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.
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So, I made pancakes, had some left over, and put them into a Pyrex container. Just a bit over 24 hours later, they were moldy.
What the what???
The only thing I can think is that maybe they weren’t completely cool when I put them in, and the moisture from the condensation made them mold quickly.
Anyway, I feel slightly annoyed that they went bad so rapidly.
Now, the other two things I have? Totally my fault.
First up, here’s some Asiago. It may have been aged 6 months before I bought it…
…but considering the expiration date was March 2011, I’m pretty sure it’s now been aged for, um, about 18 months at least.
This was a case of me buying something with no plan in hand. I bought it on a whim and never got around to using it.
And this process cheese actually expired in 2010. Dear me.
That I don’t mind throwing out so much, because I don’t feel too badly about wasting cheese that’s not even really cheese.
Hey, did you notice something? I have no produce in my pictures this week…sweet!
Oh, and since it’s Friday, Lisey’s got a new baking post up.
Go visit if you’d like to learn how to make these chewy sandwich cookies!
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Today’s 365 post: Grilling in February
Joshua’s 365 post: Coffee Maker!!
Katie
Monday 6th of February 2012
This week was not too bad for me. I had one apple that looked a little rubbery, but not too bad, but then it turned out to be one of those that has turned brown from the middle out... ew.
Continuing my slow-motion freezer cleanout, this week we have a bag of edamame with date 8/28/2010 (yeesh). This is a thaw-and-eat item, and I love edemame! Damn. I also tossed a quarter-package of shredded taco cheese with date of Oct. 2011.
I've been doing good eating what I have. I made pudding tonight with some milk that I probably wouldn't have used otherwise, AND I threw 3/4 cup of half & half in there, too (had bought it for a soup). It's going to be extra creamy pudding, yum! Chopped some veggies I bought to make veggie wraps, ate one for dinner. Twas a time when I let veggies go bad just because I never got up the gumption to chop them!
Ate soup from the freezer for lunch today, will have tomato sauce from there tomorrow (thus avoiding food waste and $6 purchased lunch). My freezer is pretty lousy and freezer burns things really fast, so I'm trying to be more aware of what I put in there, and bring them back out to eat before too long.
Elaine in Ark
Monday 6th of February 2012
I'll bet the rent that your pancakes weren't sufficiently cooled when you put them in the fridge. I make big batches and freeze them, but they do have to been cooled to room temp. I have a set of three wire racks with legs that fold up/down (from Target), and I put the pancakes on the racks while I eat my meal. When I'm finished eating, the pancakes are usually cool.
My food waste includes chicken noodle soup that I doctored up, and I just could not bear to eat more than one serving. I should have left well enough alone. I also had some rice and stir fry veggies that didn't get eaten as planned.
Jennifer Y.
Sunday 5th of February 2012
I have been employing the food waste practice for the past few weeks, but this is the first time I am actually posting about my weekly waste. It was a very good week for me (which might have something to do with why I am posting about it ;). So my waste consists of some really old pita bread and store-bought chicken broth. I don't have much to offer by way of explanation, other than these are things I really don't use regularly. But more importantly, since following food waste Fridays, I have continually reduced the amount of food I waste each week (menu planning and grocery lists have also helped big time). I hope to waste even less this week!
Laura Vanderkam
Saturday 4th of February 2012
I like the idea of the Food Waste pictures. But I worry sometimes about the incentive it creates for myself when I view food going bad as a really awful thing. For one, I buy fewer groceries, so they won't rot in the fridge or cupboard. But a year or two ago I realized I had a pretty bad habit of ordering pizza on the nights there were no good groceries in the house. That wasn't a win from a financial or health standpoint. I also made a conscious decision about a year ago to overbuy produce, even though we do see some of it go bad. This is because I want us to eat more fruits and vegetables. I'd rather have us all eating an extra serving because there's so much of it, even if some goes bad, then have the kids wander by the counter, feel a vague urge for a banana or apple, and then not have one there.
Kristen
Saturday 4th of February 2012
I totally agree with you, actually! My idea of preventing produce waste runs along the lines of making sure to eat what I buy as opposed to simply not buying produce (that would be an easy and unhealthy way to avoid waste). We actually eat more produce now than we did in my food waste days because I'm really vigilant about us eating our produce instead of just letting it go bad in the fridge.
I've blogged about this before, but you know, it's probably time to touch on it again. Thanks for the reminder!
wanda
Friday 3rd of February 2012
The only thing we wasted this week was a package of sandwhich rounds that have been in the frig so long you could have used them for frisbee's.