As a culture we really need to learn to reduce our waste. Food waste is overwhelming in this country. Every day we throw out enough food to feed our hungry. The hungry people in your town, the next town over, the next state over. Unfortunately instead of putting this discarded food to good use, we throw it in our kitchen trash cans or dumpsters in the back alley.

If feeding the hungry isn’t enough incentive for you to stop wasting so much food, maybe saving money is. Just think how much money you could save by using everything that you possibly can while planning your weekly meals. I know it sounds bothersome and like too much work, but aren’t we all strapped for money? Aren’t we all looking for ways to stretch a dollar?

Since putting all of our money in to the house we bought 8 months ago, we’ve changed our way of shopping and cooking. We really try to only buy what we know we will use. Meaning, no more buying something with good intentions of using, but knowing it will probably sit there and rot. Each week we buy enough fresh produce to make a huge salad that we try to use up by the next shopping trip. Whatever is left that isn’t so appetizing anymore gets turned into stock for soup. Bones from the meat we eat are frozen and used for stock when the mood strikes us. Spoiled milk can be used for baking where buttermilk is called for.

My mother was famous for her garbage can casseroles. Once every couple of weeks, she would take all the leftovers that were on there way to the trash heap and put them all in a casserole dish, cover it with bread crumbs, bake it and call it dinner for 9. Yes, these concoctions were sometimes less than appetizing, but they got the job done and saved my parents from having to go grocery shopping for one more day. That meant a lot to them and it does for us too.
Tonight I made a fish stew which was delicious and thrifty. I made vegetable stock from the leftover salad vegetables, added potatoes, tilapia (cooked separately in butter) and frozen veggies. Miles had his pureed and loved it. We each had our fill and there is enough left for at least one more meal for all of us.

I am planning to start a compost pile this year to continue on my quest to reduce this family’s waste. A small one in the back yard should do. I need to get some advice from my parents on the subject, they’ve had one going for years. I know I could just look it up on the internet, but I like getting the personal feedback from them.

I know, it’s easy for me to do since I’m home all day and don’t have to work. Well actually I do work all day taking care of Miles, crocheting for my shop and attempting to maintain a home. So, if I have time to do it, maybe other people do too. How much effort does it take to pour a container of vegetables into a pot of water, let it boil, strain the veggies out and then add whatever you want in your soup? What I do is make the stock one day and the actual soup the next. That way it’s not so overwhelming. But, whatever, I’m on a rant. It just makes me feel better about how I feed my family to know that I’m not wasting valuable nutrients by tossing it in the garbage.

There is a very sad number of people that would be glad to have what we throw away everyday. Or, as your mother would say, “eat your dinner, there are children starving in Africa!”.