Lovin' those Leftovers

by Christine Chan — June 2, 2008

According to a study by the University of Arizona Garbage Project, Americans throw away 1.3 pounds of food every day, or 474.5 pounds per year. I am embarrassed to be as guilty of this as anyone. As a single person, I find it difficult to finish food before it goes bad. Here's a snapshot of my trash can at the end of the week: half a loaf of bread, stale crackers, half a soggy onion, limp carrots, and some leftovers that I couldn't bear to eat for yet another day. All of this waste could have been prevented if I had worked harder to portion and preserve my food before it became inedible. Reducing waste can save you money, time, and food in the landfill. Here are some tips for reducing food waste:

• Make a schedule of meals for the week and buy only the perishable ingredients that you need
• Check out http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes, a site that publishes healthy recipes for leftovers
• Freeze leftover wine in ice cube trays for cooking
• Freeze half a loaf of bread immediately
• Crusts and stale breads can be made into breadcrumbs and frozen, stale crackers can be used in meatloaf
• When you cook vegetables in water, save the broth to use for soup or coking later
• Blend the week's yogurt and fruit into smoothies for a weekend treat
• Compare the expiration dates on foods before you purchase them and choose the one with the latest date
• Save pasta and soup dinners for right before you go grocery shopping so that you can toss in leftover scraps of vegetables and dairy
• Save bones from roast chicken and boil them for soup

Please share your ideas!