Making Fridge Scraps Beautiful - No Food Waste

I think we all do it. We don't want to think about it or admit it but we do it. We waste food. It is embarrassing and stressful. It is sad that there is enough food produced a year on this planet to feed us all. No one has to be hungry but unimaginable amounts of food go to waste. Did you know in Canada farmers plow perfectly good produce back into the ground because it is not the perfect shape? They can not sell it because the big grocery chains won't buy it, and that's just the beginning.

There is enough land to feed all humanity for many generations to come if we treat the earth right and farm it properly. However, that soapbox is for someone else to stand on.

I just want you to make and think of small steps you can take towards using everything you buy to make good, tasty food and send less to the landfill. The added bonuses are saving money and that the taste explosion of--for example, dehydrated lemon in cake batter--is amazing. I call it "flavor bombs."

Also, I just happen to be frugal. Yes, very frugal. Once you have experienced "hungry" in life you will never want to go back.

In the picture you see above I am showing you the small portions of dehydrated produce I did last week. Nothing for long-term storage. Just produce that can be dehydrated and saved but not left in the fridge or on the counter. There is pear, pineapple, and banana. Little flavor bombs. I also did half a tray of mushrooms, not pictured here. They can go in soups and stews or be powdered. What I have not told you is how delicious they are. I love to snack on them. So does everyone else in my family. I love to powder them and add to desserts or add whole pieces for decoration. Remember the cheesecake I made? I made it beautiful by using dehydrated pineapple slices.

I made the jam in the first picture shown this morning from leftover strawberries and raspberries I found hiding behind the milk in the fridge. Before I lost them to rot, I made a small half-pint of jam. I have a fantastic saucier pan that I use to make jam in. With that pan I have superpowers, I tell you. Making jams, caramels, and sauces is like magic. I am not--and you are not--a bad cook, sometimes it's your utensils. I had to go to school to find that out.

It was so simple to make this jam. The berries went into the saucier pan: 3 cups of berries, 2 cups of sugar, and a dash of lemon juice. Cook and then strain. No waste!

I love to cook but I love to use everything I buy just as much.

~ Hugs from Mum