Comments on: The Second Life of Food

By: Georgia

Georgia — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:24:12 +0000

A neighbor taught me to use pint and quart glass jars for leftover. She said plastic containers can get pushed to the back, and since you cannot see the contents, they get spoiled. Also, she had teenagers and they would have to open each carton to see what was in it. This often caused messes if they were in a hurry. So, with the glass, you can see the contents even in the back of the fridge and the kids don’t have to open it to see what’s there. Was a great idea.

By: Arthi

Arthi — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:09:29 +0000

Thanks for mentioning the banana bread.

Now I can use up the two ripe bananas that I had frozen.

By the way, I’ve realised that the sunk cost fallacy forces me to take bad food decisions.

Since I prefer not to waste food, and since my husband would not touch left overs with a ten foot pole, I end up eating all the left overs, and gaining weight.

Other times, I drink juice that’s in the fridge for more than 5 days, just because I do not want to waste it. This could cause some serious food poisoning.

Now I throw away any food that might be past its prime (We do not compost, nor know of anyone nearby who does.)

But if it is safe for consumption, I try to use it in some recipe and thus not waste it.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:18:18 +0000

Being frugal, I’ve always saved plastic containers (yogurt, cream cheese) and leftovers go into them. Sometimes they don’t get labelled and then we forget what’s in them. I have recently gone to glass containers with plastic lids. Now I can SEE what’s in them and nothing is forgotten. It was worth the cost of the containers.

By: Sharon L

Sharon L — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:42:09 +0000

I freeze those peeled old bananas and bring them out to make banana bread for Christmas gifts. They are really sweet and strongly banana flavored, and make the best bread!

By: AnnJo

AnnJo — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:12:17 +0000

Stale bread is the basic ingredient in stuffing, which is a good side dish even when it’s not Thanksgiving, and a great way to use up the last two limp celery stalks, the last few dried out mushrooms, the sausage heel, the cracked egg you’re scared to use for an omelet (just make sure you cook your stuffing to 165 degrees internal temp), etc.

Stale bread also makes great croutons, french toast, bread pudding, crumb topping for casseroles, italian-style bread soups, and cheese strata. I’ll use it sometimes in place of pie crust for a quiche, if the solid filling is heavy enough to hold it down (otherwise it’ll float to the surface, which actually is OK too, but a different dish).

Past-its-prime fruit (not rotten, but too soft to be enjoyed fresh) can be peeled and chopped, cooked with a little sweetener and cinnamon and used as a topping for ice cream, yogurt, tapioca or rice puddings.

A lot of left-over veggies make great blended “cream-of” soups with the addition of some rich homemade stock, milk and/or cream and/or sour cream and/or a little left-over mashed potato for thickener. Our favorites include celery, zucchini, winter squash, carrot, parsnip, broccoli, spinach.

Left-over veggies are so often the wrong quantity – too much to throw away but not enough to make full servings out of. This method extends what you have and still serves everyone. Personally, if I’m using left-over veggies in a soup, I prefer it blended. The texture of twice-cooked vegetables isn’t that appealing, but blended, all the flavor is there and the soup seems heartier. Love my 25-year old immersion blender!

Love cooking, too! You can probably tell.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:05:53 +0000

I’m the same way when something is not salvagable and must go to the trash. Organization is definately the key! One thing that we do in our home is to have numerous srving size Rubbermaid containers. After a soup meal, for example, I either freeze a bunch to make a dinner in a few weeks when time is short, OR make several individual servings that my husband can take to work in the next day or so. If those aren’t eaten in the next day or so, they join the freezer items. We also do the leftover smorgasbord….everything comes out and is served buffet style. Often it’s a Saturday lunch, and we’re all coming and going from our activities, it’s easy to heat something up, and we’re not tempted to do a fast food thing (bad for health, budget and environment). The refrigerator is then emptied out for the next wave of leftover options!
Bananas go immediately into the freezer for us once they hit that brown level that none of us will touch. The day that I know I’ll be baking, I get out 6-8 frozen ones in the morning and let them thaw out (in a pan of some sort so they don’t stain my counter!). I make 2-3 loaves of banana bread, eat one and freeze the others for later..good for a quick breakfast.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:51:52 +0000

#19-I had to laugh, my mother always made home made soup out of whatever leftovers were in the frig. It was disgusting! But then, my mother was a terrible cook. (Sorry Mom) I’m sure it is a good idea if it’s done right.
I too keep a bag in the freezer with celery, carrots, etc that are still good, but too soft for eating raw and bananas for bread making and save stale bread for bread crumbs. The rest gets composted which does make one feel that it’s not totally going to waste.
Most of my leftovers go into individual serving containers, so they can be easily nuked or brought to work.

By: Pat

Pat — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:01:18 +0000

#14, 16, 17 have the right idea. It is all about organization. I also keep my leftovers front and center (on the shelf next to the milk). Since moving them there instead of the bottom shelf where most people keep them I always use up my leftovers. They become lunch the next day (and the day after if needed).

By: kat

kat — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:38:07 +0000

an older lady i knew had a Friday tradition-she served “mustgo stew” (everything in the frig must go) she would cut up any leftover meat, start a stock, add a few potatos, and then throw in the leftovers to reheat. It was ususally quite delicious.

By: Kandace

Kandace — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:18:42 +0000

Once bananas get a little too brown and spotty for me to eat, I put them whole, unpeeled in the freezer. The outside will get dark brown and will not be appealing. When I have four or five of them, I pull them out and make banana bread. Let them thaw first. The interiors will be mushy and dark, but make great banana bread!

By: Shevaun

Shevaun — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:12:57 +0000

I agree with David #14… I’ll admit that sometimes my fridge gets messy (especially when I’m trying to clean up in a hurry because guests are over), but usually, I have one shelf for beverages (milk, juice, coffee creamer, a bottle of white wine), one shelf for fruits and veggies, one shelf for lunch meat, eggs, and chesse, a drawer for bread stuff, and the bottom shelf for raw meat or things that I otherwise don’t want to drip on other stuff accidentally. Condiments go in the door, and leftovers usually are put in the front of the lunchmeat shelf (since I consider leftover dinner “lunch”). Like David says, by being organized, you don’t buy things you already have.

On another note, buying in bulk usually is a great way to save money, but I’ve found with some rarely-used ingredients, buying small saves money because it prevents rot-and-toss.

By: Peggy

Peggy — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:31:29 +0000

We have a special leftover shelf in our fridge. If someone doesn’t like what Mom’s made for a meal, they are welcome to anything on the leftover shelf. Twice a week we have meals made entirely of leftovers. Pick what you like and eat it. Between those strategies, I rarely have to trash food anymore.

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:20:13 +0000

Chickens are the best way to get rid of small bits of food which you usually KNOW are going to get ignored, so feed the odds and ends to the chickens instead of storing the food to give it time to spoil. If food’s questionable, into the compost heap it goes. Chickens LOVE human food, and they reward you with beautiful eggs for cooking and manure for the vegetable garden. You’re also cutting down on the demand for battery eggs, by having chickens in a decent pen where they can socialize, move around, have a good quality of life. Chickens enjoy the outler leaves of lettuce, broccoli, limp parsley, carrot peelings, carrot greens, as well as dried bread, cake, crackers. They need their regular laying mash, but if you feed the leftovers, you enrich the chickens diet further and they will eat less mash. Free range eggs will have bright orange yolks which stand up high over the pan into which you’ve cracked the eggs, and thick, viscous whites. You’ll never want one of those pale yellow egg yolks again!

By: David/Yourfinances101

David/Yourfinances101 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:11:23 +0000

Refrigerator organization is the key to eliminating waste.

I mean c’mon, some of us out there act as if our fridges are some deep dark cavern where stuff can actually get lost.

Keep stuff organized—keep leftovers in the FRONT–and you’ll be reminded daily to use them.

By: Britt Landon

Britt Landon — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:50:38 +0000

Easy way to track your leftovers: attach a small white board to your fridge, list leftover(s) and date(s) they entered the fridge. You’ll use them up much more efficiently!

By: Christopher

Christopher — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:44:36 +0000

If it’s a fruit or vegetable and it’s truly beyond eating, give it a second life in your compost bin.

By: Stephan F-

Stephan F- — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:31:38 +0000

But this is the best way to feel smart twice. Once when you put it in the frig, you feel smart because you are saving food. When you throw it away you feel smart again because you’re saving your life.:)

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:20:17 +0000

Trent, in much the same way you have your soup box in your freezer, I have a smoothie bag. (plus, keeping soup-stock and smoothie ingredients in your freezer is a great way to keep it full and save energy!)

Browning bananas get peeled and plopped in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Peaches or mangoes going soft? Same deal. Also berries that are looking a little smooshy: into the smoothie bag.

The BEST part of this strategy is that you won’t have to use ice in your smoothie at all– the frozen fruit does the trick, adding texture, temp, and flavor!!

p.s. a splash of vodka in that icy fruit drink is awesome!!

By: Another Dave

Another Dave — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:31:29 +0000

I’m with Bavaria… Smoothies have become a healthy evening snack for me. Yogurt, and whatever bruised, over-ripe fruit is in the house, and frozen fruit to fill it out, juice or milk for liquid. It’s def not rotten fruit but stuff past the point the rest of my family will eat it.

By: karyn

karyn — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:47:36 +0000

That’s one benefit of raising chickens. I always have food on the floor after meals (we have three little ones) but at least the chickens eat well and produce yummy eggs.