Food Waste Reconsidered – Part 2
by Helge Hellberg | May 17th, 2009Okay, it did not leave me alone. I want to make this a challenge of sorts (as if we don’t have enough challenges in our lives already…).
People have emailed me with great suggestions on how we can use the whole Enchilada – or the whole broccoli, that is, such as freezing carrot tops (not chopped yet – to keep the nutrients – and it’s also easier to chop them when they are frozen) to use them for making soup later, or to feed pets with cooked vegetable parts that are not used for a meal.
I am now collecting the 100 most useful and creative ideas on how to avoid food waste – so don’t waste your time and write them down!
The five best submissions will be rewarded a signed copy of the Organic Marin cook book (http://www.marinorganic.org/MO_Store/shopnow.php).
Please submit your ideas by May 31st, 2009 to Connect@HelgeHellberg.com.
Thank you, and good luck!
Wow, there is so much that is possible here for me to say. First of all, my husband brews organic beer, and we frequently have a lot of spent grain. This in general is composted because it works wonderfully well in the compost.
I don’t generate a lot of food waste, because compost is not waste, and I also raise chickens and alpacas, so any lettuce that bolts or kitchen scraps goes to them. I also put kitchen scraps in my can-o-worms, my porch vermiculture, so the worms get to eat.
Because I live on a cooperative, with other folks here, extra eggs get shared with the community, and I even use the shells in my gardening. Coffee grounds are a great way to repel snails and slugs from around my plants, and I even use the used coffee filters to use as a mulch around the plants. Coffee grounds themselves are a great slow release fertilizer. Roses love them, especially. Even cold coffee or tea goes into my house or garden plants, and they love it.
Having a dog takes care of any skins and fat from chicken or meat, but I always save the bones to put in stock. Old carrots, celery and onions can be thrown in a stock pot as well for stock, as long as they aren’t decomposing, just not up to par as fresh veggies, but are still useable for soup. Throw them in the freezer if you need to wait.
Stale bread that is not moldy can be used for bread crumbs. Moldy bread? well that goes, again, in the compost.
It’s appalling how easy it is to waste food.
My only real puzzle is what to do with citrus skins because I’ve read they don’t work in the compost. Maybe you can answer that?
Love your new show, I hope it gets syndicated!
Regards,
Joy
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