Don't Throw Food Away Challenge 2012

JARUS

Hi Everyone

Well I've made a start. I have defrosted some bananas and tomorrow will make some banana bread.

I went through the freezer last night to see what goodies were hidden in there that I could use in my meal planning this week.

I literally do have a freezer full of banana - over 30!!!!! What happens I but too many then they begin to go brown, nobody eats them so I stick them in the freezer to make banana bread. I also use the crumbs at the bottom of my son's cereal packet (mini weetabix) to add to the banana bread instead of nuts. So I also have a cupboard full of cereal crumbs as well!!!!

Also in my freezer was lots of bread - stuck in the freezer as it began to go hard. I did use a load for breadcrumbs the other week. I found a recipe for cheese and potato pie and the topping was a mixture of breadcrumbs and grated cheese. i have to say it was scrummy cheap and DS requested it again.

I have done a meal plan for next week, so not much to get from the shops


I had to go away for the day Tuesday & when I got home we decided to have a Chinese as a treat. It was only DH and me. DH had sweet sour sauce but there was over a half a tub left so we put it in the fridge and used it to make sweet and sour chicken this evening. It was delicious.
Food composting bin is looking emptier this week. I did have to through away a rotten apple and some grapes.

Night all. Speak soon

Jarus

Anyway at least I've made a start

Firemunchkin

Veg peelings make great stock - and best of all it's made from stuff you were going to chuck anyway. I do it all the time - but not with potatoes as it tends to go a bit more 'soupy'. Just keep a large plastic tub in the freezer for your peelings.

Bananas always mash and freeze, great for baking. Combine with a few soft carrots for a yummy carrot cake.

Red & green peppers - look up Painted Hills Potatoes - fab and fun recipe.

Humus - combine with LO chicken to make yummy moroccan flat breads.

Cream cheese- mix with leeks and tomatoes and make a savory crumble - one of my face dishes at the mo. Also great for any pasta sauce or baking with some fish, stuffing inside chicken breasts...

Spinach - make a batch of sag aloo and freeze for a future curry night!! Freezes really well.

We bought a 2nd freezer and have never looked back!!

ej22

I would like to join please if this thread is starting up again and try to only throw away 10 pounds worth of food this month.
That might be far too much but I have no idea how much my waste costs.

meg72

Firemunchkin wrote: »

Veg peelings make great stock - and best of all it's made from stuff you were going to chuck anyway. I do it all the time - but not with potatoes as it tends to go a bit more 'soupy'. Just keep a large plastic tub in the freezer for your peelings/QUOTE]

I always used to do this but read an article saying that washing does not remove someof the sprays and chemicals used so I stopped doing it. Would love to know what others think as it was a great way to make stock.

camNolliesMUMMY

Managed to rescue a sorry looking tomato and chucked in our hm South Indian tikka masala sauce

RedLass

Firemunchkin wrote: »

Red & green peppers - look up Painted Hills Potatoes - fab and fun recipe.

Thanks for this! I have been trying to find a way of using green peppers because I've got a bag full of them sliced up in the freezer (I prefer red/orange/yellow).

In the fridge I have some slices of ham that need using up ASAP and some cherry toms that are going a little soft. So I think it's going to be Painted Hills Potatoes with a ham and tommy omlette :beer:

Firemunchkin

Since joining this thread I have fallen in love with my slightly overdue fruit and veg - and I've started BUYING less in the supermarkets. We really have saved around £20 or so each week because of being more organised with meal plans going only on what's in the fridge. We've even started cancelling 1 or 2 veg boxes a month because we're still working through the previous week's. Thankfully the stuff we get is really good quality so it lasts well, that is something to consider when buying your fruit and veg. We pay roughly £13 for a weekly organic veg box which is sized for roughly 2-3 people (although it regularly lasts us 2 for two weeks), it's all seasonable produce and locally sourced so we're very happy supporting local farmers and keeping our carbon footprint down. On top of that there's a great variety of veg and it lasts amazingly well. Seriously - I have a pointed cabbage 2 weeks old in the fridge which looks brand new. Can't fault that. I personally find it's much better value.

Each week we check what's in the fridge and write it down as a list (on the back of an old envelope that came in the mail) with an asterix on the ones which need using up first. Then we work out what we can do with everything for the coming week and whether or not we need an extra box. If we don't then we cancel the delivery - thus saving us £13 or so.

It also means I can make the veg stock with the peelings/trimmings cos there's none of those nasty chemicals on it. If you feel that strongly about the chemicals then maybe you should consider going organic - those chemicals get into the rest of the vegetable or fruit not just the skin. It's part of the growing process. Even more value!!

Having a second freezer has really helped with this - we got one for around £150 and it's really paying it's way already. I've got blueberries, mashed bananas, breadcrumbs, LO pastry, blackcurrants, raspberries, cherries, veg peelings, chicken stock, veg stock, HM tomato sauce (made with a huge £3.99 batch of vine tomatoes and a 99p batch of basil from the local Turkish shop), reduced price pizza, huge batch of chicken breasts, bacon and mince beef from Smithfields (saves us a fortune), portion of cottage pie, sag aloo, chicken & mushroom stew, tortillas, loaf of bread, 1/2 pint of milk, fruit prepared for a crumble, herbs and lots more. Hope that gives you an idea of what you can save.

Right now my challenge is how to not waste a chicken and mushroom stew that went wrong - I'm hoping to turn it into a soup over the weekend. Not sure how yet, but will post how I manage it here!!

Have you thought about stuffing the tomatoes into a chicken breast or something similar? That would go really nicely with the painted hills potatoes...

Firemunchkin

I managed to rescue my gone wrong stew. It was a chicken & mushroom stew with dumplings, but it ended up very bland and really not that nice. I picked it apart - separated the chicken, the mushrooms/onions and the dumplings. I made the chicken into a chicken & sweetcorn soup - and it worked beautifully. We're having it for dinner tonight and tomorrow. I'm really pleased. The mushrooms I've frozen for a future stock. My last task is to try and rescue those dumplings - any thoughts?

Poppy7

I need to join this.
I would throw away a HUGE amount of food. I have a problem with food from being ill with cancer when a teenager. I really hate thinking of food, something I'm determined to change.

Going to do an inventory today and see what I can make from what I have.
I tend to buy fresh stuff which rarely last. Only a few times a year do I buy frozen ready meals. Other than frozen veg.
Any tips welcome. :-)

camNolliesMUMMY

Well something smelt abit funky in our fridge this morning
Bean sprouts in my salad crisper were slimey, thought in the week if chuck thm in the freezer but forgot.
So I've cleaned the fridge and all the veggies in their I've sliced and diced then frozen.
Some bananas were going black so I peeled and frozen three whole.
And I've put a bag in one draw for leftovers so I can find them straight away, so far I have.
One piece of sfc thigh.
Some frozen coconut milk about half a tin.
A tub of egg fried rice
Chicken Chow mien
Oxtail
Half a tin of gunga peas
Half a tin of kidney beans
And half a dish of apple crumble from last Sunday which I've taken out to defrost for today

But I've wasted on my bean sprouts roughly 25p. Learnt my lesson that's why I've sorted the fridge.