Category: Food

Buy imperfect produce

12/1/2023

“Ugly” produce is still perfectly good for eating, and buying it reduces food waste and can save you money on groceries.

According to the FDA, 31% of our food supply is wasted by consumers and retail. One source of this waste is food that does not have the desired look for consumers but is perfectly edible. Various companies are working to counter this trend by selling this imperfect produce, sometimes at a lower price.

For more information on purchasing “ugly” produce, see this article:

https://www.greenmatters.com/p/ugly-produce-companies

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Freeze, can, and dehydrate to reduce food waste

10/6/2023

You can reduce food waste by extending the life of perishable food through freezing, canning, and drying.

The bounty of fruits and vegetables in summer and early fall can be overwhelming when you feel the pressure to enjoy these fresh foods before they turn bad. Extend the life of the foods you grow, buy, and prepare using a few kitchen tricks. The Pennsylvania Resources Council states that perishable foods account for 76% of food wasted. They suggest these techniques for helping your food keep longer:

Store food properly: When placed in well-sealed containers and out of heat and high humidity, food will stay fresh longer.
Use your freezer: Too many vegetables to eat? Blanch them, spread them to dry before packaging, then store in the freezer. Soups, dinner leftovers, and baked goods can be placed in smaller serving containers to defrost just the quantity you need later.
Learn how to can: Canning is very doable at home. You can find the supplies you need (jars and lids) at your local grocery store. This is a great way to preserve fruits and pickled vegetables for up to a year.
Dehydrate: Use an electric dehydrator or oven to make fruit leathers, vegetable chips, and jerky. Enjoy as a snack or rehydrated in your favorite dishes.
Make soup! Vegetable soup, hot or cold (such as gazpacho), is a great way to use those last vegetables before they spoil. Leftover soup can then be frozen for later.

See more details and ideas from the PRC flyer.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Make your own soda

9/8/2023

Make refreshing maple cream and other sodas at home with just a few ingredients--and lose the calories, additives, and packaging of store-bought.

Homemade sodas use wholesome ingredients and much less sugar than commercial varieties, not to mention no high fructose corn syrup or preservatives. They are also easier on your pocketbook and the environment. How does maple cream, honey ginger, lemon basil or lavender plum sound?

Read more here.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Make your own popsicles

8/25/2023

Make your own icy treats with high-quality stainless steel popsicle molds.

All popsicle molds reduce single-use waste and allow you to choose healthy ingredients but, compared to plastic or silicone molds, stainless steel molds are longer lasting, more dishwasher-hardy, and quickest to unmold.

Read more in this article.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Hot weather cooking

7/21/2023

When the weather is hot, cook outdoors or prepare meals that don’t require cooking.

Using the stove and oven adds heat to your house, so when the weather is hot, find ways to avoid using them so that your air conditioner does not have to work overtime, adding to your summer energy use. Plan to eat salads and sandwiches or other dishes that do not require cooking. Do your cooking on the grill so that all of the heat produced is outside of the house. Another option is to use smaller appliances such as the toaster oven, slow-cooker, or microwave, which all produce much less heat and use less energy.

For more details, check out this article in Consumer Reports:
Mary H.J. Farrell, July 9, 2021. Cooking tips for hot weather: How to keep your cool in the kitchen this summer. Consumerreports.org.

After you bring home produce, wash and prep it right away for a sustainable shortcut in the kitchen

7/7/2023

After a big shopping trip at the grocery store or farmers market, wash and prepare all of your produce before you put it away. This sets you up for the week and allows you to avoid buying pre-packaged produce. For leafy greens, for example, rinse very well and dry in a salad spinner. You can simply wrap them in a tea towel and put in the crisper drawer. Read more here.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Carry home delicate produce in containers

5/26/2023

Bring hard sided containers, such as a dairy tub, to the Farmers Market to carry home strawberries and other loose, delicate produce without using a plastic bag.

Re-use take-out containers, dairy tubs, mason jars, or other hard sided containers to contain loose, delicate produce, such as strawberries, cherry tomatoes, plums and apricots. These containers will protect the produce from spilling or being bruised during the ride home. The Swarthmore Farmers Market no longer offers plastic bags at check-out. Bringing your own containers reduces the number of single-use bags used to contain loose produce. You can also bring your saved produce bags from the grocery store to hold larger items such as apples, cucumbers, and potatoes.

Make a difference by becoming a Reducetarian: Eat less meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy

4/7/2023

Reducetarianism, as defined by the Reducetarian Foundation website, “is the practice of eating less meat - red meat, poultry, and seafood - as well as less dairy and fewer eggs, regardless of the degree or motivation. This concept is appealing because not everyone is willing to follow an "all-or-nothing" diet. However, reducetarianism is still inclusive of vegans, vegetarians, and anyone else who reduces the amount of animal products in their diet” Livestock contribute to greenhouse gases directly by emitting methane as a product of their digestion as well as indirectly due to land use practices for raising livestock. Just by cutting back on the amount of meat that you normally eat reduces your carbon footprint. The Reducetarian Foundation suggests several strategies for gradually reducing your meat consumption:

Weekday vegetarian (just eat meat on the weekends)
Vegetarian Before Six (strict vegetarian before 6PM)
Meatless Monday (or day of your choosing)
Veganuary (vegan for January )

Waxed cotton food wraps are a reusable alternative to plastic cling film wrap

3/31/2023

Waxed cotton food wraps are made from fabric that is infused with a mixture of beeswax, tree resin, and jojoba oil. Using the warmth of your hand, it can be molded around food or a container, and its tackiness creates a seal comparable to plastic cling wrap. It can be used to cover containers or to wrap foods such as sandwiches or breads directly. Unlike cling wrap, waxed wraps are reusable: just rinse in cold water with a mild soap and air dry. They are commercially available at stores such as Trader Joe’s, HOM in Swarthmore, and the Swarthmore Farmers market, and they come in a variety of sizes. You can also make them yourself at home.

Read more about them at naturallivingideas.com:
https://www.naturallivingideas.com/plastic-wrap-alternatives/

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Buy in bulk

2/24/2023

Buying spices, grains, pasta, and other foods in bulk allows you to buy just the quantities you want in reusable bags, reducing food waste, plastic bag use, and cost.

You may already be reducing your use of single use plastic bags by bringing your reusable shopping bags to the grocery store. You can further reduce the amount of plastic packaging that you purchase by buying from the bulk aisle. Bring your own bags and bottles to stock up on spices, pasta, dried beans, nuts, granola, oatmeal, rice, and other grains. Reuse the bags each time you make a bulk purchase or invest in cloth or mesh bags for this purpose. Another advantage of buying in bulk is that you can buy just the quantity that you need, so it allows you to reduce food waste. Spices in particular are less expensive bought in bulk, particularly because you can just get the quantity that you need. They may also be fresher, as they can sit in the bottles for a long time before being sold. A number of stores in our area offer a selection of bulk foods including the Swarthmore Food Co-op, Martindale’s in Springfield, and the Giant Food on Sproul Rd. in Springfield. Eliminate the packaging for spices at the Swarthmore Food Co-op by bringing your own bottle or container and ask the cashier to get a tare weight.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

<<Previous