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Food Waste

Food Waste - #useitall Recipes you should try!

August 5, 2022

Our world is chaotic, and still, we make many daily decisions that impact our lives and the lives of others around us. One of these decisions is what we choose to eat. Within our current system of ultra-processed foods, harmful additives, & substantial food waste, we understand the need to take back some control, spring into action and make a positive difference in our lives & for the next chapter of our planet.

DID YOU KNOW?

Fruit and vegetables are the most wasted food group

source: https://toogoodtogo.com/en-us/movement/knowledge/what-food-is-wasted

How can you #useitall?

Wasting food is a bad habit costing us more than we realise. Buying more food than we need and then letting fruits and vegetables spoil at home or taking more significant portions than we can eat. Wasting resources such as water, labour and seed stock consumes energy from transport and handling.
An easy way to reduce your food waste is by making recipes that use every part of your fruit and vegetable. Once you have used the ingredients you need earlier in the week, take all your off-cuts and combine them into something new and delicious.

Take a look at one of our #useitall recipes below.

FRIDGE TREASURES CURRY

Open your fridge, and what do you see? A lot of lonely vegetables... staring back at you.

Take all those leftover veggies, big and small and turn them into something delicious. This Fridge Treasures Curry is as simple as combining sauteed veggies with coconut cream. Your leftover broth and a sprinkle of curry powder will create a mouth-watering dish the whole family can enjoy in minutes.

How to store for longevity

When you bring home your fruits and vegetables, your first instinct may be to throw them in a fruit bowl or the crisper in your fridge. What you don't realise is that they tend to spoil faster and reportedly have fewer nutrients after just a few days. This leads to you opening the fridge and reaching for the best-looking piece of produce you have, and leaving the rest to go to waste.

We have a great solution! Hardy vegetables such as carrots, brussels sprouts and celery can be stored in the fridge by submerging them. This keeps them crispy and fresh for longer. Make sure to change the water every 2-4 days. The discarded water can be used for gardening and to give your houseplants some love.

storage Picture

Our Perfect Pickling guide

An easy way to eliminate waste is by pickling and storing your fruits and veggies. This makes your produce last longer and introduces a new range of flavours.

You may wonder, does pickling your produce strip them of their nutritional properties? It doesn't! Vegetables retain all vitamins and minerals when they're pickled. They gain extra benefits thanks to being preserved in this way - so go ahead and give it a try next time you feel like meal prep isn't doing enough to use all of your produce.

What fruits & Veg can be Pickled?

Beyond the classic jar of pickles, you can pickle almost anything. Some of our favourite produce to pickle includes Qukes®, Strawberries, Mangoes (especially the delicious Calyspos® Mangoes), Kumato® Tomatoes, Grapes and Crisp Delight® Watermelon.

Pickled Watermelon (1)

But how do you use pickled watermelon?

Have you ever used an entire watermelon? Let me tell you what you're missing out on if you haven't! The white part of the rind is a good source of fibre, which helps aid in digestion. Along with promoting regularity, diets high in fibre can enhance gut health and help manage cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Pickled watermelon tastes delicious in our Spicy Fruit Salsa dish! Slice and dice and scoop it up with a corn chip.

For even more #useitall recipes, download our free Food Waste eBook here.