With my tips for where to find affordable local, seasonal, and organic foods, I should emphasize that one of THE most important things you can do to reduce your food bill is to simply reduce your food waste! The New York Times said in 2008 that "an estimated 27 percent of the food available for consumption" is wasted. That comes to about 1 POUND of food each day for each American. To me, that figure is appalling. Another study on a medical news website states that each American household wastes 14% of their food annually. So, if that is true, then you should be able to trim 14% of your food budget just by reducing the amount of food you waste.
Not really as simple as it sounds, but I've been trying really hard to get to a near 0% waste level in our house. How? First, I go shopping MORE often. Yes, I know, most of the recent news about how to lower food related costs tell you to shop less often and to plan furthur in advance for meals. Some articles have even suggested that monthly shopping is better than the average weekly shopping most families do. I tried this for a while. My per pound cost of food, I am sure, was reduced...but we wasted food by the trash can fulls. Planning ahead was a nice idea, but as a working mom (who works evenings), dinner didn't always happen as planned, and the food purchased for that meal was often wasted. I typically shop twice a week now. I base my purchases on what is in season and what looks fresh and appetizing in the stores.
This has another added benefit. By not buying foods that are shipped in from across the world, our food TASTES better. We don't have as much food waste when the family is happy to eat leftovers!
Food grown in season is usually cheaper anyway, because there are not as many added costs from the shipping...and it doesn't waste as quickly because it is closer to harvest time when you are buying it.
Another key point to reducing food waste is to learn how to properly store food items. This year, when we were deep in the growing season, I asked our CSA farmer at Old Path Farms to include in her weekly newsletter how to store the wonderful veggies we were getting in our weekly box. I learned a lot! For instance, winter squash can be wiped down with a vinegar solution and stored in a humid, dark cellar all winter long (hence, the name WINTER squash). Garlic and onions are best left out on the counter where they can "breathe" and basil should NOT be stored in the refrigerator but in a small glass of water used as a vase for the aromatic leaves and left on the counter. Fresh bread goes stale quickly in the refrigerator, but stays fresh if frozen and then thawed before use. I could go on and on, but the point is, what I THOUGHT were good storage practices were often just subtracting precious days from the freshness of some of our foods.
I also try to plan our meals around the finds of the day. Yes, it is more difficult to plan your meals around what you find that day, rather than planning your meals and then hunting for the foods you need. But, I think you will agree that your food will taste better and you will waste less this way. I have had to do a lot of research into this way of cooking, but I have found a wealth of books on how to cook with local, seasonal foods. I am listing my favorites here for you...and of course, if you have questions about the storability of a food, good cooking techniques, or how to reduce it's waste potential, I'd be happy to assist!
Local Flavors, by Deborah Madison
Clean Food, by Terry Walters
The Harvest Cookbook, by Keith Snow
anything by the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten
Yes, we DO still have food waste in our house, but it has been reduced to a minimum. We try to store it in the way nature intended, and if we want to store for future use, we learn how to process it to keep it tasting its best. Some veggies are fine chopped and stored in large plastic bags. Fruit, too, can usually be laid out in single layers in the freezer and then bagged. But, some veggies, like kale, needs to be blanched in boiling water first to stop the enzymes than can turn the flavor bitter. Blanching takes only a few minutes and leaves you with fresh tasting veggies all winter long! I haven't ventured into the process of canning yet, but hopefully this summer I can put away tomato sauce and pickles for later use.
And finally, when buying foods out of the natural growing season, it is best to buy them preserved. Again, I know this really goes against the grain of the lastest encouragements of "fresh is always best," but really, what would you rather have...a tasteless, droopy salad in winter, or a side dish of properly frozen zucchini and yellow squash, which has retained more nutrients and flavor than it's fresh counterpart? In the winter and early spring , I usually reach for frozen fruits and veggies, and I never buy those pale looking tomatoes for my salads. I have found locally grown herb salad mixes, grown in greenhouses, but if I want a tomato, I'll go for the canned or dried variety, added to my soup or casserole rather than my salad.
Of course, even with the new places to shop, and the better storage, there is still one more aspect to consider...how to actually cook all this wonderful food! Coming up next!
No comments:
Post a Comment