Cut Your Food Bills in Half
(Page 6 of 7)
February/March 2009
By Barbara Pleasant
But on a more everyday level, large gardens and small farms always produce more vegetables and fruits than can be picked or considered marketable. By talking with vendors at your local farmers market or networking through Freecycle, Craigslist or other free databases, you may be surprised at what you can get as long as your requests are keyed to the seasons. In early summer, offer to glean strawberries. In the fall, put out a request for bruised apples and pears, which are great for canning. And, when you hear that the first freeze is coming in a few days, call up gardeners or organic growers you know and ask if there is anything you can come and help pick. Be forewarned: Gardeners are incredibly generous people. Bring along lots of boxes and bags for greens, herbs and other end-of-season treasures.
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How Much Do You Waste?
A recent study from the University of Arizona shows that most people underestimate how much food they waste. For example, you might think you are tossing only about 1 percent of the food that goes through your kitchen, but the real number is probably closer to 15 percent! Some things will get lost in the refrigerator no matter what you do, but you can save money day after day by minimizing waste.
- Use leftovers by combining them in mysteriously delicious wraps, omelets or soups.
- Make smoothies from fruit (or veggies!) that will soon be overripe. Ripe unpeeled bananas will turn black if you freeze them, but they will still be fine for smoothies. Turn overripe apples into spicy applesauce.
- Make your own stocks and broths from meat and vegetable trimmings. You can freeze stock in glass canning jars as long as you leave 2 inches of head space to allow for expansion.
- Freeze temporary overstocks of bread, including hard crusts or stale bread. Use them to make French toast, bread pudding, seasoned bread crumbs or savory stratas.
- When you do go out to eat, take along a food container and bring home your leftovers (thus avoiding non-reusable takeout packaging). Many restaurant portions are so huge that you can easily get a second meal from a “normal” entrée. Another good option is to split entrées. Many restaurants are happy to split an order onto two plates if you ask.
- Clean out your refrigerator once a week. Eat, cook or freeze anything that’s worth saving.
- Declare periodic “food rest days,” during which the head cook gets the day off, thus encouraging active refrigerator foraging by other household members.
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