Waste Not, Want Not

If there is a quote I equate to my grandma, this is it.  I remember cleaning out cottage cheese containers to be reused as Tupperware, tearing cereal boxes to their smallest components so they would take up less room in the waste basket, and therefore, fill fewer trash bags.  I now hear this statement drift though my mind each time I throw out an uneaten container of leftovers or those bananas that got a little too brown. 
This sentence was the first thing to my mind when I recently read a frightening statistic in Relish magazine.  40 percent of the American food supply ends up in the trash.  I knew we were wasters, but I didn't know it was that bad.  I won't start the starving kids in Africa rant, but seriously this is a problem that needs to be fixed and the responsibility lies with the consumers.  Of course, much of this waste occurs in the food supply chain before it even reaches us, but we can't demand food companies to change their ways until we fix what is happening in our kitchens.  Believe me, I am still a work in progress in this (and all things), but here are a few tips I have integrated into my life.

• Make leftovers easy:  As I have discussed before, I have a leftovers problem.  I also really do not like to eat the same thing for two dinners in a row, so this creates a bit of a conundrum.  I try to put my leftovers away into lunch sized portions.  This way they are ready to go in the morning, you don't have to go searching for containers.  A deepfreeze can be a life saver for those who, like me, like to cook for an army but don't actually have one to feed.  Freeze in meal size batches and keep in the freezer for a few weeks until you forget about the first time you ate it and it's like a magic surprise from yourself.
• Get Creative:  Some people see broccoli stems as trash, I now see an awesome slaw to go with pulled pork burritos (great reuse for pork roast).  When carrots, celery and other veggies get a little past their prime, throw them into a Ziploc bag and keep in the freezer.  The next time you make a chicken, keep the bones and boil it up with the veggies.  Trust me homemade stock tastes much better than the stuff in a box and it's basically free.  You can also keep your bread ends in the freezer and run them through a blender or food processor when you need bread crumbs.
• Grow Something:  Ok, if "Waste Not, Want Not" is my grandma's quote, this one is mine.  If you take the time to grow your own food, I think you will care more about it.  You will probably pass by the blemished tomatoes at Safeway, but if they come from your own garden and hard work the blemish suddenly becomes character.  So much waste is inherent in the industrial food system (don't even get me started) if you can extract yourself from it a little you are bound to start dropping from that 40%.  Having a garden can also open the possibility of composting.  Those veggies that were once destined for the trash can now become next years veggies.

Well, that's just a start.  Over the past few years I have been learning more and more about how food actually gets to our plates and, to me, it is scary (and that was before I knew 40% just becomes trash).  I've taken most of the above steps (still working on a compost bin) and am always looking for others.  I've said before, I don't think the answer is in eating organic.  The answer is in each of us taking one step to eat real food like our grandparents did, then teaching another person to take that step or learning a new step from someone else.  It can change your health, your figure and your outlook on life.  Ah well, I promised not to rant, so I better leave it at that.  Please let me know what you do to keep your food real.

Wishing you Awesomeness--B