Published in November 2009, a research study entitled "The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact" revealed several telling facts about our culture's attitude toward food, namely...as the years have progressed, we've increasingly wasted a higher volume of perfectly good eats. In fact, they determined that we currently discard 40% of the food that we produce in this nation and since 1974, the average United States citizen has given the heave-ho to 50% more edibles. But we like to eat, right? Sometimes even a little too much. Why are we ditching stuff that is capable of nourishing our bodies?
Perhaps we really need to shake the notion that everything must be first-day-fresh or picture-perfect in order for us to consume it. There's always a quick fix for bruised produce - for those who are really turned off, just cut off the unsightly bits and dice up the remaining part in a salad, casserole or crock pot meal. Another great option is to drop beat-up fruits and veggies into a food processor or juicer. When major food manufacturers cook up humungous vats of sauces, soups and juices prior to bottling them for our convenience, it's highly unlikely that anything is plucked straight off the vine...and I highly doubt that they remove the gnarly fruits and veggies first. Remarkably, we never even notice the difference. Here are some ideas on how to squeeze life out of the edible food that you might have previously relegated to the garbage can:
1) Become intimately familiar with your kitchen tools -- these masters of convenience can help mask a world of food sins. Cheese with moldy spots can be strategically carved, with the remaining "safe part" perfectly suitable for the shredder -- ditto for look-what-the-cat-dragged-in bread. Food processors and blenders are capable of transforming worse for the wear eats into basic staples that can help you to enrich your daily meals.
2) Freeze everything that isn't nailed down for future use. Leftover tomato paste, fresh herbs, chicken broth, red wine, ripe fruit, eggs and yogurt are just some of the countless items that can be portioned into empty ice cube trays, frozen rock-solid and then popped out into labeled heavy-duty freezer bags. Those cubes will come in handy the next time you want to enrich homemade soups or sauces...or the next time you get a hankering for a smoothie.
3) Think before you chuck. Despite what the majority thinks, broccoli stems are just as edible as the florets and can be shredded and disguised in countless entrees. Parsley stems? Same deal...chop and mix them up in your next batch of meatballs. Citrus peels? Wash them thoroughly to remove all traces of bacteria, food grade resin, etc. and zest the rind. That nutrient-dense payload will not only give your baked goods pizzazz but will also wake up your next Asian stir fry and infuse a cheap bottle of booze with fantastic citrus flavor. Last but not least...many veggie peels may not exactly be our idea of good eatin', but you can give them one last hurrah before composting them by tucking them into a piece of cheese cloth and making them the star of your next fantastic homemade veggie stock. You can also tap into their natural dying properties the next time you feel like getting crafty or desire a safer way to tint a batch of Easter Eggs.
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