24 replies to this topic

[Mishelle]

This is a bit late for Earth Day but I really wanted to make this thread I just forgot to. 

 

So I recently found out that the US wastes 40% of the food is produces and I realize that I've been totally contributing to that. I used to waste a lot of food due to shopping for food but then not making the time to cook it so it would go bad. Now I've made an effort to cook more because it's not only a waste of food it's a waste of my money that I could be spending on something else (like drugs).

 

 

So, how much food do you waste? Do you make an effort to not waste food?

 

Since I've made an effort to cook more food I've been coming up with some interesting food combinations.

Edited by Mishelle, 03 May 2015 - 09:03 AM.

[Shane]

I buy less food, and try to cook it all in time now. I used to be a lot worse than I am now. Also my other half tends to waste left overs.

[Shannon]

At home I make a huuuuge effort to not waste food. We only buy what we know we can finish before it spoils, and we buy our ingredients based on the meals we plan to eat for the week. When I go out to eat, I usually try to share with a friend because I don't like big portions. If there's no one to share with, I'll try and bring the leftovers home. Sometimes, my body betrays me and my food will get to the table and I'm not hungry anymore - oh, shit. I get super embarrassed when this happens because even though I physically can't eat without vomiting, I don't want to look like that person who takes food for granted. I'll box it up and bring it home of I can, but damn it sucks. When I can't find a way to take the uneaten food with me, not only have I wasted food, but I've wasted money. Both shitty things.

[Ali]

Almost none. I write meal plans on Sunday, buy only the ingredients I need, shop so that everything will be in date on the night it's needed.

Gets ruined when I have spontaneous dinner plans.

[Swar]

Little to none. We rarely eat at home, so we don't buy too much food, and there's my dad. If there's food left from any meal, he'll eat it.

[Norava]

I'm a really bad leftover waster. I don't mind eating left overs, but after a certain threshold I won't eat them anymore. That tends to be the majority of what I throw away. I don't mind eating chicken / rice later in the week. But some stuff grosses me out after it gets "old". 

[NapisaurusRex]

Wasting food bothers me, because I work so hard to make everything, I guess. I grind up and drink eggshells, use onion and garlic skins in bone broth (as well as bones, obviously), and eat the tops of things like carrots, beets, and radishes. I compost and use citrus peels to keep bugs away. I never peel potatoes or carrots, I eat the peels on them.

[Mishelle]

Wasting food bothers me, because I work so hard to make everything, I guess. I grind up and drink eggshells, use onion and garlic skins in bone broth (as well as bones, obviously), and eat the tops of things like carrots, beets, and radishes. I compost and use citrus peels to keep bugs away. I never peel potatoes or carrots, I eat the peels on them.

 

You are my sustainability queen 

[Waser Lave]

I don't waste much because I tend to only make as much as I can eat and I don't really take any notice of use-by dates so I'll happily eat things which are days or weeks out of date (excluding things which would be stupid to eat out of date like meat, of course). Then I compost as much as I can of things like vegetable peelings and used tea bags etc so not much gets thrown away really.

[Code]

We never really waste food (probably cause we are asian heh) We even eat expired foods if they are just a day or two over... which I don't think it's the best habit. Anyways, feels like wasting money when I'm wasting food so I don't do it =w=

[Emily]

I don't get to go to the grocery store a lot so everything gets eaten. My roommates waste a lot of food though. Some of their stuff has been sitting in the fridge for weeks (gross). 

[Karla]

Personally, I try not to waste food.  I buy food that I eat, and I eat what I buy.

 

However my folks insist on stocking out fridge and pantry with food, and it hardly ever gets eaten because no one likes it. And my mother always wonders why no one eats the food. XD

[pancakeface]

I take expiry dates as suggestions (except for dairy, don't mess with dairy) because I rather check the food itself for spoilage.

 

I follow a system of leftover management where you can always make something out of leftovers.Basically, if have recipes on hand for what I can do with leftovers.

 

Leftover bread? Delicious for Toasties/Bread pudding

Leftover meat/fish? Good for tomorrow's salad/sandwich.

Leftover veggies? Depends on what you have, but you can generally make vegetable soup or stir fries out of anything

[jinq]

I waste little but I know a friend who keeps forgetting his lunch bag at school, a few times without eating his lunch.

[MariliisR]

I have been making an effort not to waste food for a while now. Sometimes I fail but I am making an effort. 

On a positive note France banned grocery stores from throwing out food that's still edible

[Foxi]

The people in my house (mostly my brothers) do not believe in leftovers. I can only eat so much so sometimes stuff just goes bad and is tossed out.

[Kaddict]

I don't like wasting food. Not because I care about the earth but because I care about my bank account. That having been said, I almost waste no food. My home energy bill is about 1/3 what other houses my size/age use etc. We use WAY less water than most households. Again, no offense earth, but me saving money is a more immediately important and will causes me to change my behaviors with much more force.

[NapisaurusRex]

I thought of a few more things I do... I freeze leftovers instead of sticking them in the fridge and we eat them some day when I feel lazy.

 

I also use expired dairy, even though that isn't a thing, I guess. As long as it isn't moldy, I use it. Sour milk goes well in bread and biscuits.

[Rocket]

I'm a huge waster of food and it really kinda pisses me off sometimes. Like I'll have a bunch of good veggies in the fridge but then I'll get lazy and order out instead of cooking at home, and next thing I know I'm throwing out old smelly veggies.

 

Also with leftovers, I think I'm going to eat it in the next day or two but I change my mind and then they go bad

[Kaddict]

I thought of a few more things I do... I freeze leftovers instead of sticking them in the fridge and we eat them some day when I feel lazy.

 

I also use expired dairy, even though that isn't a thing, I guess. As long as it isn't moldy, I use it. Sour milk goes well in bread and biscuits.

I am eating a thing of 10 days past expiration greek yogurt right now! I am just imagining these chunks are here because it is greek yogurt.

[psieks]

I try to eat everything in one sitting, which leads to overeating if I misportion a meal. Another thing I do to prevent grocery trips (the store is near enough to go on foot) is purchase bulk dried foods that don't go bad easily. They tend to not be as healthy as fresh vegetables or meats, or as interesting, but they definitely last enough to save me when I can't make it out for any reason.

[Eggie]

My house rarely wastes food. We live close to several grocery stores, so we're able to stop by every few days to pick up fresh fruits and veggies (which go REALLY fast in my house). Everything else - brown rice, couscous, whole wheat bread, chicken breasts, instant mashed potatoes, fish filets, brown pasta, marinara sauce, etc. we buy in bulk and store in our pantry and deep freezer. I make dishes that incorporate lots of leftover veggies whenever I find that some are starting to go bad.

 

Before we got a deep freezer we used to buy fresh chicken breasts nearly every day which got extremely expensive. Since getting one we've saved a hell of a lot of money.

[talbs]

I'm a huge waster of food and it really kinda pisses me off sometimes. Like I'll have a bunch of good veggies in the fridge but then I'll get lazy and order out instead of cooking at home, and next thing I know I'm throwing out old smelly veggies.

 

Also with leftovers, I think I'm going to eat it in the next day or two but I change my mind and then they go bad

 

This is how I am. I always buy stuff with the intent of making it, and then I never get around to it.

[Cyo]

I generally waste nothing when it comes to food. Probably has to do with how I was raised and my mom turning into a thundercunt when I didn't finish my plate.

[pikapi314]

I try to waste as little food as possible.

We have a garden and get a lot of our vegetables from that in the summer, and give away what we know we won't be able to eat. If food does end up spoiling it gets thrown away though, I've been wanting to start a compost pile for a while but haven't gotten around to it yet. 

In regards to saving leftovers I usually do that as well. The other day I didn't finish the coffee I bought on the way home, so I froze it and blended it into my ice coffee today.