How not to waste food:
- EGGS
- Too many eggs? Eggs expiring soon? Make deviled eggs. These are great, cooked then chilled finger food. Great for parties.
- Mix in a bit of truffle oil and sauce into the cooked egg yolk + mustard and mayonnaise mash to create truffle deviled eggs. Sprinkle tajin or cajun spice on top for a popping color.
- Some believe eggs are good fertilizers, can enrich the soil if washed and cleaned. Some believe it is not good for warm bins.
- BEEF
- Trimming off steak that is not a perfect? Preparing a new york strip, or fillet mignon, the imperfections are still perfectly premium meat great for beef stews.
- POTATOES, SWEET POTATOES, YAM
- Too much starch left? Cook it, mash it up using the back of fork, have some perfect purple yam mash.
- FRUITS
- Too many fruits that are overripe or looking sad? Juice it. It will have the perfect sweetness and tartness.
- WINE
- Aerate the wine for a tad too long? Make red wine sauce. The extra acidity will complement well.
- GINGER
- Ginger + brown sugar can be a great immuno shot boost. Make candied ginger snacks.
- MINT
- Mint goes bad quickly. Gently wash it and snippet it, then shake well with cold brewed coffee. Chill in fridge and then enjoy - it is like Philz Coffee.
- BASIL
- Excess basil leaves? Fresh herbs go back quickly. Fresh basil leaves, tasty olive oil, pine nuts make a great homemade pesto sauce. Heat and spread over fresh cooked pasta to enjoy.
- BREAD
- Use day old bread, which lost its chewiness or moisture, as garlic toast, or dip in Swiss cheese fondue to lend it extra moisture.
- MISO SOUP PASTE: unless you consume miso soup every day, it is hard to finish the fresh miso soup paste before it expires. Make NOBU style miso marinated cod. We also tested the same recipe on chilean sea bass and it works!
- Vegetable scraps : regrow vegetables from kitchen scraps. did you know you can grow vegetables from kitchen scraps? Cut the green part of green onions and put the white part in a water jar to grow instantly. Change water once each day, till roots are well developed. Then plant.
- Si Gua Loofah : this is a popular veggie in Asia. Dried loofah makes a perfect shower scrub and it is organic and biodegradable. Would you buy natural loofah scrubs from shops? Let us know in the comments.
- Slightly expired food: viable food that is recently past expiration, may not be safe for humans to consume may still be perfect fertilizer for plants. Example use of honey: add tiny quantity to a large glass of water to dilute, use as fertilizer for plants. It is natural, nutritious. Similarly you can do this with milk, tea, even left over tea bags. It is important to dilute a lot, only add micro quantities, else you will get mold and imbalanced soil quality.
- Pepper : harvested too many chili pepper? Pickle them. When sautéing spicy Sichuanese food, add finely chopped pepper rings. Important note: try boil water and clean all mason jars and lids thoroughly. Do not touch sanitized instruments with fingers. This way you can avoid bad bacteria.
- Water for rinsing rice, excess starch makes natural fertilizer as well. 淘米水
- SOBA NOODLES:
- Use Soba noodle as a coffee stir. Use a trio if needed. Bundle them together for strength. They are strong, and they are 100% compostable.
- PASTA
- Slightly stale pasta can be rinsed and used as a stir for coffee
- There are also straws made out of pasta, gluten free ones too! Yay no more plastic straws. Plus you won't have to clean it.
- Organic straws are great alternatives
- Parchment paper | brown lunch bags:
- Unlike other food package, wrapping, paper products and bags, though not great for deforestation, is much more compostable and environmental friendly than any plastic counter parts, even biodegradable plastic bags. Biodegradable plastic bags sometimes require special chemicals / addictive to kickstart the degrading process and may not be biodegrade alone.
- Costume tips: cotton candy clouds make great santa's beard, no need to buy artificial fiber.
- Freeze food before they go bad. If expiration dates are looming, it's possible to freeze food before they go bad. Some ingredients tastes really great frozen. For example: shrimps freeze well, orange juice, lemon and lime slices, tofu (it completely changes texture. some recipes call for frozen tofu).
More environment friendly tips : Take a quit single-use water bottle pledge. Pledge to stop using plastic water bottles. You can always regrow vegetables from kitchen scraps such as spring onions and fresh mints.
Disclaimer: all above is for entertainment purpose only. These statements have not been carefully checked. We cannot guarantee accuracy. The above is not considered advice. Please consult professionals.
