Although this blog is primarily about food, reducing all waste is important to me.
Over the last couple months I have hosted a few events with reducing waste in mind. Reducing your waste is not just about not throwing things out, but also limiting your consumption. I hosted two baby related events to allow moms to buy and sell their used items and clothing. Both were a great success despite bad weather and we raised $135 for the Hospice House.
Last weekend, I hosted a clothing swap with some girlfriends. This one was the most fun. If you haven't been to one before I urge you to set one up with friends. It's very simple to do. Invite a few girlfriends over and ask them to bring gently used clothes and accessories. We organized them into piles; skirts, summer, accessories, etc. Everyone tried on clothes for the first half hour and then the swapping began. Based on random numbers, everyone had a minute to select 3 items. If you didn't like how they fit, you threw them back and chose 4 the next round. Once everyone was happy with what they had we had a free for all, taking whatever you wanted. We ended up with two ginormous tubs for the Hospice House thrift store and we all came away excited about the new clothes we picked up. The most important thing is to have enough committed people invited. Of the 13 who rsvp'd only 5 showed up. It won't work if only 3 of you come, so make sure people are committed.
Friday, February 25, 2011
February Fail
There has been mass amounts of food in the garbage so for this month. So let's begin the justification of why it's not my fault. lol I joke, but it does seem like a pattern.
The Good: I made a couple delicious cupboard/fridge meals. Just by combining things I had to use up. The curry I made was fantastic and I won't be able to recreate it again. We also used up a tray of Jello shooters leftover from a party. Yay us!
The Bad: I made a giant pot of "The Best French Onion Soup Ever" It did not live up to the hype. I struggled to finish it off and threw out a bowl. I do believe the amount of delicious leftovers taken from my mom's house had a part to play. Today I threw out 1/4 cup of organic yogurt. Well, that should have been thrown out 10 days ago. eep! I did ask Kris to finish it when it was a few days part it's expiry, but that didn't happen. I have an issue with near expired dairy. Those are the two things I will take full credit for.
The Ugly: I cleared out my mom's fridge after a party at her request. Once I got it home, I realized the 7-layer dip was already expired. Almost a full container trashed. There were also two pre-made chip dips. I had full intentions of finishing these- they were good till March 8. Have you ever looked at the ingredients on these? Oh man, I was not eating this on it's own or hidden in something else. I will stick to my Epicure dips.
The Good: I made a couple delicious cupboard/fridge meals. Just by combining things I had to use up. The curry I made was fantastic and I won't be able to recreate it again. We also used up a tray of Jello shooters leftover from a party. Yay us!
The Bad: I made a giant pot of "The Best French Onion Soup Ever" It did not live up to the hype. I struggled to finish it off and threw out a bowl. I do believe the amount of delicious leftovers taken from my mom's house had a part to play. Today I threw out 1/4 cup of organic yogurt. Well, that should have been thrown out 10 days ago. eep! I did ask Kris to finish it when it was a few days part it's expiry, but that didn't happen. I have an issue with near expired dairy. Those are the two things I will take full credit for.
The Ugly: I cleared out my mom's fridge after a party at her request. Once I got it home, I realized the 7-layer dip was already expired. Almost a full container trashed. There were also two pre-made chip dips. I had full intentions of finishing these- they were good till March 8. Have you ever looked at the ingredients on these? Oh man, I was not eating this on it's own or hidden in something else. I will stick to my Epicure dips.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Questions: Shopping Tips
I had a couple chats with people on what exactly I am doing to not waste any food. One my aunt asked was if I shop everyday.
No. We get produce maybe once a week and one big shop a month. What this means is that usually our fridge or cupboards look very barebones when it is near shopping time. I don't get food when we still have some available. That is where you have food piled in and you loose track of what you have. I also like it when the cupboards are bare. It forces you to get creative with what you have and use up that stuff that has been pushed to the back.
You don't have to be organized to do this, in fact it is an unorganized way of shopping and cooking. I use what I have. I eat what's available. Couldn't be easier. I am finding it takes the power out of food. I don't eat what I want. I eat what I have to eat. I can find happiness from things other than food.....
No. We get produce maybe once a week and one big shop a month. What this means is that usually our fridge or cupboards look very barebones when it is near shopping time. I don't get food when we still have some available. That is where you have food piled in and you loose track of what you have. I also like it when the cupboards are bare. It forces you to get creative with what you have and use up that stuff that has been pushed to the back.
You don't have to be organized to do this, in fact it is an unorganized way of shopping and cooking. I use what I have. I eat what's available. Couldn't be easier. I am finding it takes the power out of food. I don't eat what I want. I eat what I have to eat. I can find happiness from things other than food.....
January in review
One full month done. Was it easy? Kinda Could I have done better? You bet.
The end of the month had me throwing away 1/4 cup of a starbucks latte. Much to the shock and horror of my auntie. I don't have a problem reheating coffee, but the last syrupy bottom of a latte, I couldn't stomach it. Another reason I don't drink Starbucks.
Other than that nothing hit the trash. Not bad for the month right? I am feeling a bit guilty about those 2010 purchases that have been thrown away. I thought it was time to make use of this bag of nuts that had been in the cupboard forever. Added them to some food before realizing they were rotten. It was probably two years old, but it pained me to put it in the garbage. I also feel bad about the food the girls don't eat. Maybe the baby has a half a banana and decides she doesn't want it. In our house, we go with "I decide what and when they eat, they decide how much and if they eat" I don't make them be a part of the clean plate club, so sometimes that means a half a bowl of food gets tossed. In some cases, I can wrap it up for later, but other times that's just not possible.
The end of the month had me throwing away 1/4 cup of a starbucks latte. Much to the shock and horror of my auntie. I don't have a problem reheating coffee, but the last syrupy bottom of a latte, I couldn't stomach it. Another reason I don't drink Starbucks.
Other than that nothing hit the trash. Not bad for the month right? I am feeling a bit guilty about those 2010 purchases that have been thrown away. I thought it was time to make use of this bag of nuts that had been in the cupboard forever. Added them to some food before realizing they were rotten. It was probably two years old, but it pained me to put it in the garbage. I also feel bad about the food the girls don't eat. Maybe the baby has a half a banana and decides she doesn't want it. In our house, we go with "I decide what and when they eat, they decide how much and if they eat" I don't make them be a part of the clean plate club, so sometimes that means a half a bowl of food gets tossed. In some cases, I can wrap it up for later, but other times that's just not possible.
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