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.
Actually, let’s have the bad first.
I wasted some avocados that were funky inside when I cut them open. And I also wasted some blueberries. These are the last ones from my 40 pounds and I’d set them aside, meaning to bake with them. But, um, I obviously didn’t get around to that. Boo.
I did save a mushy pear and a not-so-great mango by putting them into a smoothie, though (It turned out to be a really great smoothie!)
Plus, I saved the very last of the huge bunch of cilantro by making a bit of salsa to go with our tacos.
And the kids and I had a meal yesterday that used up a lot of odds and ends in the fridge which means it’s uncharacteristically empty in there right now. That’s a lovely feeling when you’re fighting food waste!
So, I had some failures, but I wasn’t a complete disaster.
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Today’s 365 post: Remember the, “I have a stick.” picture?
Joshua’s 365 post: Lookin’ Down
Skirnir Hamilton
Saturday 21st of July 2012
Don't think I threw out much this week. I did give some bread to the birds, as it was dry and falling apart. I usually buy day old bread at the bread store and freeze it, but lately it gets flakey almost as soon as it is thawed out. Probably going to have to stop buying bread and freezing it. WE just haven't been using as much store bought, as I am having a blast making homemade bread of some sort about twice a week. What do you all do with old bread? I don't tend to use croutons in my salad, and my son doesn't like bread crumbs on a casserole much. How do you use it to make your own breading for baked chicken? Other ideas?
Laura
Friday 20th of July 2012
I enjoy these posts a lot. We've owned chickens for several years now (this is obviously not possible for all neighborhoods) and they devour much of our leftovers/foods that are no longer edible. We also feed them chicken food as well. The rest of it goes into compost for our garden.
Rebecca
Friday 20th of July 2012
This is a really great idea! Posting about your food waste is a great way to stay accountable. I just threw out a pear that I had cut up for my son, stuck in a container and completely forgot about. Ooops!
Anne
Friday 20th of July 2012
This is really embarassing but exactly HOW do you make a smoothie? Just throw some ice in with the fruit and turn on the blender? Do you also add milk?
WilliamB
Friday 20th of July 2012
My smoothies are usually fruit only. I use whatever is soft, overripe, or otherwise unpleasant without actually being bad. I never use ice, only use dairy if it needs to be finished off.
I like mine thick so assume some banana. Then add berries because I tend to overbuy. Then just about anything else. Frequently not-quite-bad fruit goes into the freezer to be added to future smoothies.
My method: put frozen fruit in blender to defrost. When it's unfrozen add the rest of the fruit. Puree. If it's too thick to pour add some dairy, juice, or water. IOW: defrost, dump, blend, eat.
Kristen
Friday 20th of July 2012
You can definitely do it that way, but I usually add yogurt to mine. I combine yogurt, frozen berries, and bananas most often, but really anything goes! It all depends on what you like.
Just don't use stringy fruits like oranges.
Jayme
Friday 20th of July 2012
This is such a great idea! I think weekly confessions will help me clean up my food waste act. Thanks for writing about this!