According to Timothy Jones of the University of Arizona, 14% of food purchased by American homes is wasted. In my own home, I've thrown out tons of vegetables, fruits, and left over meat dishes that have gone bad. I've begun a conscious effort to lower the amount of our family's food waste. At the forefront of my efforts: to cut down on food waste by planning my meals out for a full week in advance and to really start scrutinizing my food purchases much more closely -- with particular attention to perishables.
A recent article in the Planet Green blog suggests 50 ways to cut back on food waste. Some of our favorites include:
Vegetables
7. Celery leaves usually get tossed. There's a lot of good flavor in them; chop them up and add them to meatloaf, soups, or stews.
11. Too many zucchini? Make zucchini bread or muffins. If you don't want to eat the bread now, bake it and freeze it, then defrost when you're ready to eat it. (we do this in our family, zucchini bread is unbelievably delicious).
Fruit
13. Make smoothies with fruit before it goes bad. Berries, bananas, and melons are great candidates for this use-up idea.
15. Dry your fruit and store it in the freezer or in airtight containers.
Grains
21. Make croutons out of day-old bread.
24. All of those little broken pieces of pasta in the bottom of the box? Collect them and mix with rice and veggies for a simple side dish.
Meat
31. Don't toss those chicken bones after you eat the chicken. Boil them to make chicken stock.
Dairy
37. Eggs can be frozen. Break them, mix the yolks and whites together, and pour into an ice cube tray. Two frozen egg cubes is the equivalent of one large egg.
38. You can also freeze milk. Leave enough room in the container for expansion, and defrost in the refrigerator.
Herbs
43. Make pesto with extra basil or parsley.
Coffee
45. Leftover coffee in the carafe? Freeze it in ice cube trays. Use the cubes for iced coffee or to cool down too-hot coffee without diluting it. You can do the same with leftover tea.
