Waste not want not?

Posted by Dana McMahan on February 11, 2008

I hate, hate, hate wasting food. I’m obsessed with lunchovers — meals that transition from dinner at home to lunch at work. I get so angry when we clean out the fridge and find food that’s gone to waste. I know we're not alone in wasting food -- a 2004 study from the University of Arizona (UA) in Tucson shows that American households on average toss 14 percent of the food they buy.

I make it a continual goal to find ways to use up food. “What’s in the freezer” night is one way – start with a pasta or rice, and add to it the scraps of things you find in the fridge and freezer. My husband’s weekend quiches fold in other food that would otherwise go to waste. Leftover mashed potatoes mixed with cheese, egg and flour then pan fried and served with an herbed sour cream are a delicious way to use leftovers. I remember my mom making the unappetizingly named but always delicious “dump cake” when I was little, which included any about-to-go-bad fruit.

A movement in England, the "Love Food, Hate Waste" campaign, aims to raise awareness of the need to reduce the amount of food that we throw away, and how by doing some easy and practical things in the home we will benefit our purses and the environment. Their Web site offers a super fun interactive portion planner, a two week meal planner with menu, recipes and shopping list, as well as tips and shortcuts for making food go further. Watch their two minute video on the Guardian’s Web site where chefs offer their advice on creating great meals while cutting back on waste.

Ça vaut le voyage,
Dana

TAGS: Leftovers, Waste
POST TOOLS: