Food waste is a huge issue, especially here in the US. Meal planning is a huge help in our house to prevent wasting food. We typically have our meals planned and buy only what we need for the week. When we entertain, I usually pick up more random things, like cheeses, breads, or specialty items. During the holidays, this seems to happen a lot more. I’ve started to realize A) I always overbuy and B) I usually end up throwing away moldy cheeses, breads, and crackers left over and that needs to stop. Here are a few ways I’ve started to use up food that we buy for appetizers that we don’t typically use in our day to day meals.
- Cheese! I love a good cheese board, but because I can’t have much dairy, I try to limit my intake to special occasions. After a party, we usually end up with random mini blocks left over . I’ve been immediately shredding blocks that can be shredded and freezing what I won’t use in the upcoming week. We can later use this for soup and chili toppings, quesadilla fillings, or added into morning eggs. This last time, I kept a cup and mixed it into some chickpea pasta with other veggies.
- Crackers and chips. No appetizer is complete without these. But do you end up with extras that are bound to go stale? I break them up and store them in an airtight container for salad toppings (love a little crunch) or added on top of soups, stews, and chili.
- Bread. We rarely ever finish an entire loaf of bread or baguette. I immediately slice it up and freeze it. This way, we always have bread for avocado toast! I take a few pieces of frozen baguette or sourdough, then toast it and serve it with soups, salads, and other dishes during the week.
- Herbs. If you don’t usually cook wit fresh herbs, it’s easy to forget about them until they’re rotten and need to be tossed. Keep fresh herbs in a visible place as a reminder to use them. I stick the ends of cilantro and parsley in a cup of fresh water to keep them fresh. Use fresh herbs on almost everything! Top avocado toast, mix into dishes, or blend with nuts, a little oil, salt, pepper and garlic to create a pesto
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Hope these ideas help with fighting food waste. Let me know if you have any additional tips!
