Don't Throw Food Away Challenge

Firemunchkin

I just have to post this - I'm so chuffed with these two meals using up bits and bobs in the fridge/freezer!

Yesterday morning I thought I had taken out some fish from the freezer - it was fish night according to our menu. Unfortunately I got it wrong - the plastic bags looked exactly the same but I had actually taken out some ham. Not a lot of ham either, and I didn't know what we were going to do for dinner as a result. I looked in the fridge, we had a few tomatoes going spare, some mozarella which was nearing its use-by date and some eggs which needed using up. We made a spanish ommelette! It was amazing too - so pleased!

I also have loads of cabbage to use up at the moment, and instead of having to chow down on an entire plate of the stuff we've put a few finely sliced leaves into the odd casserole and stew. My lunch today is sausage casserole, in which I put some tiny orange peppers which were going soft, some past their best mushrooms, an onion, a couple of sliced cabbage leaves, some of the huge quantity of carrots and celery in the fridge, and some soft tomatoes - absolutely yummy!

We're having a freezer week next week - we've managed to accumulate frozen LO portions of katsu curry sauce, pulled pork, roast chicken, soups, curry, chilli, fish pie and sausage casseroles. Turns into an entire week's food without even stepping outside!

cornishchick

Hi all. Don't know if anyone knows this but found out today, love food hate waste will run a free work shop if you can get 10 or more people together and provide a venue, just contact them on their Web site.

Ken68

Bought, sliced and froze some bananas today.
Blitzed the skins, added a home made yogurt (5 pence) and froze in the ice cube thingy. Waste not Want not.

asparagus1968

Ken68 wrote: »

Bought, sliced and froze some bananas today.
Blitzed the skins, added a home made yogurt (5 pence) and froze in the ice cube thingy. Waste not Want not.

I didn't know banana skins were edible!
I only use then for shoe polishing

Frugalsod

poohspals wrote: »

I had made this my personal challenge of 2013 so it's lovely to have others doing the same. I had hoped to throw away £0 but don't want to start with such a high expectation - lets start with £5 please

I am very careful and I am struggling to think what I have thrown away. I do not even peel many items. My rubbish bin takes a couple of weeks to fill, and there is never any food in there at all. There may be the tops of carrots or radishes but nothing else, simply wash and cut and into the pot. I batch cook and will eat it before it is thrown away or frozen the day it is cooked. As I live alone it is easier to do.

By baking my own bread I only make it when I need it and so there is nothing wasted there. It is possible but I only buy what I need.

chinagirl

What can you make with banana skins???

dogmom_3

www.wikihow.com/Use-Banana-Peels
Here's some ideas!

Frugalsod

chinagirl wrote: »

What can you make with banana skins???

Make a video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZRq3XxCZXo

chinagirl

Many thanks for the link and hilarious banana peel video.:rotfl:

sparrer

I'm just watching a programme called Rip Off Britain:Food, which says the average household throws away £60-worth of produce a (here I though they were going to say year, but no) month!
As a mucky exercise I went through my food recycling bin, and have found half a melon skin and the seeds, two banana skins and a piece of soft potato - the rest of it was cooked as it was perfectly okay. That was three days worth of waste, I don't think it will add up to £6 a month, let alone £60 although to be fair there's only muttley and me at home. He gets all the waste veg, fat from the meat etc mixed up into home made dog biscuits.

Apparently 40% :eek: of what is grown commercially is wasted as 'not of suitable appearance for the consumer' but some supermarkets are beginning to sell what they're labelling as '2nds', ie fruit and veg that doesn't conform to appearance, straightness, no lumps and bumps etc (in other words what the home gardener grows!) at a very slightly reduced price.

The truth of what goes on to make money is horrific, I didn't realise we were being ripped off to that extent, or that we're such a wasteful nation. I know we live in a 'throw away' society but I didn't know it extended to about £2 worth of food a day!

I vote that everyone - the public and the food producers - should be made to subscribe to :money: