Lunch 03.20.09
It was 7 am, and a young and hungry girl was combing through her fridge for some semblance of lunch for work, a spring lunch at that….
Because Spring is here! It’s official. To celebrate, I really wanted a fresh caprese salad. with fresh basil. I didn’t have any basil, but I did have the most delicious fresh mozzarella from a local farm. And tomatoes!
I am trying to stop wasting food. Over the last year I have done pretty well to reduce my waste, but I would like to send it packing for good. The inspiration? The One Dollar Diet Project. Haven’t heard of it? Check it out here: One Dollar Diet Project.
Luckily today was the perfect way to try and reduce my food waste because I got to use up a few different items:
1 large tomato, 3.5 oz fresh mozzarella, a splash of balsamic vinegar. I also had about 100 g of baby carrots (I prefer adult carrots, but I am saving them for sauce I am making tonight!) and 2 tbs Sabra hummus (my dad would probs be disappointed to know I often buy my hummus instead of making it)
This meal was pretty high in fat, but very filling and delicious.
Estimates:
Calories: 422
Fat: 26 g
Carbs: 30 g
Fiber: 7 g
Protein: 23 g
Do you ever waste food? If so, what? My biggest culprits are: bananas, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. You know, a lot of our parents and grandparents grew up during wartime and a time where food was not abundant the way it is now. How many of your parents have refused to throw away bread, no matter how stale it was? It is sad how often we waste food, or forget to be appreciative of the foods we have. I am really going to make it a goal of mine to waste less. (Once I live with PB, the infamous “leftovers in a wrap” guy, this task will become much easier). For now, I will try and do better to only buy what I need, when I need it. How do you reduce food waste?
Love your blog 🙂
Lots o salads…a good way to reduce waste. Meal planning helps too. As does the freezer. Sometimes it’s crazy how much bread we keep in there (I think now we have wheat bread, challah, english muffins, corn tortillas, mini wheat pitas, and hamburger buns. What can I say we can’t resist a sale!) I don’t even eat that much bread, so I can tell you it lasts a long time in the freezer!
HOORAY FOR SPRING!!
I would like to know how to minimize food waste too! Being single is hard!
That lunch is phenomenal! Honestly, I love it!!
We tend to always let bananas go to waste BUT I gladly turn them into banana bread!
I very rarely throw away food (maybe like twice a year!) because I plan out my meals before I buy things and then keep the basic things (like salad ingredients) around and you can always use those in interesting ways 🙂
I actually almost never waste food. The only foods that I end up throwing out are things that Bobby buys and forgets about. If I know something is going to go bad I will force myself to find a way to eat it, or I’ll find a way to keep it good for longer – you can put bananas in the fridge and they’ll keep for a while (they do go brown, but they don’t go bad), you can steam spinach and freeze it (you can do this with a lot of things actually), or you can modify recipes to include the things that you need to use up. I don’t think I’ve had to throw anything away in the last… 2-3 weeks maybe? A while ago I had to throw out some meat (turkey bacon) because Bobby didn’t finish it before it went bad (again, he’s not as good as I am at remembering what needs to be eaten). I come from a very frugal family so it really bothers me when I waste something that I’ve paid for. But this can be bad, because I’ll end up forcing myself to eat things that I bought that I don’t like, or finishing food just because I don’t want to throw it out, even when I’m full… Wow, sorry for the long comment 🙂
Happy weekend!
hi!!!
i reduce food waste by planning every single thing i’m cooking , (five meals) plust the “staples” that I know i go through each week: yogurt (2) milk (1) coffee (1 lb) etc…… usually, our fridge is totally empty except for garlic, beer, and chipotles in adobo by the time saturday rolls around. haha it looks like a frat house inside my refrigerator 🙂
I definitely try not to waste food. I hate throwing things out!
Love the new header!
Sorry if it’s been up there for a few days… i’m a little behind on my google reader! hehe.
We’re using the same theme! 🙂
Caprese salad…mmmmmmmm!!! Sounds so good right now!
hmmmmmmm… i end up throwing away my veggies and fruit A LOT! i plan on fixing this problem by buying those produce savers.. and veggie crisper things.. if i dont use the stuff right away and then have a busy week and dont have time to cook- i forget to use it and then it goes bad..
I hate wasting food, so I rarely do it. One thing I’ll do if veggies or fruit are on their last leg is make something with them and then freeze it – soups, muffins, etc. It makes me feel better and means I’ll have something delicious later.