How to never waste a scrap of food...

**Valerie in WA** · 10-18-2005, 04:23 PM

This is something I practice that I know the general population probably thinks is weird, but I believe that what I'm doing is important, and I want to share it. Not everyone will be able to do exactly what I do, but hopefully it will give you some good ideas.

I use a three tiered system:

My number one priority with food is to feed my family. If any leftovers can be reused, I do so. That means that we eat leftovers, and that I keep all sorts of little bits for my soup pot, including water used to rinse cooking pans. Some examples of things I save to be eaten later: 1/2 cup or more of cooked vegetable, a pork chop bone (soup pot), 1/2 sandwich, carrot stick, small amount of mashed potatoes or leftover macaroni and cheese. Granted, that soup bone will eventually end up in the garbage, but not until I've extrated every bit of flavor and nutrition that I can.

The very small amounts I put in a sandwich-sized plastic container to be used for my lunch at work. I freeze it until my next work day. A typical lunch might be: a 1/2 cup of peas, 1/2 cup mashed potatoes, 1 cup homemade macaroni & cheese, and 2 meatballs. They are not necessarily things that 'go together', but neither are they offensive together.

When I slice bread from the bread machine, there are a LOT of crumbs on the counter. Since I started with a clean counter-top, I use my clean hands to scoop them into a mason jar, labeled 'bread crumbs'. Then I always have 'free' bread crumbs when I want them for a casserole. The bottom heel of my bread-machine-bread is usually too hard to eat, so it makes it into the same mason jar, via the blender.

I use the heels of store-bought bread for the dc's sandwiches. I simply smear the PNB on the 'crust' side of the heel. It is then buried in the sandwich and noone is the wiser. Actually, my children have caught me at this, and now they know, but do not mind.

If we cannot eat some food (or are unwilling to eat it), my second priority is to feed my poultry because they feed us (an egg a day from each duck).

Some examples are the skins from baked potatoes (I eat my skins, dh & dc don't), crusts from the dc's PNB & jelly sandwich, some produce that's going bad (oops!), something the 4yo pulverized, rather than ate, or apple cores. Occasionally the dc will leave just a spoonful of food on their plates, that even I deem too small to save for a lunch. But I will save it for the ducks.

Recently, I found that my garden's Brussels sprouts had been invaded by aphids.

My darling little duckies just enjoyed the extra protein.

Any food destined for the ducks is stored (until tomorrow's feeding time) in the fridge in a 'duck bucket' which is a recycled yogurt or sour cream container, on the side of which is written DUCK. The ducks are also happy to pick and ear of corn cleaner than you ever knew was possible. Once they've done so, the bit of cob that remains goes in the compost.

Egg-laying poultry also enjoy plenty of calcium in their diets. When we peel hard-boiled eggs, I peel the shells into a pretty bowl. The bowl sits on a high window sill, where it is not easy to see into it. When it is full of shells, I take them out the ducks and add them to their supply of oyster shell (calcium supplement). Since small bits of egg sometimes still cling to the shells, these are regarded as a delicacy.

I don't like to give my ducks egg shells from raw eggs (just in case), so these (and many other things) go to my third area of priority, which is building next years healthy garden via compost. I keep on my countertop a small earthenware crock, which I find attractive. It has an earthenware lid. Any item destined for the compost goes into the crock for a day or two. When it is full, I take it outside and empty it into the compost bin. Lucky me, it turns out that a one quart yogurt container fits exactly in my crock. Now I don't have to wash the crock very often; I just change out the insert.

Typical items for the compost are: banana peels, egg shells, produce that's gone too far for me to consider letting the ducks have it, carrot peelings, potato peelings, etc. Basically, anything the ducks won't eat or I don't want them to eat.

It is important to alternate some 'brown material' with your food scraps. I used soiled straw, dried leaves from the trees or garden, or dried grass clippings. Also very fatty things like meat or cheese do not compost well. Nor do bones.

I hope this gives you some ideas for using your food resources wisely. If nothing else, I've gotten share. Thank you.

**forestdale** · 10-18-2005, 04:35 PM

Thanks for sharing, Valerie. I have almost an identical system and it works well.

**Shell** · 10-18-2005, 05:13 PM

Thank you for your great ideas. It reminds me of what Amy said in the TW Gazette, "You have to get rid of the ICK factor." By being creative you can learn new ways to use everything.