Comments on: Waste No Food Challenge — An Update

By: Julia

Julia — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:10:00 +0000

We moved in the beginning of January, which was a wonderful opportunity to get rid of some weird stuff hanging around in the pantry (like dog treats my husband got as a sample—we don’t have a dog!!) and also the chance to rearrange everything in our new cupboards. I actually like moving because it gives me a fresh start and I like analyzing where I’m going to put everything in our new kitchen. (I’m a freak, I know.) But what really made me laugh in your post is that you have a “tea cupboard”. I do, too, I have tons of teas and they make me so happy. I was so pleased with the way I was able to organize all my teas right above this weird little section of counter (between the fridge and the sliding door) which at first glance appeared small and useless but turned out to be the perfect place to put the “Hot Shot” (thing that heats my tea water) and my husband’s coffee maker. So everything is right there, I can leave the appliances and sugar bowl out all the time and no one can see it and think my counter is messy. (Our old house was for sale the majority of 2008 and half of 2009, so I got used to living with almost no appliances etc. on the counter. It looks ugly to me now to see stuff out, perhaps I need some therapy here. Anyway, I am slowly working my way through a month’s worth of my favorite blog posts I didn’t have time to read after we moved…

By: Ada

Ada — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:19:46 +0000

Thanks, Katy! I needed some inspiration. I have been meaning to clean out my cupboard for a few weeks now, and will do it when I get home today while my husband cooks dinner.

By: Katy

Katy — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:57:14 +0000

Having the kitchen organized made big grocery shopping so much easier today. Putting everything away was over in a jiffy!

Katy Wolk-Stanley
The Non-Consumer Advocate

By: Kristin

Kristin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:45:44 +0000

We’re doing well with avoiding food waste this week but the cilantro may get me yet! Why oh why oh why is it sold in such vast bunches?

By: Tracy Balazy

Tracy Balazy — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:11:47 +0000

Katy, your comment about old Beano made me laugh out loud! I think I have some of that languishing in my medicine cabinet, too!!!! As for food waste, my husband and I are the only ones who live here, and we do a good job of eating leftovers, yet dibs and dabs of things get left in the fridge from time to time. Like the tablespoon of plain yogurt I found in there today, smelling past its prime. We use plain Greek yogurt instead of milk in things like mac and cheese, and it adds a great taste. But dairy at our house has a habit of lingering when we’re not using it in cooking. I can relate to your comment about the old cottage cheese. We just found one of those in the fridge.

Breads and crackers and corn chips and such, I’ll put out for the birds. Most other stuff, we compost.

My worst waste right now is the never-opened bottle of maple chipotle grill sauce a friend gave me four or five years ago because she wasn’t using it. It expired in 2006. Sauces tend to last, but that’s pretty old. It’s one of those specialty sauces with no preservatives, too.

And then there’s the soy milk in my fridge. Never opened. I bought it when I was on a cereal-eating kick, and then I started eating Kashi mixed with honey and plain yogurt instead. The vanilla soy milk expired in August, and the chocolate in December 2008. Sheesh. It’s the type that doesn’t need to be refrigerated until it’s been opened. Dare I?

By: Marie-Josée

Marie-Josée — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:00:34 +0000

We’re doing better with food waste, but we still waste some. We have simplified our menu and this has helped us reduce it a lot. We make a huge pot of veggie and bean soup that lasts the whole week, which I now freeze on Friday, because we usually don’t eat it over the weekend. I used to waste so many greens in the form of wilted brocoli or bok-chow etc.. so the soup covers the cooked green veggie part of our diet. I process fruit that is a little too ripe in green smoothies so this has diminished our pear/kiwi/banana waste. One area of waste I don’t have control over is mixed baby greens that get slimy a few days after being purchased. It really frustrates me and they are expensive. I think they get damaged during transportation to our nordic land, here in Québec.

By: Kristen@TheFrugalGirl

Kristen@TheFrugalGirl — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:40:27 +0000

I never refrigerate raisins! That has actually never occurred to me. Hmm. I’d say they’re safe.

By: WilliamB

WilliamB — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:11:44 +0000

Antibiotics *are* overprescribed. This happens when they are prescribed for something that is not caused by bacteria – for example, anything that’s caused by a virus.

Other times they’re prescribed for the right reasons (for example, pneumonia) but the patient doesn’t want to take them. That’s the patient’s right.

But if one uses antibiotics, one needs to take them *until all the bacteria are dead*. If one doesn’t, then … well, remember the dictum “That which doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger?” It’s true for bacteria as well. By taking antibiotics for a little while but not the whole course, you’re training the little critters to survive our attempts to kill them. This affects not only you – who now harbors antibiotic-resistant bacteria = but everyone else around you, who then catch a disease that can no longer be treated.

So please if you’re not going to finish the medicine, don’t start. People die as a result of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Including my almost-uncle.

By: Kris-ND

Kris-ND — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:05:18 +0000

I used to give old beans to my son when he was small for his toy combine lol Until he found out that our neighbors combined lentils, NOT old kidney beans…lol

By: Meredith

Meredith — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:21:01 +0000

Thanks for a great, and inspiring, post. We’ve terrible with our food wastage lately, and it’s something I’m hoping to get a handle on. And our cupboards are way overdue for a clean-out. Mostly if we can eat our leftovers and buy less packaging this month, I”ll be happy.