Eat food that is good for me and my environment.
Retraining my brain when it comes to food waste...
Confession time: I have not been doing well with my goals. I've been very stressed out, eating out a lot, slacking on low waste food shopping, eating foods that aren't good for me, ignoring housework... I've been living day to day and not working toward my goals.
However, I have taken on a challenge for July that should really help me get back on track.
July is Shop the Pantry Month!
This came about because a friend of ours was moving and gave us a lot of food he couldn't transport. And then I couldn't fit everything in the fridge, because there was too much. This is not a bad problem to have, right?
But it brought some issues to the fore. I have a lot of residual stuff in my fridge, and I forget it's there, and I don't eat it. So I thought to myself, 'Self, we should take this opportunity to get creative!' I love the challenge of limiting myself and then trying new things and thinking in a new way! It's that challenge mindset that helped me become debt free, vegetarian and minimal-ish. And now...more food aware!
The day was June 29, and I prepared by cleaning up and cooking things that were going bad, and committing to bringing no more food through the door until August 1st. This was only going to be a challenge if I didn't allow myself to prepare for it by buying more food!
So, here we are. It's July 1st, and the challenge begins!
Change One, Day One:
The first change was immediate. On the 29th, things changed. Foods I'd previously ignored were suddenly precious. I had left over Chinese food that I'd ordered, but I wasn't crazy about the sauce. It had been languishing in the fridge for a few days, waiting for my final decision. When I knew that tofu was going to be in short supply for the next month, those leftovers suddenly became quite appetizing!Potatoes and squash that were destined for the compost heap got a second look. Not only for today, but also for the future – the potatoes got cut up, so the parts that were still good could be cooked, and the parts that were sprouting could be planted. I might be able to get more potatoes out of that little chunk in the next few months! Already, my mindset was completely different. The squash also got examined, diced up, and parts were either composted or thrown in a pot to cook up.
Inventory:
When you know you have a finite amount of food, and you want to make the most of it, it's vital to know what you have. I know it should be, in any case, but that just hasn't been a priority for me. Now, suddenly, it is. So, I'll be posting a full listing of the food in the house in a separate post, with some of my thoughts and changes in the way I view it.
What I ate today:
- Large salad:
- lettuce: red leaf from my garden (starting to bolt, so I had to pick it) and romaine from last week. It's packed carefully so it should last quite a while.
- cucumber, carrot, avocado: leftover from sushi I made last week
- tofu: I had a small sliver of tofu leftover from a recipe. Pre challenge this would almost certainly have gone bad. Not today, tofu! Not today...
- pepitas
- feta cheese: Another donation from our friend
- balsamic dressing: It had been in my fridge for ages, and I'd forgotten why. This is why. I REALLY don't like it. Despite wanting not to waste food, I got rid of it. I was able to save the salad by adding more (very precious!) balsamic vinegar and some spices, but it was a close one!
- Seltzer and grapefruit juice: I've frozen some of the grapefruit juice already because I love it in my seltzer and I want it to last the month. Pre-challenge, I would have just used more as it got closer to expiration, so as not to waste it.
- triscuits and cheese: the cheese was from my friend, and it was one of my favorites, so I was pretty excited about it. I don't buy cheese for the house anymore. We keep some for the dog's medications, but I don't eat it. However, I really enjoyed this windfall!
- coffee with almond milk: I have almost a full half gallon of almond milk, but I'm thinking of freezing some of it in ice cube trays so I have it for my coffee all month. Luckily I only drink coffee from home on the weekends. I'll be making coffee at work without milk all week (which is standard for me, the creamers there are just sort of gross).
- Hell or High Watermelon beer: leftover from a pack my partner bought. He doesn't like fruit flavored beer and I found I quite enjoyed this one. Unless there's a blood orange one left, it is likely my last beer until August.
- Taco:
- corn tortilla: I only have a few of these, after this I'll probably have to make some whole wheat tortillas.
- leftover potato
- soaked dried mushrooms and tvp: most of my protein options are dried, so I'll be doing a lot of this.
- feta cheese
- taco sauce: one of 3(!) containers of taco sauce we have.
- chipotle oil
- olives
- lettuce
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