tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post5609326051169510373..comments2024-03-28T15:55:53.792+10:00Comments on down to earth: Simple Living Series - Food waste and cooking leftoversUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-21117377696923780332010-04-13T19:14:29.888+10:002010-04-13T19:14:29.888+10:00Hi Rhonda
Thanks - I've saved your bread reci...Hi Rhonda<br /><br />Thanks - I've saved your bread recipe to try later - I want to try it in my solar oven which arrives at the end of this month.<br /><br />Also wanted to share with you what I do with our leftovers - by leftovers I mean what's left after we've had our second meal from it - I try and cook "two meals" at once, roast chicken left overs become chicken a la king or chicken soup, etc - but what's then leftover I freeze and every week I boil up a 10lt pot with rice, lentils, peas and barley, pop it in my "hot box" and when it's ready I add all the frozen food and some extra frozen veggies - this I feed, in a soup form, to the homeless who gather at our local shopping centre. <br /><br />That way I can be sure that nothing is going to landfill (and creating methane) and someone else is benefiting from what is still perfectly good food.Danihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04020970904311512357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-14963497990884439392010-01-27T19:36:14.225+10:002010-01-27T19:36:14.225+10:00love, love, love this recipe! thank you so much!love, love, love this recipe! thank you so much!shandorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13945627419311409453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-19134231857349257162010-01-25T01:58:43.400+10:002010-01-25T01:58:43.400+10:00I love your blog and have learned so much!
I am a...I love your blog and have learned so much!<br /><br />I am also astounded by food wastage. I have family that tosses out leftovers-pounds and pounds of perfectly good food-because they refuse to eat leftovers. When we are with them, we always rescue the leftovers to take home ourselves. In my family of 6, we eat every drop unless something is seriously wrong with it. <br /><br />I will have to try your recipe out. It looks delicious!Desireehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13904631778284787117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-77696774665865302692010-01-23T15:26:48.259+10:002010-01-23T15:26:48.259+10:00That dish looks so yummy - I make Shepherds Pie th...That dish looks so yummy - I make Shepherds Pie that looks very similar.Finding Joyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09882774610725490491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-32231832701946147642010-01-23T06:18:01.732+10:002010-01-23T06:18:01.732+10:00I agree completely with this post.
I menu plan for...I agree completely with this post.<br />I menu plan for the entire month at the end of the previous month- and always cook more so that I can use the leftovers for something such as a stir fry or as your recipe given. It never tastes like left overs! <br />DH is a big stickler on wasting food, even more so than I. We compost veggies that don't get eaten, fruit that goes bad in the fridge, etc. There really is a use for everything! I'm going to try your recipe- I've only ever used it with chicken and beef. Pork was on sale this month, so it'll be a nice change! Thanks!<br />The Girl in the Pink DressThe Girl in the Pink Dresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00250837836714463827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-46283597628488342882010-01-23T02:57:50.591+10:002010-01-23T02:57:50.591+10:00We always liked leftovers.....Soup is a good way t...We always liked leftovers.....Soup is a good way to recycle them, and "casseroles". Stir fry is a good way to use vegetables that need to be cooked...When I was cooking for 5 three times a day, I shopped looking for meat on sale, and vegetables on sale. Or just at a good price. And I had the starchy part of the meals in my pantry. I always had onions, celery and carrots and a good selection of herbs (often from the garden). I had meals that were "inspired by" techniques and seasonings of China, India, Mexico, France, the US, Germany and Hungary. I liked to read cookbooks for these sorts of "inspiring" ideas more than for specific recipes. I rarely use recipes.<br /><br />But it is interesting, that of my three children, two are like me and don't use recipes, and the middle daughter wants to have a recipe in front of her. I almost wonder if it's sort of genetic.<br /><br />I think my cooking has always been a combination of wanting to be practical, but really enjoying good food and cooking.<br /><br />Now I only cook for one, or two most of the time. And I'm more vegetarian. And I belong to a CSA farm so I get large amounts of food every other week a good part of the year. My son bought a dehydrator and we use this technique to preserve food for winter that we couldn't use up in the summer. And I freeze some things. Thanks for the pork hash idea, Rhonda.Thickethouse.wordpresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17187303460677067276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-37824044096402530132010-01-23T02:33:34.841+10:002010-01-23T02:33:34.841+10:00Hi Rhonda, Thanks for the recipe! When I worked ...Hi Rhonda, Thanks for the recipe! When I worked from home and money was tighter I always kept a weekly menu on the refrig. I shopped sales and that's what we ate that week. When I went back to work and also went through a divorce I got away from it. I've remarried, still work and just this past week went back to making a menu and putting it on the refrig. Nice to not eat out any night this week! I've changed up the menu twice but it's still working.Dianniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15881423920549329814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-86868627128329323352010-01-23T00:46:40.752+10:002010-01-23T00:46:40.752+10:00Whenever my leftovers are too much.... I simply pa...Whenever my leftovers are too much.... I simply package them up into meal sized portions and stuff them in the freezer. I then bring them out when I don't have time to cook. <br /><br />I have one week's worth of meals(lunch and dinner) in the freezer right now so I can go out on Saturday to a hook-in and I don't need to rush around on Sunday doing my cooking for the week. There is almost no food waste in our house. An occasional tomato, celery stalk or parsley bunch hits the garbage can but usually all my food goes right into whatever I had planned to make for the week.Billiehttp://billieryder.live.spaces.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-13453508575027609572010-01-23T00:40:29.574+10:002010-01-23T00:40:29.574+10:00This is something I have been trying to work on as...This is something I have been trying to work on as well. I just started to meal plan a couple of weeks ago and I have already noticed a big difference in the amount of food we end up tossing into the compost bin. I plan around leftovers, use some for lunches and use some to build my freezer's stockpile. As a family we have all been working hard at sticking to our list and only buying what we planned for. Plus I am far less stressed out worrying about the age old question "what's for dinner?". I sit down every Saturday night and plan for the week ahead and there is no more stress. <br /><br />I have a good template on my blog that I found online and works wonderfully. I will also say that your blog has inspired me to make a lot of changes in my family's life. I too am blogging about those changes as we attempt them. Kind of like a diary as we go along. Thank you so much for your wisdom and advice, it IS much appreciated! Your blog is inspiring to so many, keep up the fantastic work!<br /><br />http://www.simplifying-the-simpsons.blogspot.com/<br /><br />Stacy in CanadaStacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02655176843715336111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-15817016949912272072010-01-23T00:39:24.554+10:002010-01-23T00:39:24.554+10:00I've recently started cooking less because we ...I've recently started cooking less because we had so many leftovers going into the garbage. It also helps a little on the portion control/waistline watch in our house, since the more food I prepare, the more we seem to eat. <br /><br />Thanks so much for your wonderful and inspirational blog!!Laurahttp://www.kookaloo.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-11146583082762841422010-01-22T23:36:47.293+10:002010-01-22T23:36:47.293+10:00Thanks for your blog, Rhonda! I have been followi...Thanks for your blog, Rhonda! I have been following for about a year now. A couple years ago, our family started eating less and less meat, and now that we are completely vegetarian, we haven't had the problems with food waste we had in the past. Maybe it's because non-meat based dishes don't go bad as fast. Also, we get all our produce from a CSA and try not to spend any $ at the market supplementing, so whatever roots and veggies we get are precious!Mimi and Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03920948723508160738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-56598230231185908022010-01-22T22:52:47.130+10:002010-01-22T22:52:47.130+10:00That sounds positively tasty and a great way to el...That sounds positively tasty and a great way to eliminate leftover meat!<br /><br />Thanksemyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05808542028108670558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-89042216550194767922010-01-22T22:09:56.273+10:002010-01-22T22:09:56.273+10:00Wow! That dish looks incredible. I'm going to ...Wow! That dish looks incredible. I'm going to save that recipe for similar situations. Thanks, Rhonda!Mariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793291964836599064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-59752638131431467142010-01-22T20:31:58.927+10:002010-01-22T20:31:58.927+10:00According to the news in the past few years, house...According to the news in the past few years, households here in the UK waste a staggering 33% of their food, most of which was due to an ignorance of sell by/use by dates, over-buying and throwing away left-overs. Oh my giddy aunt! <br /><br />Very little goes to waste in our house. If there are left-overs, what my husband doesn't eat for his 'dinner' when he comes in from his night shift, my son takes to school for lunch, I eat for my lunch, it gets warmed up as is for the next night's dinner or re-invented. Too many nice ways to use it up to let them go to waste.<br /><br />Small, simple, gradual changes in lifestyle snowball into a great way to live.silverilexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09140641542895980958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-26777308375162209002010-01-22T19:05:22.720+10:002010-01-22T19:05:22.720+10:00I must be one of the few people who have hardly an...I must be one of the few people who have hardly any food waste then, so I'm sitting here feeling rather proud of myself! I think it was the way I was brought up, and I also had a period when my children were small when pennies really counted. So I still freeze leftover mashed potato, unless I want it the next day, all the bits of leftover pastry are put into a freezer bag until I have enough for a pie or tart, and cooked meat is either used the next day or sliced or chunked and frozen. If I leave things in the fridge I'm always rather dubious if they're still ok to eat, so I freeze them straight away!Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11430236104525571846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-68916362276035808262010-01-22T18:58:05.650+10:002010-01-22T18:58:05.650+10:00Here in the UK, Rhonda, food waste is about 30% - ...Here in the UK, Rhonda, food waste is about 30% - horrendous!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-73026011797430915902010-01-22T14:29:08.399+10:002010-01-22T14:29:08.399+10:00I'm pretty good with leftovers actually. It h...I'm pretty good with leftovers actually. It helps so much that my husband likes leftover lunches. <br /><br />I'm thinking that I'd like a tutorial on properly removing corn from the cob. That corn looks fabulous. Mine is always a bit...squished. Yummy, but not perfectly formed like yours. Any tips?Evelyn in Canadahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16273654056979750579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-85747750819366308662010-01-22T13:26:40.780+10:002010-01-22T13:26:40.780+10:00I am right there with you on using leftovers up cr...I am right there with you on using leftovers up creatively but my biggest downfall is letting vegetables get too old in the crisper! Cue veggie soups and stir fries! Thanks for the timely reminder and inspiration.Fiona at Inner Picklehttp://www.innerpickle.com.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-68504384089010921452010-01-22T13:17:36.330+10:002010-01-22T13:17:36.330+10:00I often cook too much on purpose just so I can hav...I often cook too much on purpose just so I can have leftovers - they are the from-scratch cook's convenience food! I make a pastry and line a pie dish and then pop it into the freezer unbaked. Then the next time we have a roast dinner or casserole I'll use all the leftover meat, vegetables and gravy - just wait till they are cold and then chop up into bitesize pieces and dump them in the pie. Shut the freezer. The next time you want a quick dinner get the pie out in the morning, defrost and top with more pastry (puff pastry sheets are super easy for this and look impressive) or use leftover mashed potato. Or grab some breadcrumbs (I freeze all the loaf ends so I never run out) mix with onion, herbs and melted butter and throw it on the top. My kids call this 'Thing Pie' and we love it.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04608988985540653692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-34323054442339939262010-01-22T12:02:41.545+10:002010-01-22T12:02:41.545+10:00We have gotten quite good about not wasting food b...We have gotten quite good about not wasting food but I am always looking for new ways to use leftovers. I am definitely going to try the hash recipe! I put whatever I can in the composter and make many "make-ahead" meals to keep the freezer stocked. Now that it is just the two of us we often have leftovers, since I never did learn to cook for anything less than a crowd! Thank you for your wonderful blog! Great ideas, great recipes and great inspiration!Remembranceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05759499873835500100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-84838891251146546842010-01-22T11:55:39.026+10:002010-01-22T11:55:39.026+10:00I don't really have a problem eating leftovers...I don't really have a problem eating leftovers - I just don't plan anything for dinner, unless I eat the leftovers for lunch. <br /><br />My problem is usually with bags of potatoes and onions. I love both but 5 lbs. of potatoes goes a long, long, long way for 1 person. Before the potatoes go soft or non-eatable, I cut them in 1 inch or so cubes and cook them. Let them cool, spread on a cookie sheet and freeze them. Then I just bag them and I can grab a handful or two as needed. Onions are the same way - cook&freeze. That way neither goes to waste and I can have potatoes and/or onions anytime.<br /><br />Yvettemtnchildhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17457636624663214696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-16674204129868936972010-01-22T11:01:37.740+10:002010-01-22T11:01:37.740+10:00Hi Rhonda Jean,
Great Minds must think a like. LOL...Hi Rhonda Jean,<br />Great Minds must think a like. LOL I posted about this today too.I shared pictures of things I made today using leftover foods.<br />I have cut our waste to about 5%.<br />Blessings,<br />ElizabethAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-78710580699891363202010-01-22T10:27:17.325+10:002010-01-22T10:27:17.325+10:00Hi Rhonda
I wanted to tell you that I have read an...Hi Rhonda<br />I wanted to tell you that I have read and admired you for @ 1 year, since I found blogger. I live in East Texas, USA and read your blog last night, about the kitchen sink. The lady lives not far from me and I wrote and intro'd myself. We also had a nasty tornado that came through here and she wrote back, a second time today, and checked on my welfare. I just wanted to tell you I met a neighbor who cares and it happened via Australia! Wow, you have to love the internet! Big hugs, Elainesoggybottomflatshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13854042144571976533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-77548417270565741602010-01-22T09:49:09.706+10:002010-01-22T09:49:09.706+10:00I am pretty bad about procrastinating when it come...I am pretty bad about procrastinating when it comes to eating leftovers or using ingredients I have purchased. And when you're cooking for one, you get a LOT of leftovers. I've been making a conscious effort to work on this, and your post is another push in the right direction!Courtneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-15715901145488205062010-01-22T09:48:08.325+10:002010-01-22T09:48:08.325+10:00I have just discovered your blog and I think I nee...I have just discovered your blog and I think I need about 10 days to read it all and discover all your great hints etc. I am a kiwi who is now living in Japan trying to raise kids, chickens, grow a big garden and teach on the side. It is fun trying to bring a bit of kiwiness into Japan while also maintaining the Japanese culture. I'm really looking forward to reading more of your entries and making more progress with respect to simplifying.... Thank you for sharing all your wonderful thoughts.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03671659320538901131noreply@blogger.com