Green Food Tips

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Care on January 11, 2010 at 8:23pm

Since there are only two of us, we will generally (chop and freeze) half of the veggies that we buy.

I have found that this works really well with most vegetables, and it allows us to ensure that we are not wasting food.

When we get home from the grocery store, I will chop up half or all of our veggies. I'll generally make a big salad and put it in the fridge for lunches and dinners, but I will put the peppers, zuchini, carotts, celeri, snow peas etc... chopped up in plastic ziplock baggies (which I simply rinse and re-use). I've found that it works best to fill each baggy with one layer of veggies and then suck out all the air.

I put all the baggies in a square container in our freezer, and then whenever we need veggies for a meal, we'll just take out the veggies and stir-fry them or add them to a sauce, etc... This way we only ever need to buy one or two veggies at the market or grocery store at a time, but we still have a great selection in the freezer, so it saves money too.

Sometimes I'll even mix together a variety of veggies in the same baggy and then I can just dump the baggie in a pan and make some rice and we're good to go! A super quick healthy dinner on the fly!

We also usually freeze half of our bread products, everything from english muffins to hamburger buns. (I usually slice bagels before freezing them). We will then just take out one or two the night before and put it in the fridge. This way our bread dosnt go stale.

What do you do to avoid wasting food?

Permalink Reply by Erica Love on January 13, 2010 at 6:14pm

Im a big soup fan. I find that I use up my weekly veggies quite quickly, as I'm a vegetarian and eat them daily, but I do always have a few left over and find that I can put them all in a big pot, boil with stock and make a basic soup. You can add rice or noodles for a little extra. Also, if you are anything like me and love veggie stock, I just discovered that if you keep all your veg scraps for two days and then boil them down with water you can make your own and freeze it for convenience. It contains way less sodium and you can even add your own seasoning. Love it!

Care said:

Since there are only two of us, we will generally (chop and freeze) half of the veggies that we buy.

I have found that this works really well with most vegetables, and it allows us to ensure that we are not wasting food.

When we get home from the grocery store, I will chop up half or all of our veggies. I'll generally make a big salad and put it in the fridge for lunches and dinners, but I will put the peppers, zuchini, carotts, celeri, snow peas etc... chopped up in plastic ziplock baggies (which I simply rinse and re-use). I've found that it works best to fill each baggy with one layer of veggies and then suck out all the air.

I put all the baggies in a square container in our freezer, and then whenever we need veggies for a meal, we'll just take out the veggies and stir-fry them or add them to a sauce, etc... This way we only ever need to buy one or two veggies at the market or grocery store at a time, but we still have a great selection in the freezer, so it saves money too.

Sometimes I'll even mix together a variety of veggies in the same baggy and then I can just dump the baggie in a pan and make some rice and we're good to go! A super quick healthy dinner on the fly!

We also usually freeze half of our bread products, everything from english muffins to hamburger buns. (I usually slice bagels before freezing them). We will then just take out one or two the night before and put it in the fridge. This way our bread dosnt go stale.

What do you do to avoid wasting food?

Permalink Reply by Erica Love on April 13, 2010 at 10:13am

I just discovered the joys of the juicer. By the end of the week, you usually have a few fruits or veggies that are ready to be tossed. Well, if you have a juicer, toss them in there. You don't see the brown marks or feel the softness of the fruit, you get all the wonderful goodness in a cup of juice. This produces less waste and a healthy intake of fruits and veggies.
Try kale, spinach, pear, and lemon if you have them. Delicious!