How many times we have thrown away food that was still good to eat, just because it was simply there or something more “exciting” arrived in our fridge?
You know that in the UK, the average household send to garbage £470 per year in food? Some send more till the £3000! It’s not only a money subject but also, pollution, littering and not thinking about how people are starving in this world and how much they could give for “that” food.
75% Is still in good conservation.
Well if it’s still good, why throw it away?
I was taught by my mother to reuse and how to store.
As a grown up and a mum, I started to think to “convert” some of the leftovers into something yummy and good for everyone.
Plus I LOVE to go the Market place and watch and feel the wonderful scent of vegetables and fruit.
(just a note: We have the wonderful and known Birmingham Market, colourful, good product and one of the cheapest market in the UK, where you can buy a bowl of tomatoes for £1, 3lbs for a pound!!).
(just a note: We have the wonderful and known Birmingham Market, colourful, good product and one of the cheapest market in the UK, where you can buy a bowl of tomatoes for £1, 3lbs for a pound!!).
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| Birmingham Market |
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| Birmingham Market |
Fresh Vegetables and Fruit tip
I normally go to the market every 3 weeks.
And what I do as I get home is this routine:
Vegetables:
- Wash the vegetable
- Prepare freezer bags
- Cut or prepare the vegetables thinking in how I can cook it (imagine recipes that you normally do)
- Write what’s on the bag
- Put in the freezer
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_J6NGfDiIk&w=320&h=266]
Made this video to simply explain one of the ways you can prepare a Squash to freeze. I show only one of the parts of the squash, but obviously all the squash was used.
There is this nonsense that you should only use fresh vegetables, but the thing is, unless you use them straight away, they won’t be fresh any longer and then you through it away (remember we are speaking here on how to reduce your waste).
When you freeze something fresh (vegetables, fruit, fish, seafood, etc) the same freshness will still be there when you take it our from the freezer. The good things from it will stay, the flavour will remain.
And It’s practical too! You want to cook something, just take the ingredient of what you want and put it in the pan (even if it’s straight away frozen).
(note: did you know that a frozen seafood is the best? they catch it in the sea and will be freeze straight away, keeping it like if it came from the sea when you use it).
(note: did you know that a frozen seafood is the best? they catch it in the sea and will be freeze straight away, keeping it like if it came from the sea when you use it).
You can freeze herbs as well (very useful).
Imagine you have (as I do) a Herb garden, and a bunch of Parsley, Mint, Coriander, Thyme, Oregano, Dill, etc… instead of being left to die, cut it from the garden, wash it and prepare it, put in bags and freeze them.
Imagine you have (as I do) a Herb garden, and a bunch of Parsley, Mint, Coriander, Thyme, Oregano, Dill, etc… instead of being left to die, cut it from the garden, wash it and prepare it, put in bags and freeze them.
Some of the things I buy and normally freeze:
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| Celery |
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| Apples, Banana, Squash |
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| Bell Peppers |
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| Photo from the Birmingham Market. Those were some of the things I bought as well and froze them: Tomatoes, Garlic cloves, Onions, Leek |
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| Cherry tomatoes, Apple, Ginger, Watermelon in cubes |
Fruit:
I prepare the same as the vegetables.
I normally buy bananas in bulk, cut it in pieces and put it in the freezer. Good when i want a smoothie, since I don’t need ice or ice cream, just add the milk and the frozen banana. Try cutting watermelon or melon on cubes! Add some mint leaves to that cup after it!
I do this with:
- All kind of red Fruits (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc)
- Apples (to use for baby pure or apple pie/crumble)
- Mango
- Orange juice (if you have lots of oranges, just make the juice, put it in ice cube bags. great for making juices or cooling a juice or cocktail.
- Several other fruits
Bread
Do you have old bread? Don’t throw it away!!!!
Make breadcrumbs with it!
Some ways you can do it:
Some ways you can do it:
Pick the bread, crush it (with a blender) then:
A) After blending, put in a bag and freeze. This way when you use it in recipes will stay crispier in the oven (when covering a recipe for example)
B) Add coriander or a herb you like (why not a crushed garlic clove), freeze it and use it like A.
C) Dry it in the oven for 30 minutes until crisp and use it straight away of keep in a bag in the cupboard.
It’s easy really!
Left Overs
Any left over is reusable.
- The Leftover is not enough for 2 people? Why not turn it into Tapas Night using the left overs?
- Imagine you made some roast meat. You can cut it little, fry it and mix with noodles, or mix it with Rice plus chorizo and peas, and go to the oven.
- Any sausages left? Any potatoes left? Then why not try some Spanish Tortilla (or Italian Frittatta), cutting the sausages and the potatoes in pieces, then mix 4 to 6 eggs, some parsley (you know the frozen one before), a bit of salt and pepper and fry it with a bit of olive oil in a pan. Once is not sticky under it, turn it and let it fry on the other side, showing a wonderful crispy edges… yum!
- You made some Cake or cookies and they will spoil or you simply made too much? Freeze them: cut the cake in slices and cover it with aluminium foil and freeze; put the cookies in a bag.
Anything is reusable really, just a bit of imagination!
AO made a presentation on Waste which I thought it was really helpful and I think is good to see, simply click below:
After this big tip, thankfully it will help you as it helps me and managing my household budget, remember that in moment of crisis, you don’t have to sit and cry over the house budget and still throw away food or start making a difference and make a variety of lovely dishes.
Remember the moto to end this Food Waste:
#WastelessJourney
Cheerio
