50 Ways Not to Waste Food

by Joanne Camas

Whether you're worried about wasting food for moral or financial reasons, it's always good to get new tips on stretching food. Sometimes the most simple ideas are right under our noses, yet we don't see them. I stumbled on a classic Planet Green list of suggestions today. While you may already use a lot of these, perhaps a couple will become part of your kitchen routine. Many of them are timely, featuring vegetables that are hitting the farmer's market this month. Blanching and freezing those extra veggies before they ooze on the counter-top, for example, or saving celery leaves and chopping them into meatloaf or soup. We also have a guide to 10 Money-Saving Ingredients (with recipes for each) and 35 Easy Ways to Stretch Your Food Dollars here at Epicurious, and my fellow Epi-log blogger Regina Schrambling has a feature on how to Eat Like a Chef on $25 a Day for a Family of Four. Who says you need to spend a lot of money to eat well?! Have any frugal food tips of your own to share? Post them below!

crpaulk

11:56:57 AM on

04/28/10

Good suggestions from Planet Green & posters. I think they're right about the $600 in fruit wasted. I started recycling it to the squirrel bowl outside my office door. There's nothing funnier than Rocky looking in the window to remind me he needs a tasty treat.

cleahey

11:37:34 AM on

04/27/10

Since I got both of my kids their own thermos, they have been taking left-overs for lunch! Yea! What's up with folks discounting others ideas? If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!

NoLoveMoreSincere

08:25:17 PM on

04/26/10

I buy pre-peeled garlic cloves ($2 for a 1lb at Asian supermarkets) to save on time, money, & stinky hands. I usually can't get thru the whole jar before they spoil, so once I see them start to turn, I toss them in a foil pouch with olive oil and roast in a 400degree oven for about 30-40 minutes. Once they cool, I transfer to a freezer bag for easy access to add to pasta dishes and smear on bread. I'm also a big fan of saving produce and herb scraps to make vegetable stock on a regular basis. It always comes in handy.

Lavah

04:45:40 PM on

04/26/10

Eat the lettuce in the CSA box immediately. It'll be the first thing to turn into slime.

Nikki_in_Cali

04:42:28 PM on

04/26/10

Kitten, nice name the nutty-one has too! Ewwww Those are some great ideas!! I don't really throw away a lot, except a little expired milk. I don't think I want to freeze it so I just buy it in very small increments. I need 2 more overly ripe bananas for banana bread and I keep all leftover bread, it makes the best bread pudding. I've made smoothies with overly ripe fruit (and almost-expired milk). I also have a dog that will eat anything so she gets leftovers in small amounts. It is a shame how much goes to waste in this world. If I have leftover food that needs to be eaten, there are always friends and neighbors willing to take it off my hands!

culinarykitten

04:29:56 PM on

04/26/10

'nutty comment', was what meant to say. and by 'nutty' i meant 'rude'. the post itself was quite nice, with no nuttiness to speak of. :)

culinarykitten

04:27:24 PM on

04/26/10

thanks for the useful post, joanne...some great tips here... not to mention great ideas from the readers, too! :) in related news... can you believe that the epi-log has become so popular that it now attracts trolls? this is the third 'nutty' post i've seen here in the past week... on a food blog of all things!...it just cracks me up to no end. ;)

FeastontheCheap

04:01:24 PM on

04/26/10

When we were doing cooking demos for Bloomingdales, they asked us to assemble our favorite time- & money-saving tips. We ended up posting them online as a follow-up. If you're interested in checking them out, see below Before Good Food Goes Bad: http://wp.me/prMEc-5O

Top 10 Kitchen Tips: http://wp.me/prMEc-7H

Vagisil

03:06:52 PM on

04/26/10

". Most recipes call for 1 lb. I take the extra .25 and wrap it up and freeze in a bag." Wow, that is wasteful of a plastic freezer bag and food wrap/foil. Geez, why not throw the extra 4oz in? It won't kill you or ruin the recipe lol.



marykay2

02:26:52 PM on

04/26/10