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food waste

Pop Culture

People share the ingenious ways they use leftovers to make creative, delicious meals

Zero waste, all the taste.

Photo credit: Canva

Everyone is looking at ways to make thei food last a little longer these days.

Whether you’re trying to cut back on food waste or stretch your dollar a little further on groceries, finding creative ways to use leftover food is a good place to start. And thanks to the internet, crowdsourced tips and tricks are only a click away.

A Redditor who goes by DAGuardian shared how they had recently shared how a quick Google search led them to discover how to make a soup paste from pea pods, followed by a recipe for a “Cinnamon Sugar Treats” using leftover breadcrumbs. This led them to asking the community:

“What are some of your ‘leftover’ ingredients that other people throw away but you use?”

Below are some truly ingenious answers. And the best part is: you don’t have to be a culinary whiz in order to incorporate some of these into your meal-making routine.

1. “Broccoli stalks , I either roast them and serve them like any other roast veg or chop them up finely and add to stews, they are delicious.” -Guilty_Nebula5446
food, recipes, leftovers, ideas for leftovers

Photo credit: Canva

2. “I’m obsessed with using everything that’s edible. One thing that comes to mind that’s probably rare for home cooks: carrot tops. They literally taste like a carrot if it was an herb, and can used as such. One thing I love to do is eat it with the carrots by turning it into a chimichurri with other herbs and olive oil. It’s also a tasty garnish on its own.” -Hot-Celebration-8815

3. "Pineapple peel tea. When you cut a pineapple, save the core and peel. Boil that with two sticks of cinnamon, an inch of ginger, and a tsp of turmeric for maybe 20-30 min, let it sit for a hour, strain and yum!" -Rachilllii

4. "Berries that are juuust past the point where you want to eat them as-is make great jams or sauces, that's an old school thing to do." -CaptainLollygag

food, recipes, leftovers, ideas for leftovers

Photo credit: Canva

5. "Lots of cheese rinds are edible. They can be used to add funk to soups and braises, blended into powders that can be added to bread doughs, crackers, all sorts of stuff."—Hot-Celebration-8815


6. "The stems from shiitake, oyster, and other of the more flavorful mushrooms. I dry them and then throw them into broth, which I make with all the left over chicken bones I save!" -AccidentalNarwhal

7. "I see a lot of people throw away the stems for cilantro and just use the leaves. I use every last inch of the cilantro! Heck, the stems have even more flavor in my opinion." -DisneyAddict2021
food, recipes, leftovers, ideas for leftovers

Photo credit: Canva

8. "When my kids were little their favorite treat was when the jam jar was empty except for the last little bit, we would put some ice in it and fill with milk, seal it up and they would take turns shaking it then each had a little glass of flavored milk as a treat. Clean jar, no waste probably less sugar than commercial flavored milk and they thought it was the greatest thing ever.😁" -nomiesmommy

9. "I never dispose of pickle juice. It's so good for you. It has a lot of electrolytes so it's great for dehydration. It releives muscle cramps. It's great for your digestive tract. It can even help relieve menstral cramps. I usually drink about 2 to 4 oz and follow it up with at least 8 oz of water. I also sometimes use it in place of lemon juice in recipes. It has that great acidity and tang like lemon but it's different enough so it makes people go hmm what is that. It's my secret tuna salad weapon." -BeautifulHindsight

10. "I collect the heels. Store them in an airtight container in the freezer. With 8 heels, I can make a large, killer bread pudding that disappears within hours…" -Haughty_n_Disdainful

food, recipes, leftovers, ideas for leftovers

Photo credit: Canva

11. "I freeze vegetable scraps to make vegetable stock. It couldn't be easier; it contains nothing processed, has no salt, and is delicious. Whenever I chop vegetables, I drop whatever is left into a Ziploc, like onion and carrot tops, fennel tops, zucchini tops, anything. When I have a gallon-sized Ziploc full, I dump it into a pot, cover it with about two inches of water, bring it to a boil, and then simmer it for about an hour. Strain and freeze."—u/nerdzen

12. "Potato peels! After you peel potatoes, wash and dry the peels. You can fry them later like chips, and they make a delicious snack; just need some salt." u/No-Access-1761

food, recipes, leftovers, ideas for leftovers

Photo credit: Canva

And there you have it, some delicious ways to cut down on food waste and get a little more taste bud bang for your buck. Bon appétit!

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food
Most Shared

This woman was struggling to find fresh food. She never expected this solution.

True
The Rockefeller Foundation

How do you get healthy food on the table when you can't find any?

This is a question that Ortilia Lujan Flores had grappled with many times before.

She wanted affordable, nutritious food, but lived in a neighborhood that didn’t have an accessible grocery store.

Flores couldn't drive, which limited the few food options she had. "There was nowhere to go," she explains.

All images via Upworthy.

Flores isn't the only one that's struggled with this problem —41 million Americans don't have consistent access to nutritious food.

But when she moved to Denver's Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, she discovered a nonprofit that made all the difference.

This nonprofit is called The GrowHaus, and it takes a community-led approach to tackling food insecurity by giving neighbors the tools they need to improve their access food.

The GrowHaus knew that their community's challenges went far beyond a lack of grocery stores. They looked at everything from local food production to food waste and education, and they found that the issues residents were struggling with all seemed to be connected.

Food rescue is changing this neighborhood

They recover and deliver nutritious food to community members that need it most. For free. 🙌

Posted by Upworthy on Thursday, August 30, 2018

To address the food crisis in their community, then, they needed to think bigger.

That's why The GrowHaus partnered with Denver Food Rescue, an organization that rescues food from donors (like stores and restaurants). Volunteers travel by bike and deliver that rescued food to The GrowHaus, where volunteers then distribute it to local families — ensuring it can be eaten rather than thrown away.

And that's no small potatoes. According to a recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, there's great potential to expand food rescue in Denver.

The NRDC found that under optimal conditions, 4,232 tons of additional food could be rescued each year — equivalent to 7.1 million meals — from retail, institutional and restaurant locations within the city. When organizations like The GrowHaus take advantage of rescued food, everybody wins.

But that was just the beginning of their efforts. The GrowHaus also wanted to ensure that residents like Flores could actually access fresh food more conveniently, too.

So they established a neighborhood market, Mercado de al Lado, which has fresh produce as well as meat and dairy products, most of which is organic and/or local. The market uses a tiered pricing system to ensure that the food is accessible to everyone, including SNAP recipients.

"I saw that they sell organic, nutritious things," Flores explains. She was surprised to see this kind of food in her neighborhood, especially after struggling to find it for so long.

The GrowHaus also has a solution for residents, like Flores, who can't drive to the market. They offer a weekly food box filled with fresh fruits, vegetables, and dry goods sourced from as many local farms as possible and deliver right to their doors at affordable prices.

"It has what people need," Flores says. "Vegetables, potatoes, sometimes they bring eggs. So, things that nourish us."

If you're not a cooking aficionado, The GrowHaus also offers weekly bilingual cooking classes. Every week, volunteer nutritionists teach residents about the importance of healthy eating and how to prepare different foods.

After sharing a meal together, participants get to fill a box with produce to take home from The GrowHaus' free food pantry. By sharing unsold produce from their market, The Growhaus helps to ensure the sustainability of their own food system.

The GrowHaus is even growing their own food and empowering other residents to do the same.

They now have multiple urban farms, all of which focus on sustainability and education.

There's a hydroponics farm, which grows plants in a nutrient solution or in eco-friendly perlite or gravel instead of soil. The farm produces around 1,200 heads of leafy greens per weekbut manages to use 90% less water than a conventional farm.

They also have a seedling nursery to help residents establish their own gardens. And for community members still working on their green thumbs, there's a Growasis — a permaculture farm. Here, residents can also learn more about sustainable practices, like how to compost or even raise chickens.

"They are always looking at what we need," Flores explains.

Tackling food insecurity isn't easy. But thanks to organizations like The GrowHaus, people like Flores are able to create their own solutions.

Community members in Elyria-Swansea are now growing their own food, educating one another about nutrition, feeding their neighbors, and best of all, ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table, no matter who they are.

Up to 40% of food is wasted in the United States, yet millions of people are unsure where their next meal is coming from. Redistributing just 15% of the food that is currently discarded could feed 25 million people.

And The GrowHaus hopes that by modeling that impact, they'll show what is possible for communities around the country.

For more than 100 years, The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission has been to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Together with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot – or will not.

Most Shared

Throwing away food isn't just wasteful — it's hurting our planet in a big way.

True
Ad Council - Food Waste

The next time you go grocery shopping, throw about 40% of your food in the trash on your way out.

If that sounds a little ridiculous, you're right — it is. But it also puts the issue of food waste into perspective. In the U.S., that's how much of our food goes uneaten and most of it is sent straight to the landfill.

When you're tossing those wilted veggies into the trash at the end of the week, you may as well be throwing dollar bills in there as well. And that's just the tip of the iceberg lettuce (sorry, I had to). Not only does food waste affect your bottom line — it has an enormous environmental impact, too.

And now that summer is here, it’s easy to see where waste can happen. The warmer months are filled with plenty of fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables — watermelon, arugula, peaches, zucchini — and there's no shortage of potlucks or lazy evenings on the patio to enjoy your spoils. Though, for many of us, it literally spoils.

[rebelmouse-image 19477514 dam="1" original_size="3705x2492" caption="Photo by Cecilia Par / Unsplash." expand=1]Photo by Cecilia Par / Unsplash.

But the good news is that a weekend barbecue is the perfect opportunity to get a little eco-friendlier and start cutting back on all that food waste.

Here are 23 reasons you should get started today.  

1. You're probably wasting a lot more food than you think.

It might not seem like you're wasting all that much, but it adds up. Think about that time you bought too many tomatoes and didn't have time to eat them all before they started to wrinkle. Or that time you stacked your plate up a little too high at the neighborhood get-together then tossed your paper plate of food in the trash when you were full. Or what about that time you didn't like how bruised that apple looked. If you took all that food over the course of a year and threw it on a scale, it'd weigh in at about 300 pounds.

2. Interestingly enough, though, we didn't always waste so much.

Food waste has increased pretty drastically in the last few decades. Since 1974, food waste has increased 50% in the U.S.

Many experts think cheaper food and higher cosmetic standards are the culprits. We're able to get more food, so we buy a lot more than we probably need and value it a little less.  We're also way pickier about what it looks like (#Foodie), and while aesthetics are great for Instagram, be sure you’re using “imperfect” produce, too.

[rebelmouse-image 19477515 dam="1" original_size="4592x3064" caption="Photo by Eaters Collective/Unsplash." expand=1]Photo by Eaters Collective/Unsplash.

3. With waste on the rise, it's not too surprising that the U.S. actually leads the world in food waste.

A whopping 40% of food in the U.S. is wasted from farm to fork. This is the highest of any country — well — ever.

4. And consumers are actually the largest source of that food waste.

In our homes, we waste more than grocery stores, restaurants, and any other part of the supply chain. In fact, we account for nearly half of all food that ends up wasted. Yikes. Not to mention, if you added up the food we waste at restaurants or ignored at the store because it looked “a little funny,” the amount of waste we’re responsible for only increases from there.

5. Of all the food we throw out, animal products are the main foods we waste.

Around a third of the animal products Americans are buying go straight to the landfill. Broken down, 11.5% of food wasted is meat, poultry, and fish; 19% is dairy products like cheese and milk; and 2% is eggs.

6. All this waste isn't great news for landfills.

In fact, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, food accounts for 21% of what you'll find in a landfill. If you compare that with the other stuff that goes into landfills, food waste is the top contributor.

7. Food waste creates a pollution problem, too.

The amount of climate change pollution that wasted food generates per year is equivalent to 37 million cars. Yes, million. That‘s a hefty price for the planet to pay.

8. Rotting food also accounts for 25% of methane emissions, which is even more harmful than CO2.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it warms the planet 86 times as much as CO2.

9. And when you pitch your food, you're also wasting freshwater.

In fact, 25% of all freshwater use in the U.S. produces food that goes uneaten.

The amount of water wasted can be hard to picture — but it’s staggering. Wasted food uses more fresh water than Texas, California, and Ohio combined.

[rebelmouse-image 19477516 dam="1" original_size="4000x2667" caption="Photo by Dylan de Jonge/Unsplash." expand=1]Photo by Dylan de Jonge/Unsplash.

10. All that meat we're throwing away is one of the biggest culprits of all that wasted water.

Meat requires the most water usage of any food to produce. For a single pound of beef to make its way to your table, it's the equivalent of running your shower for over six hours (or, put another way, 12,000 gallons of water).

Maybe at that next barbecue, you might consider black bean burgers or grilled veggies instead — both of which require significantly less water to produce — or at least be mindful of how many burgers you throw on the grill.

11. Don't forget the fertilizer that helps your food grow.

18% of fertilizer winds up down the drain when food is wasted, which adds up to be about 3.9 billion pounds of nutrients.

12. Food scraps could be a better fertilizer anyway.

Composting food scraps is a safer alternative that fertilizes our soil while still being safe for human and planetary health, which is a missed opportunity to say the least.

13. There's an economic price to pay for all that food we're not eating as well.

That cost is about $218 billion. Put another way, a four-person family loses something like $1,800 a year on wasted food.

[rebelmouse-image 19477517 dam="1" original_size="2560x1700" caption="Photo by Sven Scheuermeier/Unsplash." expand=1]Photo by Sven Scheuermeier/Unsplash.

14. In fact, cutting back on food waste could save the average person about $375 a year.

You might actually be able to pay off some of that student loan, make a donation to a cause you care about, or you could just buy yourself something nice.

15. The good news is that public opinions around food waste are shifting.

A 2016 public opinion poll by Ad Council revealed that 74% of respondents felt the issue of food waste was important to them.

[rebelmouse-image 19477518 dam="1" original_size="4240x2832" caption="Photo by Max Delsid/Unsplash." expand=1]Photo by Max Delsid/Unsplash.

16. It's about time — because the impact of food waste is only increasing.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the global population in 2050 is expected to demand 1.5 to 2 times more food than we needed in 2005. If waste levels remain the same, this will only intensify the environmental impact.

17. But if we could reduce the amount of food we're wasting, that impact won't be so drastic.

To meet the growing demands of our rising population, wasting less food could help reduce the need to grow more. By making better use of what we already have, we can lessen the effects of overpopulation.

18. And as it turns out, reducing waste isn't complicated. In fact, what you're throwing away doesn't even belong in the trash.

If you take a closer look at what you're throwing away, you'll start to notice that much of what constitutes going "bad" is cosmetic or easily fixed. While you might think wilted or softened veggies and bruised fruits aren’t any good, it doesn't actually mean they've gone bad. Learning the difference between “sell by” and “use by” dates can also be helpful in reducing that waste. And when in doubt, composting is always a better option.

[rebelmouse-image 19477519 dam="1" original_size="3000x1987" caption="Photo by Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash." expand=1]Photo by Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash.

19. It also helps to know how to properly store your food.

Many reasons we throw away food could be eliminated entirely by storing food properly. Avocados and pears, for example, will last a lot longer if you put them in the refrigerator after they're ripe, and — fun fact — carrots keep a lot longer if they're submerged in water (who knew?). And if Alexa is a part of your household, there’s a skill that can answer your food storage questions.

20. A little creativity with cooking goes a long way.

Wilted veggies? Throw them in a stir-fry. Mushy leftover fruit salad? Sounds like an awesome smoothie. If you aren't sure where to start, there are online recipe resources that make this a snap, and apps like Handpick can help you come up with the perfect recipe with whatever ingredients you have laying around.

21. Your freezer is a mighty weapon against food waste, too.

Making smarter use of our freezers can be another way to reduce food waste, yet most people underutilize them. Freezing leftovers in meal-size portions can be the perfect lunch for a rainy day.

[rebelmouse-image 19477520 dam="1" original_size="5760x3840" caption="Photo by Jason Leung/Unsplash." expand=1]Photo by Jason Leung/Unsplash.

22. When cooking bigger meals, plan ahead and do the math.

If you aren't sure exactly how much food to make, no problem! When throwing that summer potluck or pool party, tools like The Guest-imator can help you calculate exactly how much food to prepare to ensure none of it ends up wasted.

23. And remember, nobody's perfect.

Reducing food waste isn't about absolute perfection. That moldy piece of bread you threw away yesterday doesn't mean you've failed the planet — because, ew, no one should eat that, seriously (though while you’re at it, consider composting it instead!).

Taking it a step at a time is more than enough — because it's those small steps, when we all take them together, that make the greatest difference.

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One simple ask led to this nonprofit saving 7 million pounds of food for people in need.

'We knew nothing about charities; we just saw all this food getting left behind.'

True
State Farm

When you were moving out of your college dorm, do you remember how much food you ended up throwing away?

Those unopened packages of ramen noodles, mini boxes of cereal, and buttered popcorn packs were all perfectly good food — and they went to waste just because you knew you wouldn't be eating them.

If there had been an easily accessible collection box for those items, you probably would've donated them instead, right?

After all, it's just as easy to give them away as it is to throw them away, and you'd actually be helping hungry people get fed instead of wasting food.

That was New Jersey native Adam Lowy's theory — and why he decided to do something about it.

Adam Lowy, founder of Move for Hunger. Photo via Move for Hunger.

Lowy's family owns a moving company in New Jersey, and it bothered him how much food he saw getting thrown out when people move. So he started asking customers if they'd prefer to donate their food instead.

Little did he know just how eager they'd be to give and get involved.

In one month, with the help of his father's moving company, Lowy collected 300 pounds of food for the local food bank.

This grassroots effort was the beginning of Move for Hunger — Lowy's now-thriving nonprofit.

And before long, the idea took off in a huge way.

"We knew nothing about charities; we just saw all this food getting left behind," he explains.

[rebelmouse-image 19530127 dam="1" original_size="500x375" caption="Look at all that food waste. Photo via Starr/Flickr." expand=1]Look at all that food waste. Photo via Starr/Flickr.

Food waste is an enormous, largely unrecognized problem in America. So is hunger.

About 40% of the food grown and processed in this country is thrown away. Meanwhile, 42 million Americans have trouble finding their next meal.

If just 15% of our wasted food were saved, 25 million Americans wouldn't go hungry.

MFH's mission is to make a sizable dent in that percentage.

And so far, they're right on target.

Photo via Move for Hunger.

Just this past spring, they launched their Move Out for Hunger campaign with their partner companies, Doorsteps and the Food Recovery Network. It involved collecting food on college campuses on dorm move-out days in exchange for free moving boxes.

While MFH had the flagship initiative and the connection to moving trucks, Doorsteps and Food Recovery Network had volunteers on the ground at various colleges.

Despite some initial hiccups, the endeavor was incredibly successful. Together, they were able to give 5,000 pounds of food — 4,000 meals — to people in need.

Students volunteering for MFH. Photo via Move for Hunger.

Since Lowy's first local community outreach in 2009, MFH's impact has skyrocketed.

The organization teamed up with over 750 moving companies across the country to help put an end to food waste — not just on campuses, but everywhere.

By 2012, they had collected 1 million pounds of food, and in 2016, they broke 7 million. That's one hefty contribution to feed America's hungry.

And Lowy doesn't plan on slowing down anytime soon.

One thing he's learned since the organization's inception is that charities should exist first and foremost to help solve problems. Even if the road is long and arduous, solving the hunger problem in America is always on MFH's horizon.

On a more basic level, all those ramen packages that students squirrel away in their dorms will finally serve a greater purpose.

Check out a video on Move for Hunger here:

These movers were tired of seeing hundreds of pounds of good food being wasted. So they took action.

Posted by Upworthy on Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Clarification 8/8/2017: This post was updated to clarify how Move for Hunger originally began.

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