Weekly Challenge - Week 12 (March 19, 2013)

Be a member of the 'Clean Plate Club' - don't waste food.

 

Thank you, Julie, for modeling our challenge for us this week!  Growing up, I was taught to be a member of the 'Clean Plate Club'.  I think I am showing my age, because then in the 80's and 90's, it became vogue to leave a bit of food on your plate.  I guess it was a sign of self control in a society of people becoming obese.  But it is a sign of nothing more than arrogance and wastefulness and worst yet, that subconsciously we know that the fast food we are eating in school cafeterias, buying at grocery stores, and ordering at restaurants is garbage for our bodies.

 

Don't waste food.  Some thoughts on what this encompasses.

1.  Teach your children and yourself to take a small portion of each food choice - if you have never tried something before take just a teaspoonful the first time.  You can always go back for seconds.  Then if you don't like it, you won't be leaving uneaten food on your plate.  Luckily, what one person doesn't like, often another one in the family will love.  For my boys, when they were little, they learned to eat everything on their plate (they finished everything on their plates, which was a little of all items served, before they could go back for seconds of the things they loved).

2.  Plan your meals and know what you have in your refrigerator and freezer.  Use the produce and foods that you are buying.  Put the newly purchased grocery items in the back and then use what is in the front first.  Typically most items last from several days to a week or two in the refrigerator.  Raw meat lasts a day or two, dishes you prepared typically last about 5 days, and things like carrots and celery can last a couple weeks.  (I store my potatoes and onions, which last a couple weeks, in a dark drawer in the utility room, not in the refrigerator.)  Items can be frozen for months.

3.  Save what is not eaten at a meal and plan 'leftover' meals.  Often, I make extra ingredients (such as roasted potatoes or taco meat) that are then added into a new dish so it does not seem like we are having leftovers and I have a quick, easy meal that is delicious.  Or else, I make one new item (a salad or biscuits for instance) to go with the leftovers.

4.  Leftovers are often great for lunch - take advantage of that delicious real food that you created.

5.  Finish off the perishable items first at a meal.  Things like salads don't keep well or for long, so have seconds of those rather than the chicken that you can use in another meal.  If you have teenagers, have them eat the perishable items before they have seconds of the other foods.  Hungry teenagers can be coaxed into eating just about anything!

6.  Save money by learning to use all of the food you buy.  You also become a wise steward of the land when you don't throw away food.  The amount of food thrown in the trash in the United States is nauseating.  Don't be a contributor to the problem.

7.  Take all of those unopened foods that  have ingredients on the 'Foods/Ingredients to Avoid List' to a food pantry.  Replace them with good quality real foods and plan your meals wisely using what you have on-hand.  Then teach your family to appreciate these wonderful, delicious foods and to not throw away uneaten food.  You will reap the benefits.

 

"The highest heavens belong to the Lord,
but the earth He has given to mankind."  Psalm 115:16