What foods do you throw out?

[jaysonsmom]

My parents are super-frugal and save every bite of food left for leftover lunches. All uncooked produce, meat etc are also completely used up, even chicken bones from rotisserie chicken to make broth, or rendered fat (for cooking). I, on the other hand seem very wasteful in comparison. Here's my confession of some things I frequently throw out:

-I always buy pre-packaged salad bowls (the only vegetables my teens eat) and they end up in the trash after the expiration date because my kids don't eat them.
-Lots of sandwich leftovers from the kids' lunches. I cannot re-pack it, and I don't want to eat it after they've been sitting in a warm locker all day.
-I also end up throwing out a lot of cooked pasta that has no sauce because I tend to never make enough sauce to cover the whole box of cooked pasta.
-the end slices of a loaf of bread because no one wants to eat them. We used to save them for the ducks at the park when kids were little, but now it is forbidden to feed the ducks at our local park, and my teens never go to the park anyway.
-a lot of vegetable "halves" like half an onion, or bell pepper, or squash. Whenever I cook, I use just enough for my cooking purpose and the other half goes in a ziplock bag and tends to rot.

 

[tyty333]

I end up with a lot of moldy bread...out it goes.

 

[Arcadian]

We were always told waste not/want not. SImple rules to follow, and I did for a very long time.... And then I got food poisoning (on more than one occassion). Yeah waste away. I do not want that shit again.

 

[Slickk]

When in doubt, throw it out. That’s my mantra!

 

[baby monster]

In general, I try not to waste food and use up leftovers right away for lunch or even breakfast. Sometines I freeze food when I see it won't get used in time. Those half onions or carrots can be frozen and used later for soup or sauce. Veggies or fruit occasionally go bad when I lose them in the fridge. Yesterday, I had to pour out some coconut milk that went bad. I wish they sold it in smaller cartons than half gallon because I'm the only one who drinks it.

 

[TooPatient]

@jaysonsmom I will be back when I think about this a bit, but wanted to comment that it is good you don't do bread for ducks anymore. Bread is very bad for ducks. (I didn't know until just a couple of years ago!)

 

[redwood66]

I admit to keeping things longer than the sell by date. Most of it is ok. Though I don't mess with chicken pork or fish. But I do buy all the beef I can in the marked down section of the meat counter. Just because it is not bright red does not mean it is bad, it just means the blood has drained from the top. Tastes better anyway as it has aged a little longer. Green or smelly is not ok.

 

[stracci2000]

I try not to throw anything away.
I freeze bread ends and make croutons out of them.
We have a compost heap outside, so all my vegetable peels go in there.
There are only two of us, so I don't buy more than I need, which results in less waste.

 

[soxfan]

I buy a large container of mixed greens each week so I can throw it in the trash.

 

[lissyflo]

In general, I try not to waste food and use up leftovers right away for lunch or even breakfast. Sometines I freeze food when I see it won't get used in time. Those half onions or carrots can be frozen and used later for soup or sauce. Veggies or fruit occasionally go bad when I lose them in the fridge. Yesterday, I had to pour out some coconut milk that went bad. I wish they sold it in smaller cartons than half gallon because I'm the only one who drinks it.

I do this too. I generally freeze bread on purchase now and just take out to defrost what we need (or have a toasted sarnie if I haven’t thought in advance, so it defrosts on cooking). I also freeze fruit that’s just starting to turn to use in smoothies - bananas, berries, etc., and you can also freeze fresh herbs in ice cubes.

I often eat the same lunch a couple of days running when it’s just me in the house on weekdays, so that uses up the other half of packet things like pre-cooked lentils or half an onion. I’m also trying to develop a taste for a ‘random omelette’ using all the leftover veg bits in the fridge - some days are a bit too random however...

Salad leaves are the big thing we struggle with as they don’t seem to last long enough to finish. And soft cheeses, as I’m the only one in the house that eats cheese - there’s only so much feta I can crumble on things in a few days and it doesn’t look like it would react well to freezing!

 

[telephone89]

We try not to throw out too much. Just because something is past its "best before" or "sell by date" doesnt mean its gone bad! Bagged/boxed salads can be prolonged with a simple paper towel inserted to catch some of the moisture. Lots of things can be frozen or re-purposed. Dairy and eggs are usually good well past their sell date as long as your fridge is cold (put them at the back, not the door!). We are such a wasteful society it really boggles my mind. But I grew up quite poor, so throwing out the ends of bread which could have been made into another sandwich is basically unheard of lol.

 

[Arcadian]

I should say that I'm quite careful. I'm aware of what I can have past an expiration date and what just isn't worth it. Of course down here food just spoils very quickly (trips to the grocery store include using a cooler!!)

That said
leftovers its 3 days
Milk is 1 week
Fish is 24 hours PERIOD (yeah the problem food!)
Stuff like kale is fine for 2 weeks but other salad type greens is 4 days.
I don't do bread. However if its here, it usually spoils in 2-3 days anyway.
If its been pickled it will last forever so....
But I won't risk it anymore... too old and puking your guts out, calling God, Bob, Earl, anybody is just not the business.

 

[TooPatient]

I am usually very good about menu planning to minimize waste. Meats go on to marinate as soon as I get home from the store. Veggies I buy fresh and geneegene every couple of days so no waste unless it is like carrots that keep awhile. We don't do dairy much. Cheese is one thing I end up tossing more than I like since it goes moldy by the time I want to use it again.

I guess the most of what we toss is pre-prepared things. I buy them (marinades, salad dressing, quinoa boxes, etc) to save time but never think about them so they sit for years until I decide to just toss.

 

[redwood66]

My vacuum sealer has saved me a pretty penny and I load up on the clearance meat then come right home and seal away putting it in the freezer. We used to buy a half a beef a year but not anymore.

 

[canuk-gal]

I buy a large container of mixed greens each week so I can throw it in the trash.

LOLS I am a reformed thrower outer.....OK, well, in recovery.....

 

[PintoBean]

The raccoons eat anything but tomatoes and lettuce - salad stuff... so if something is spoiling, I gather it up with other expired stuff and walk it to a special designated drop off area, per my neighbor lol.

Spoiled salad stuff goes into the garbage.

 

[Bron357]

I’m terrible. I spend half my life suspiciously “sniffing things”, especially milk. Any smell and out it goes. Once you’ve had severe food poisoning (ie in hospital on a drip while violently ejecting from both ends) you never want to go there again.

 

[missy]

I used to have to throw fruit out (we only buy organic) because it would spoil before we could eat it all but now I just freeze it before it goes bad and voila delicious frozen fruit for my daily smoothies! Win win. Same for our organic greens. If they are too wilted into my smoothies they go. And I feel so much better because I don't like to throw out food. Like @Arcadian was taught we also were told to waste not want not and growing up throwing out food was frowned upon just as not finishing all the food on our plate was not encouraged.

We generally don't buy too much or more than we can eat before it will go bad. That is engraved into my conscious because of the way we were raised. It was considered sinful to waste food when people all over were starving and didn't have enough food. A related lesson (in my mind) is that we also grew up learning how important it is to give back to the community and be charitable and to this day we consider it a mitzvah to give of time and resources to those who need it. And to waste food (ie let it spoil) was considered by my parents a sin when there were so many who could have enjoyed that food who don't have enough food.

But I am very careful not to ingest anything spoiled nor anything that could make me ill. One bout of food poisoning in 2004 was one time too many and though that occurred because the restaurant served spoiled food and not my fault in any way it has made me much more cautious about not eating anything that might be spoiled.

 

[missy]

I buy a large container of mixed greens each week so I can throw it in the trash.

Maybe you can use those for green smoothies...they are delicious and nutritious!

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I freeze everything I can and generally but things that can specifically be frozen to help cut back. Usually it's things in drawers that get forgotten about and end up in the trash. Cheese, lettuce, sometimes fruits. DH will force me to buy bread and only eat a few slices before it turns into a rock. I wish you could buy smaller portions of a lot of things.

 

[Tonks]

This is an ongoing controversy in our house. I follow the rules about food safety and leftovers, and if you look, it is a shockingly short time before they are considered unsafe. My husband, on the other hand, would happily eat things a week and a half later.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Bananas, and although I realize I could make banana bread more times than not I end up tossing them. One week I can't keep enough in the house and the next week they end up black because nobody ate them

 

[stracci2000]

Bananas, and
although I realize I could make banana bread more times than not I end up tossing them. One week I can't keep enough in the house and the next week they end up black because nobody ate them

@StephanieLynn , you can freeze the overripe bananas in their skins, and use them later for smoothies or in breads and cakes. Just let them defrost a few minutes and the peel comes right off.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@stracci2000, I totally should do that, this week is a good banana week for us, there is only one left

 

[lyra]

Produce! And it's terribly expensive here. Our small standing freezer and fridge freezer are always full, so there's no room for more.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I've changed my habits to include recycling of food in my fridge. For example--I make bruschetta so the guts from the roma tomatoes are now frozen instead of tossed. I make my own tomato sauce so I just include the frozen guts with the other fresh tomato's.

Instead of tossing the mixed greens, I make lasagna and layer the leaves in with the ricotta cheese and it adds color and nothing is wasted. The produce is still good--not to the sogged out limit.
Carrots, beets, celery, lemons, oranges, and limes are put into the short ribs that slow cook. Apples get sautéed with the pork tenderloin.

That said, I really "cannot" eat left overs--madness for sure, but unless it is steak....it doesn't happen. Lucky for me, my husband doesn't discern. He doesn't cook or grocery shop or or...so it all works out.

cheers--Sharon

 

[stracci2000]

HI:

I've changed my habits to include recycling of food in my fridge. For example--I make bruschetta so the guts from the roma tomatoes are now frozen instead of tossed. I make my own tomato sauce so I just include the frozen guts with the other fresh tomato's.

Instead of tossing the mixed greens, I make lasagna and layer the leaves in with the ricotta cheese and it adds color and nothing is wasted. The produce is still good--not to the sogged out limit.
Carrots, beets, celery, lemons, oranges, and limes are put into the short ribs that slow cook. Apples get sautéed with the pork tenderloin.

That said, I really "cannot" eat left overs--madness for sure, but unless it is steak....it doesn't happen. Lucky for me, my husband doesn't discern. He doesn't cook or grocery shop or or...so it all works out.

cheers--Sharon

Haha! you are making me laugh with this talk of tomato "guts"!!!!!
I like that idea of adding greens to lasagna... will try that!

 

[canuk-gal]

Haha! you are making me laugh with this talk of tomato "guts"!!!!!
I like that idea of adding greens to lasagna... will try that!

 

[peacechick]

Veggies go bad if I forget about them for a week. If I catch them in time before they go slimey then I throw them in my ramen noodles.

Fruits unfortunately too often... although I do freeze them as much as possible.

Moldy bread and bad milk. As no one is a milk drinker here and I only use milk for cooking and baking, we do end up throwing out half a carton of milk sometimes. Happens for cream too but we only buy small packs of those.

I almost never throw away meat because it’s expensive, so what I don’t cook immediately goes straight into the freezer.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Our city has a compost program...so stalks and peels from produce (fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, etc)
goes to compost. I still peel my beets and sweet potato--so those skins go to compost. And, while we don't eat a lot of red or white potatoes, when we do, I scrub the skins then boil or bake them whole.

If I bake a chicken I will stuff a sad apple or lemon or lime inside. It flavours the chicken and the "gravy" and what remains goes to compost. I would love to say I make soup from left over bones on a regular basis, but I don't. So those go to compost also.

Also I love grilled lemons, oranges and limes. Times when I buy fresh produce that is mealy or dry (and don't return the stuff), I grill. You'd be surprised how good they taste.

Great thread!

cheers--Sharon