Home/#StopFoodWaste

#StopFoodWaste: Asparagus Ends

I love asparagus season. The appearance of the vibrant green stalks on market shelves means spring (I.E. Foodie Christmas) is just around the corner. It's the most wonderful time of the year. (That last sentence should be sung in your best caroling voice.) Asparagus is ridiculously easy to prepare. Rinse the stalks and then bend them until they break. They'll magically snap exactly where the tough woody end and the tender spear meet. Isn't nature glorious? Of course, the tender part is the best part, but that doesn't mean you have to throw out the woody ends. They have just as much flavor and only need a little love [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Leftover Coffee Mug Cake

If you aren't a coffee drinker props to you for being OK with going through life without one of THE BEST THINGS IN THE WORLD. If you're anything like me though, you enjoy a few cups every single day of your existence. There may be crazy times when you just can't drink it all and where you find yourself with a bit of leftover go-go juice. Don't you throw that cold java away! At the very least fill an ice cube tray with it and freeze it for amazing iced coffee. I prefer to put in a few more minutes of work and make myself a little leftover coffee mug [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Overripe Tomatoes

Perhaps you're a lot like me. Last week I decided I was going to make a ton of salads, turn my nose up at anything processed and work out 30 minutes a day because DANG IT those last ten pounds are coming off! Instead I ended up binge watching Daredevil Season 2 (HOLY ISH AMAZING), getting pizza delivered, and eating Nutella right out of the jar. Meh. You win some. You lose some. Unfortunately now the tomatoes I bought for salad are just a touch past their prime: their flesh softened, their skin wrinkled and bruised. It's a good thing old tomatoes do an amazing job of kicking up boring [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Veggie Trimmings and Bones

Anytime you cook with a vegetable there will be trimmings: roots, tops, skins. Usually these go right in the trash without a second thought. The same goes for bones. What are you going to do with them after you've roasted that chicken, pork shoulder or beef shank? You can't eat them right? Wrong. Though they may not look like it, veggie scraps and bones are gold. (Maybe not the kind you can take to the bank but certainly the kind you can put in your belly.) Wash vegetables before prepping them and keep gallon bags in the freezer for cuttings. Keep a separate container in the freezer for bones.  When [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Eggshell Tea

A big reason to #StopFoodWaste is to curb the amount of food that makes it to landfills. As wasted food breaks down it produces greenhouse gases like methane and CO2 that are released into our atmosphere, spurring climate change. The Food And Agriculture Organization conducted a groundbreaking global study on food waste and reported that food produced and not eaten creates about 3.3 billion tons of CO2.  That makes food waste the third top emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China. That's INSANITY right?? The good news is that every little bit of food that you keep out of your trash helps curb food waste's carbon footprint. I've [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Stale Bread

Like your boss's lame jokes, bread has a way of getting old FAST.  Thankfully there are lots of things you can do with stale bread besides throw it out. My favorite way to use a loaf that's seen better days is budin de pan,  Puerto Rican bread pudding. Traditionally budin is made with white bread, but you can and should use any bread you have on hand. I remember my mother mixing hot dog buns with hamburger buns, an old croissant and the butt of a wheat loaf into one of her budins. It came out amazing! There are hundreds of recipes for bread pudding but they all have a [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Pickle Juice

An empty pickle jar is a TREASURE. You can use the left over juice to quick pickle other cucumbers or soft veggies like radishes, green beans and garlic. You can even pickle hard boiled eggs! My favorite way to use pickle juice is to slice an onion and put it right in the jar to soak up all that yum. These onions are great on sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, you name it. My soundtrack for this preparation is Skankin' Pickle's I Missed The Bus. Americans waste over 40% of the food that comes into our homes. Be a part of the solution and #StopFoodWaste. Don't miss the bus! Join me [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Jam Jar Dressing

As far as I'm concerned jam's whole razon de ser is to be in my belly.  Which is why when I'm faced with an almost empty jar I don't waste it. I use it to make an unforgettable vinaigrette. Jam dressing is as crazy easy as the first question on Celebrity Jeopardy.  All you need is 3 parts oil, 1 part acid, herbs, spices and BOOM. I had an almost empty jar of peach apricot jam and paired it with balsamic vinegar and the most amazing extra virgin picual olive oil. Hollywood and I found Rio Bravo Ranch olive oil at the Atwater Farmer's Market. The family behind it has [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Apples

What would you do if you were walking out of the grocery store with four bags full of food and someone grabbed one of them and dumped the whole thing in the trash?  Would you yell for help? Would you chase after them? Would you be angry? What if I told you this is exactly what happens every time you walk out of the grocery store, except the person throwing away your food is YOU. The stats are out and they make my stomach turn: the average American family throws out a quarter of the food it buys each year. That adds up to $1500 a year according to folks [...]

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