Holidays are the time to honor and appreciate food. But unfortunately, the holidays have become synonymous with overeating and food waste. And after all, not only food that has not been eaten goes to waste: all resources (seeds, water, feed), money and labor that go to its production are also lost.
I am totally for sustainable use of all resources, so here are some tips on how to reduce food waste from holiday treats:
1. Eat leftovers before cooking anything new.
Quite often, we instinctively try to come up with something new for each next meal, but before preparing a new dish, make sure that you have nothing already cooked and still edible to eat first. Just remember not to reheat food and then put it back in the refrigerator.
- Pack hermetically and refrigerate.
Some foods can be stored for several days if they are not on the same plate with mayonnaise salads or hot dishes. They should be packed in an airtight container and left in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. This should be done with smoked, salted, baked or fried fish; sausage and cheese cuts. At the same time, observe the neighborhood rule: do not store fish and meat next to desserts and milk.
2. Freeze uneaten food.
You can safely freeze a wide variety of foods. They can be stored in the freezer for a month without significant loss of taste. The main thing is to rid the product of moisture as much as possible. Place it in a container or wrap it in plastic wrap. It is important that as little air as possible gets into the container with the product. Thus, you can store vegetables, having previously cut and dried them, greens, sausages and other semi-finished meat products. Even salad blanks, if not seasoned, can be stored this way. Boiled seafood is also great in freezing – then they can be put in salads, pasta sauces, fish soup. You can even freeze the salmon caviar – it will do for sandwiches.
- Try creative recipes with leftover food.
If you have some shrimp, squid, smoked salmon or other seafood delicacies left from yesterday's meal, prepare a salad. Leafy vegetables, herbs and olive oil are ideally combined with seafood. You can add cheese, mushrooms and even kiwi slices to this salad, and sprinkle it with flaxseeds to make it even healthier.
Leftover sausage and cheese can be baked in salted muffins, pies, or pizza. In addition to sausage, you can put the remnants of mushrooms, pickles, meat, olives and anything else in your pizza. Pizza dough can be made, or you can buy ready-made in the store.
An excellent option for processing New Year's leftovers iscasseroles. The base of the casserole can be mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, stews, or fried potatoes. Place a layer of potatoes on a greased baking sheet. Put a layer of minced meat, sausages, chicken or fish on top of the potatoes. On top you need to grease the casserole with cream, or pour eggs mixed with a little cream or milk. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in the oven or microwave. In a few minutes, you will have a delicious new dish. By a similar principle, you can cook the same casserole with a different base dish (rice, pasta, etc.).
Do you have a lot of vegetables left? Make a vegetable stew. Cut everything into slices, add potatoes, zucchini or pumpkin. Stew with sour cream or in a little broth, you can put the remaining meat there too.
A great way to get rid of cookie leftovers is to make cakes with it. You may not need to keep track of proportions at all. Just improvise adding ingredients to your liking. Crumble the cookies (preferably with a blender), add a little ghee, stirring thoroughly. When the mass becomes dense enough for sculpting, roll up the balls. You can hide nuts, prune pieces or gummies inside. After molding the cakes, send them to the freezer for half an hour, but for now, prepare the icing.
To do this, you just need to melt the chocolate drops (or bar). Once cured, this coating will be hard and crunchy. For a soft frosting, combine 2 tablespoons of butter, cocoa, sugar, and milk. Cover frozen cakes with chocolate, garnish with coconut, chopped nuts, or almond chips and set.
Fresh fruits and berries can be used to make compote, fruit drink or pie. If their condition allows, make a fruit salad with yogurt or whipped cream.
3. Feed the homeless.
If there is nowhere to store food or you don’t want to, do not rush to throw it away. Sort everything fresh into separate bags, put ready meals in disposable containers and attach a plastic spoon, add fruits, bread and tie beautifully – a New Year's gift for a homeless person is ready.
This new year, let's pay tribute to the people and things we value, and let's not forget to cherish our food!