Makeover Your Leftovers
About 90
billion pounds of edible food goes uneaten each year in the United
States, an amount equal to 123
times the weight of the Empire State Building. This costs consumers $370 per person each year:
• Grains: $22
• Fruits: $45
• Protein foods: $140
• Vegetables: $66
• Dairy: $60
• Added fat and sugar: $37
Reduce wasted
food in your home with simple shopping, storage and cooking. Also, you can
give food to organizations which accept food donations to feed others.
“Recycling” food into different recipes or composting food are other options. Food
tossed is money lost. One way to add new life to still edible foods is to
re-purpose leftovers and reuse them in new ways and new recipes. Here are a few simple tips.
Use older bread to make bread pudding.
Fruits
Freeze extra lemon or lime juice in ice cube trays.
Transfer to freezer bags. Pop into water for
flavored water. NOTE: It’s easier to remove frozen food
from silicon ice cube trays and muffin pans than plastic trays or metal pans as they are more
flexible.
Protein Foods
Use leftover meat in flavorful foods such as barbecued
meat dishes, chili and tacos to mask the flavor of “warmed over meat.” Plus, the sauce helps
prevent further flavor changes in the meat.
Vegetables
Freeze extra bell peppers in shapes needed for recipes.
Freeze for a few hours on a baking sheet with sides until hard; Transfer to a freezer bag and lay
flat.
Dairy
Use up extra odds of cheese by shredding them with a
grater or in a food processor. Mix in your choice of ingredients, cut or chopped into small
pieces (olives, pickles, pimientos, chives, walnuts, peppers, etc.). Add enough mayonnaise (regular or low-fat) to bind the ingredients
together. Spread on your favorite bread.
Other
Test baking
powder of a questionable age for freshness to prevent tossing a ruined
recipe because it doesn’t rise. Mix 1 teaspoon baking powder
with 1/3 cup hot water. If it foams vigorously, it still has rising power. To test baking
soda by placing 1-1/2 teaspoons in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon
vinegar. If it fizzes, then it will still help leaven a food. If
it doesn’t fizz, use it as an odor catcher in the refrigerator.
Source: Alice Henneman, Extension
Educator, University of Nebraska Extension, Lancaster County
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