Now is a good time to think about food waste

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Now is a good time to think about food waste

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As the supermarket shelves empty due to panic stockpiling, now is not a bad time to think about how you buy, use and dispose of food. In the current circumstances, buying what you don't need/more than you need may be depriving someone else who does actually need it. My mother, for example, could not find bread nor eggs, forcing her to repeatedly venture to the supermarkets in search of them, putting herself at risk (she is elderly and has a heart condition, so is in the top 1% of people at risk of dying from COVID-19).

 

The people who can help her with her shopping either do not have the transport to do so or, by the time they finish work and can go to the shops, the shelves are empty. Online delivery is not an option as all the slots here have been booked into next month by people stockpiling. She is not the worst off. She is still mobile. Some people are not. Some people have even more serious conditions that put them at even more risk. Many supermarkets here in the UK have started rationing certain products and/or introducing shopping slots for the elderly and disabled, but still the shelves are empty of certain necessities.

 

Please people, stop stockpiling and have a thought for others!

 

In addition, did you know that around one third of the food produced around the world goes to waste? Did you know that this waste accounts for something like 8-10% of the world's greenhouse gases, so is seriously damaging our environment and our future?

 

Apart from buying less, I have a few suggestions:

 

- Keep an eye on what you have in your fridge and kitchen and try to use it before it goes off. There are eco friendly devices that can help keep vegetables etc. fresher for longer and there are Apps that help you to plan recipes around what you already have.

- For those of you in areas where supermarkets, local convenience stores, restaurants, cafes, bakeries etc. etc. are still operating, there may be Apps that allow you to buy unsold food that is still fresh, but would otherwise be thrown away, at discounted prices. You save money, you help to save the environment, and you might just be helping to save businesses that are really struggling to survive right now. It is better for them to get something, rather than nothing, for unsold food. Apps in the UK (might be available elsewhere, I'm not sure), include Karma and Too Good to Go.

- Go through your freezer and larder. Is there stuff lurking in there that you could use for your next meal? Get creative with recipes so you don't automatically have to go and buy more food. Think about what you could donate to a food bank or similar charity. There are also Apps where you can give unwanted food to your neighbours.

- Talking of the freezer, it's very easy to freeze bread, fruit and all sorts of things before they go off so they can be consumed later. Do be mindful though of food safety and don't refreeze stuff that it's not safe to do.

- If you have time on your hands, which many of us do, or are looking for ways to keep young ones occupied, think about using some of your foodstuffs to make jams, chutneys etc. Over ripe bananas are perfect for making banana cake/bread and I recently made up a few jars of chutney from courgettes and tomatoes I knew I wouldn't get through. If you put them in nice jars and label them, these can make great homemade gifts. 

- Is bread scarce at your supermarket? Think about baking your own, especially if you have that "unwanted gift" of a breadmaker sitting around. I bet if you baked it yourself, you would be more reluctant to throw it away!

- Inevitably, you will have some scraps to throw away, such as peelings, egg shells, used tea bags and coffee grounds. If your local council has a food waste collection scheme, please use it. If you have a garden, try composting (could save you money too, as well as reducing the environmentally damaging peat based compost you might be buying). 

 

I am slowing working through my cupboards and freezer. I am actually astounded by how often I think, "I have nothing to eat.. better pop to the shops," when actually I have lots of food. Previous guests leave so much behind. Don't throw it away! Think of how you might use it, or give it to someone who will.

 

106 Replies 106

I throw bananas that have gotten past their prime in the freezer right in their casings.  No need to scoop them out into another container first.  The peel keeps them from becoming freezer burned and they can last in the freezer for quite a long time.  Just be sure to place them on a plate or something when you take them out to thaw for something like banana bread as they will get very moist and you'll end up with banana juice all over the place otherwise. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Jody79  Ah okay.

 

So now I'm not sure whether to peel or not peel the bananas before freezing as getting differing advice. Certainly not the biggest dilmemna I wil face today!

 

I chucked them in with the peel on, so will try next time to peel them first and see which works best.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Jody79 

 

When you said moist, I had no idea quite what you meant. I thought I could use the frozen bananas in smoothies, but they just defrosted into brown mush. Maybe good for banana bread or cake, but not sure what else. Perhaps I am doing something wrong.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Mark116  My Canadian friends said the same thing is being done there, at least in my former town. Grocery stores are opeing from 7-9 AM exclusively for seniors to get their shopping done. A great many seniors (although not me) tend to wake up before dawn anyway, so shopping then isn't a real hardship.

Ditto on the compost issue- been composting for the last 40 years, and it disgusts and confounds me to see garbage bags full of compostable material.  My guests have almost all been really environmentally aware- they'll often ask me if I have a compost pail and if I have a recycle box before I even get around to initiating that conversation.

I have a large compost bin in my garden, divided into 2 sections, so when one side is full, it can be left to cook down while I start filling the other side. Then I have a screen that fits on top on my wheelbarrow, and I screen the finished compost and end up with wheelbarrows full of fluffy, humusy soil. While my neighbors, who don't bother with a compost bin go to the nursery and buy bagsful of potting mix and fertilizers.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Linda108  I have put some over ripe bananas in the freezer to use for smoothies but wasn’t sure how it would turn out. Will definitely give it a go now. Good to keep up those vitamins these days too!. Soup is another good suggestion that is also great for freezing.

 

Yes, your mother was from that generation that that learnt how to make do and mend - the total opposite of what we have now. Although sustainability is one of the most popular buzzwords, from what I have seen having lots of young guests in and out of my house, most of them don’t think about it for a second. They might talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk.

 

i am not saying that everyone will now become less wasteful because of this pandemic. It would be naive to think that. But maybe it will make some people think twice when, for a time, they don’t have immediate access to everything they want and think they need.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Linda108  Doggie ice cream- you mean to feed to the dog? Mine might eat the yoghurt and peanut butter, but the banana? Never. Only fruit or veggie she'll eat is avocado. I can put leftover beef stew in her bowl and she'll lick the potatoes and carrots clean and leave them sitting in her bowl, even though they've been cooking in meat juice for hours :-))

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Sarah977 My greedy cat (who is actually a dog trapped in a cat’s body) will also eat avocado and, weirdly, asparagus. Won’t touch any other fruit and veg.

@Sarah977  I might be wrong but I thought avocado was toxic for dogs? 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Oh and I didn’t mention anything about growing your own fruit, veg an herbs. I am not good with that stuff in my shady garden but maybe other people have tips? My mother grew an abundance tomatoes, aubergines/eggplant, chillis and all sorts on her sunny terrace until the squirrels came and stole the lot! 

@Huma0 Is your garden in full shade all day? If it gets at least a few hours of sun, you should be able to grow salad greens like lettuce, spinach, chives, swiss chard, etc. They grow quickly and leafy greens are the best veggies we could be eating right now, full of vitamins and minerals and disease-fighting compounds.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Sarah977 

 

One side of the garden does get a bit of sun earlier in the day, but unfortunately, we don't get that many sunny days overall. Space is also very limited, as it's mostly paved with a skinny flower bed on each side, one in total shade. I have some containers also.

 

The roof terrace above the kitchen extension gets a bit more sun and I used to successfully grow some annuals up there, amongst other things. However, it started leaking very badly and the roof had to be redone, which was very costly. The roofers told me not to keep so many pots on it, so I have now limited it to a few small pots. There are some herbs growing there as well as flowers, but I think my gardening skills are a bit hit and miss! The herbs will do very well for a while and then suddenly die 😞

Sally221
Level 10
Berkeley, CA

Here's a few thoughts on those ripe bananas- peel them before you freeze them, it's a hassle getting the skins off otherwise & consider the merits of dipping frozen banana chunks into melted chocolate and re-chilling or rolling in cocoa powder as an alternative. You can puree the banana  & spread it on slices of stale bread sprinkle on a little sugar and run it under the broiler for a scant few minutes to caramelize & of course, banana daiquiris!  

  Sometimes the problem with starting a compost pile is lots of  rich & soggy stuff (kitchen waste) and not enough dry & less rich stuff- dried leaves & grasses etc.- that's when one gets the stinky, slimy anaerobic stuff. You can shred up new paper and mix it in  if you don't have access to lots of leaves.

If your garden is a mossy and ferny grotto of tranquility then consider window boxes as a place to grow a few fresh herbs, if that isn't practicable perhaps sprout some seeds or beans. Sunflower seed sprouts are buttery, cress sprouts are peppery & mung bean sprouts are crunchy. On the subject of alfalfa sprouts I will not comment.

 

I always add finely chopped carrot tops to soups when I have carrots with tops & lettuce that is wilted but still edible is also a enriching layer of flavor minced and simmered into soup.

We have been baking our own bread for decades & it was a wee bit annoying when flour became a panic buying target (finally found some at the Asian market) I hope folks follow thru & try doing their own baking- it's pretty easy and what a comforting aroma!  I use a  lot of beans in my cooking, being a reluctant vegan and have finally managed to successfully soak & simmer black chana (garbanzo, chickpea ) into something succulent. This has been on my bucket list for a long time, especially after my favorite Indian restaurant changed hands & the new owners didn't want to bother with the old recipe & swapped out for regular chana. The black chana take a very very very long time to finish cooking so I can almost see their point but the flavor is something else!

I am still using the stupid "lavender scented" toilet paper for my sins  - I bought a case of normal stuff to not inflict the other on Tom & he also bought some to avoid using the funky stuff plus, there's the supply we kept for guests. Our neighbors know where to go if they run low. How much can anyone go thru in a month, anyway?   XO Sally

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Sally221  next time I will peel the bananas first! I didn't think about that and just chucked them in the freezer, skins and all.

 

@Sarah977 @Sally221  When I was attempting to compost myself, rather than using the council's scheme, I would add shredded egg boxes, cereal boxes and the cardboard you get inside toilet rolls. So, I never got that slimey mush. I had the opposite problem. Nothing seems to actually decompose in there, and yes I did try adding the compost accelerator powder. My housemate at the time kindly used to stir it for me, but he would report back that there was food sitting in there still looking fresh after months! I just don't get it.

 

Only conclusion is that it just wouldn't work where it was sitting, i.e. in full shade, or that I just have an ineffective composter. I went for style over substance. It's wooden, painted and looks like a beehive, so is much prettier than the usual ones.

@Huma0  Hmm, that is odd.  We are super lazy composters, we definitely don't hose it down and turn it as often as directions indicate. We basically throw stuff in there, turn it every few weeks, we don't put all the leaves from the yard in the composter, but we end up with 1 or 2 bins full of very black soil every year.  The composter is in a back corner in the yard, so pretty shady but possibly the hot, hot summers are doing our work for us?  The only paper we put in the composter is the tea bags though.

 

Also, let me put in a good word for quick bread for using overripe fruits.  It is so easy even I can do it, no yeast.  Just flour, sugar, baking powder & soda, oil or butter and voila.  A loaf of bread.  They can also be made savory instead of sweet. 

 

We have trouble growing vegetables since we planted a giant maple tree in the back yard which grew about 10x faster than we had expected so the back yard is super shady now.  We only do herbs and usually 1 tomato plant or 1 hot pepper plant.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Mark116 

 

Yes it is a bit strange. I gave up on it, but maybe will give it another go this year when the temperatures warm up. It's still very cold and wintery here right now.

 

I have, however, had success in making leaf mould, so that's what I do with all those fallen leaves. It takes a bit longer in my garden than perhaps in others, but gets there eventually. I have a big bag ready for spring planting and mulching and another in progress for next year.  The rest of the garden waste goes into the council composting scheme.

 

My garden will soon be overrun with squirrels. The little critters already steal my tulip and crocus bulbs, but I am sure would be all over the veggies unless they were very well protected. My three cats are no help. They realised ages ago that it's really hard to catch a squirrel!