she lived in the US for 14 years in the 60's and 70's). This means that it was quick and easy to adapt your recipe to just 1 cake (I've struggled with the plastic cups I purchased as they aren't transparent, and when doing smaller measures it's hard to get it right I'm finding to reduce US recipes)...or so I thought! haha! It was a little on the slim side 🙂 but no problem, I chunked it up and it looked like brownies (kind of?!?).
As for my waste, it's fresh produce once again. 2 apples, 2 nectarines and a handful of cherry toms. I seriously need to pull my socks up! This is getting embarrassing!
Hahaha. That could be me. It is me, actually. I've thrown so many bananas into the freezer that I cannot bring myself to throw any more in there... so week before last, two bananas went bad and I had to just throw them in the bin. The next week... I'm ashamed to say it... six bananas. SIX went into the bin.
Right after that, we went shopping and my partner asked if we need bananas... I told her I will never buy another banana again. Not until we use the ones in the freezer or my infant grandson comes to visit. Those will be the only two occasions that we buy bananas. I cannot bear to throw any more away and we obviously can't eat a bunch before they go bad.
Wah. I will miss bananas...
I do the same thing with bananas and then suddenly realise that they're taking over the freezer 🙂 We used up quite a few making one-ingredient banana ice-cream, which was pretty yummy, you just blend up the frozen bananas in the food processor.
I wasted some cream and some fennel this week, not too happy about either of them, but we are making progress at eating out of the pantry and freezer.
When my children were small, they loved to just eat frozen bananas on a stick. Also, if it were a special treat, I would dip the frozen banana in melted chocolate or butterscotch chips. They loved them...in the future, you might give that a try.
I still use the frozen banana, after thawed and mashed to replace a portion...no more than half the oil in a baking recipe. Less fat and extra nutrition.
I have about that many bananna's in my freezer too! Looks like its going to be bananna chocolate chip muffins and some bananna bread comming up! (doesn't help that my sister send me her bannans gone bad also to add to my freezer!)
Oh dear. At least I don't have anyone else giving me bad bananas!
You may already know this trick, but cilantro will keep a surprisingly long time in the veggie drawer if you keep it in a paper bag. It dries out a little, but since it's usually in something cooking it rehydrates it some. I used to rarely be able to use it all before it went bad and would do this to keep longer til I could get to it.
I haven't heard that, actually! I'll give it a try and see how it works in my fridge.
Hmmm....I currently have cilantro so will give it a try. The putting it in water on the windowsill didn't work for me at all.
I've been trying to clean out my kitchen freezer, as well. but every time I get a few things taken out and used, something else gets added. I've always just been in the habit of putting leftovers in the freezer, so it all adds up quickly.
As for food waste, I had an onion go disgustingly soft on me. I hated to even touch it.
A question, if anyone has a suggestion -- any inexpensive ideas for using up cocktail sauce? It's only about 1/4 cup, still good, but want to get rid of it.
I'm assuming you are talking about the kind of cocktail sause that is tomato based. I would mix up my own bbq sauce but use it in place of part of the ketchup. Or if you are making a tomato based soup of some sort or veggie soup...since you only have a 1/4 cup, just stir in. Also, you could take mayonaise and stir this in and add a few seasonings and make some salad dressing. Hope this helps.
Linda, thank you! Those are great ideas. For some odd reason I had the idea stuck in my mind that since it was a cold condiment, it had to be used cold. Silly, right? I'm going to add it to tomato soup, with my plethora of ripening tomatoes in the pantry. I knew someone would know what to do with it. Thanks!
Lili
Use the cocktail sauce blended with ketchup or some other sauce as a topping to a meatloaf, a sandwich spread.
HTH
Carol, thank you! Silly me -- I kept thinking since it was cocktail sauce I had to use it cold and with seafood. And I wasn't about to go out and buy shrimp or crab just so we could use this sauce. Sometimes my mind just gets stuck in a rut! Thanks for the suggestions!
I have to admit, I have about 40 frozen bananas in my freezer and was starting to think I needed some more. We use 4 every morning for smoothies, which is really just for me and my daughter, my boys don't like them. I microwave them for a minute so I can get them out of the peel, but they are still icy, and blend with PB, milk and flax. Yummy. We also make fudgesicles with just bananas and cocoa powder, and those go fast even in october.
It's been very humid where I live and we stopped buying bananas this summer because they were turning so quickly. Keeping them in a plastic bag really did help them keep longer. My husband prefers them green though...so that's a tough one to accommodate when he is really wanting a green banana and it's muggy.
Frankly, I am surprised that you tossed the bananas *(great that at least they were composted). I suggest keeping a freezer inventory on paper to avoid surprises like that, but your post also mentions how you recently tackled the freezer. If I had found a glut of fzn bananas, I would have baked multiple loaves of banana bread (my recipe used 3 bananas per loaf), and then freeze the banana breads for church, school etc. I also use banana puree as one does applesauce for a fat substitution in baking. I've done it, it works well. Just seems like such a waste.
I used to do the same thing with bananas, with the exact same result...and ended up throwing them away (ugh) anyway. I started seeing 'baby bananas' in my local grocery. No waste and one is perfectly adequate for a bowl of cereal or snack.
I've been using up my freezer stash of bananas, too ( although it's not nearly as plentiful others mentioned). This morning I'm making breakfast quinoa. It's a similar concept to oatmeal w/ bananas smashed in for sweetness. My son loves the stuff.
On the subject of cilantro, I don't know if they sell them on your side of the country, but my grocery store sells tubes of chopped fresh cilantro in the salad area of the produce section. They keep for a long time in the fridge or freezer and are great for those times when you need small amounts of cilantro. Now I only buy bunches when I am making salsa or enchiladas.
I am alergic to bananas, so I only buy four per week which is enough for my boyfriend to have one per work day. He won't reliably eat them on weekends, so I just don't keep them around.
My food waste for the week is about four slices of white bread that I should have frozen, but never got around too. I also have about a cup of cooked rice that was leftover from dinner one night.
Oh, banana flavored dirt, I wish you could send your frozen bananas my way. I love Frozen Banana Milkshakes.
As for my food waste... I purchased rock hard peaches, checked their ripening progress frequently, but still one got moldy.
I'm working on saving a batch of yogurt that didn't turn out. I'm hoping that it won't be featured in my next report. I used it to make french toast, frozen banana milkshake and garlic mashed potatoes. I'm excepting sugestions for other ways to avoid throwing it out.
AFS....Yogurt is also good to use as part of your creamy salad dressings. It can also be used in place of anywhere you would use sour cream:hash brown casserole, dips,cream soups(add at the very end),etc.
Terrible, horrible, no good, really bad week:
- 6-8 small clementines that went bitter
- 2-3c. batch of spinach-ricotta dumpling batter that just didn't look right
- the usual drips and drabs
Saved:
- I mistakenly added one cup of molasses to the Ginger Oat Quickbread instead of one quarter cup. I wasn't going to risk a dozen eggs and the other ingredients by quadrupling the recipe so I baked what I had. It worked! (I had to tweak the baking process.) The quickbread was dense and sweeter but not tooth-achingly sweet.
FG - CI has a banana bread recipe that uses 6 bananas.
I've used up frozen bananas in small loaves of banana nut bread and given them away as Christmas presents. A typical batch fills a half dozen little loaf pans.
We just moved cross country and are in the process of establishing new routines, and food waste has been phenomenal. (Did I spell that right?)
Hopefully as things get organized, it will get better!
That's funny about the bananas...they just add up don't they?
I'm sure your veggies will thank you for all the nutrients you added to the soil! 😉
No worries....your spelling was phenomenal. 😉
That's so sad! We have an awesome recipe for banana chocolate brownies that uses cocoa powder as well as choc. chips. You can taste the banana...much like in banana bread but it is super moist and has the feel and look of brownies. I could share it, if you like. 🙂 it's my son's favourite snack and I actually buy extra bananas on purpose so some go soft enough to bake with.
Also, I freeze overripe bananas peeled and in a ziploc container. I hate the mess of peeling them after they've been frozen. Easy, peasy.
Sometimes I peel and mash my bananas before freezing them, but mostly I just defrost, cut the tops off and they slide right out! Super easy.
Did mostly well. Bananas are never a waste for us in our house. They get eaten almost immediately!
That is sad about the bananas. I would have used them if I had the time. I make a banana bread that uses about 4 to 5 bananas, in place of some of the oil, all whole wheat flour and splenda. If my family wants it for breakfast every day, I have hard time thinking it is any worse than a bowl of cereal. So I just make them banana bread when I get too many. (Yes, I have tossed some when I left the bananas out intending to make banana bread and just didn't seem to find the time.) I also make a banana oatmeal raisin cookie that my husband likes. (Lately though, even leaving the cookies on the counter, with my hubby eating one or two a day, they mold before he finishes them. Odd to me. Never had a cookie do that before. Wondered if I should start refrigerating them.) I already refrigerate all bread products.
This was a bad, bad week for me and food waste. Part of it is we are trying to reduce what is in the refrigerator. Tossed out was a slice of meatloaf. The calorie count was a bit high, so I wasn't eating it, and my hubby grew tired of it after eating it for a number of days at lunch. My son never ate any of it. I should have frozen it and then someone would have eaten it later. Also tossed was a small bit of pork roast that I have no idea how long had been in the refrigerator. It got buried behind some other stuff. Tossed a ham steak. I bought it to make homemade pizza, as I had bought a pineapple cheap at Aldi's. We had the homemade pizza with some of the ham steak on Friday. I trimmed the fat off the rest of it and ziplocked it. By tuesday, it was so slimy I couldn't wash it off and so I tossed it. Surprised it seemed to go bad that quickly. Tossed a few grapes, oh and a small amount of moldy cheese. Bought a new brand of parmesan cheese in a bowl already shredded. Yes, I tend to coupon, so the date was like April 2012, but it was unopened. So when we opened it we found a tiny bit of mold. We plucked it all out and then used some of it. Hope there isn't any left to take more cheese with it. But odd that it was an unopened package. Yes, the use by date was much older than I had expected.
Oh, and I meant to add, I am the world's pickest produce buyer. Did regret buying some strawberries this past week, and had to toss a number. Either they were soft when I bought them, or they didn't like the bike ride home.
And when it comes to bananas, this week was a bad banana week at the grocery store. Usually I buy 2 bunches of smaller bananas, but this week only one, as they were all already close to overripe. And when I buy green bananas, I swear they brown almost before they yellow.
Food waste photographed and admitted to.
Try as I might, there will be more next week!
Ugh ... I always seem to have the situation with bananas in my house too 🙁
This week I'm faced with lots of Asian pears from my CSA ... I haven't pitched them (yet) but they are not holding up well, and I'm just not sure what to do with them.
I'd love some ideas!
(Right now I'm thinking of grating and freezing them as toppings for oatmeal).
What about making pear sauce? It would be like applesauce, just with pears instead. You could also cut them up and freeze them to throw into smoothies. Also, if you have any recipes that call for grated apples (like a muffin recipe), you could sub pears instead.
I got asian pears in my CSA and made pear sauce--soooooo good, and no sugar added!
How interesting to read so many bloggers having banana-itis. I am pleased that I am not the only person popping bananas into the freezer for smoothies, then throwing them onto the compost heap at a later date. Now I just look both ways at the greengrocers, when no-one is looking I break of two or three and no more 'dead' bananas in the fruit bowl. Just a suggestion!
What a great job you did---good for you! And I'm gonna copy your PB-on-nanners tip. Thank you! 🙂
Oh man, my banana situation is getting quite crucial as well. I keep meaning to make banana bread to take to church for our hospitality hour. They always need cookies and things like that!
I used to do that with bananas too but then when the power went out for 5 days and the freezer thawed, the bananas leaked all over the place. What a mess! Now I use them to make muffins right away and freeze the muffins. At least frozen muffins won't make a mess if they thaw and I can take out as many or as few muffins as we want.
Oooh, that WOULD be disgusting. Especially because bananas are so brown and slimy once they're frozen and thawed.
Yes, it was pretty gross but once your power has been out for that long you find there are even things even more gross awaiting you in the freezer/fridge. I have been very careful since then about food waste and using up things in the fridge/freezer ASAP.
Ya I also had to throw out a hunk of mouldy cheese that got pushed to the back of the fridge 🙁
And a half a raisin bagel......
As for bananas = my young kids used to like 'banana pops' which were half a banana with a popsicle stick in it and then frozen. My teething babies especially loved them!
If you have a few extra seconds when you have a banana getting too ripe, try slicing them before freezing. When they're firm, toss them in a bag. When you have 4-5 bananas' worth of slices built up, run them through the food processor - banana-flavored soft serve! It's also yummy topped with peanut butter and/or chocolate syrup. Even if you're not fond of the banana flavor, maybe at least one or two kids will like the "ice cream". It's amazingly velvety and rich-tasting, even if the only ingredient is banana.
No banana waste here, just a sole courgette and another baking disaster. Thanks to the positive attitude I've developed towards food waste since participating in FWF, once I'd stopped ranting and raging about the burnt cake, it turned into a food save!
Great tip about the cilantro Nicole. I didn't buy any today because I don't need it until later in the week and didn't want to chance it going bad (I grocery shop on Sunday so I don't have to do it multiple times in the week). Maybe I'll run back out and grab some and some paper bags!
I'm late in posting this week, but I did keep track of my food waste again! A homemade loaf of bread proved to be disastrous...
I only buy a few bananas at a time and rarely have one for the freezer.
I also scrape mold off of cheese and then we eat the cheese. My mom taught me that mold on baked goods means don't eat it, but cheese mold can be scraped off and the cheese safely eaten.
OK, how much do I love "Food Waste Friday"? I just stumbled upon your blog, and really like this topic. I know that, as Americans, we waste a terrible amount of food. I am trying to be better about that. Thanks for the inspiration!
Kristin, I just wrote up a little blog post on how to avoid food waste, and I referenced your Food Waste Friday and linked to your blog. I really like this topic, and plan on posting my own food waste photos. Again, thanks!
Question about freezing bananas: How do you thaw them without them liquifying?! I have tried your trick of freezing bananas before they go bad on two occasions. The first time, I ate the two bananas frozen (yum!) but had a really hard time getting them unpeeled (tips?). The second time, I set them on the counter to thaw for banana bread and they liquified all over the place. Should I have put them in the fridge to thaw? Is there some sort of trick to this? 🙂 Thanks!
Here's an idea for wasting less food: if there's a case like this in the future where the food is perfectly edible but just not to your taste, find someone to give it to. For example, I love using over-ripe bananas in smoothies. I freeze my overripe bananas for that purpose. It adds extra natural sweetness to them. Were I your neighbor or good friend or family member, I'd be thrilled to take some free bananas from you and to save them from being wasted. So, maybe next time you can ask a few of those closest to you if they'd like to inherit whatever you won't eat.
If you chop the mouldy bits off the cheese it's good as new. Or, if you want preventative care: a quick swipe of butter on the sides after you cut and handle it does wonders for prolonging it's life.