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Strawberry season has begun and many other nutri-licious fruits and vegetables are in season now. For our ancestors this would have been a busy time of the year; filled with tending gardens and preserving the bounty of our short, but abundant season. Nowadays however, we seem to be busier with vacations, picnics and entertaining ourselves with lots of delicious food which often times brings with it, food waste. |
Sadly, in our part of the world, 40% of food is wasted. Wasted food comes in many forms; parts of vegetables and fruits that are not palatable but perfectly good to eat, such as broccoli stalks or beet tops, blemished or imperfect food, leftover cooked food, forgotten food that has gone bad and many times even good food that we did not eat before the next set of groceries arrives.
In the past few years we have seen droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and extreme weather causing many crops to fail – not just in US. This is happening here in Canada too. So let’s not waste food.
I want to challenge you to reduce your food waste this growing season (until Thanksgiving). Here are 6 ideas to follow:
- Make your meal plan for the week – involve your whole family and make it a fun time for kids. They will learn about food, cooking and meal planning.
- Buy less than what you think you will need – stores and farmer markets are just around the corner, you can always get more.
- Shop for fresh produce and vegetables twice a week. Produce sitting in the fridge becomes unappealing, can be forgotten and loses its nutritional values.
- Buy locally available produce – it is fresher and more nutritious.
- Be creative and make recipes for food that is already in your fridge – don’t be afraid to mess up.
- Eat more raw vegetables and fruits – it is healthier, helps you stay cool and saves you time.
The best part about reducing food wasted is that you will be eating healthier, the children will learn about good food and have fun eating it (imagine no complaining at the dinner table!) and surprise dinner nights can become your family’s next tradition.
If you would like to know more about how to deal with those leftovers, how to store and preserve the harvest bounty for winter and deal with those inedible parts, please take a moment and subscribe to my newsletter. This is a quick two step process. Please, don’t forget to verify your subscription in the email sent to you!
I welcome your questions and feedback. You can reach me by phone or email or leave a comment right here on the site! Please ‘Like’ my Facebook page and join in the conversation!
Eva
