It’s Friday Guys – time for The Frugal Girl’s Food Waste Friday!
Each week since March 2008, in order to motivate her to waste less food, Kristen The Frugal Girl, has posted a picture of any food that has gone bad over the last seven days. She found this embarrassing practice so helpful, to her, that she invited other bloggers to post their own photos, and Food Waste Friday was born.
I started participating in October 2010 and have found, that 2-years on, the amount of food I waste is minimal. In fact every Friday, as part of my No Waste Tastes Great routine, I account (and devise a plan) for all my potential food waste as well as confessing to any items that I failed to save.
Kristen has kindly asked me to host Food Waste Friday, alternate weeks (when she doesn’t post herself), and her initial invite for everyone to join in is cordially extended here!
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Simply Being Mum’s Friday Fridge
Click here to find out more about my Friday routine
Surprised? It’s full. (Also out-of-focus! Sorry didn’t realise!)
I did my No Waste Tastes Great Friday routine a day early this week. My running buddies were coming over for dinner last night. I’d decided to go Mexican, and needed a couple of things I hadn’t accounted for such as sour cream, so rather than visit the supermarket twice I did my Aldi shop Thursday PM.
Before stocking up I gathered together what I had left to use up, to ensure nothing was going to waste.
The grapes went back in the fridge, still nicely firm and fresh.
The cauliflower, broccoli and onion were popped in the slow cooker to make a variation on my Cauliflower Cheese Soup, to be eaten next Monday for dinner.
The pineapple rings have been frozen to be used next week. A friend’s hosting a Macmillan charity coffee morning, and I’m of course taking cake. My Happy Heart Carrot Cake.
Finding a solution for the remaining biscuit/cookie dough and white chocolate was simple. A little after-dinner treat for my buddies.
I was feeling pretty pleased with my saves when I found this…
**divert your eyes now if you are mould averse**
Oh yes, this got missed. A variation of the Frugal Girl’s Chocolate Zucchini bread (affectionately nicknamed Non-Nom Bread here at Chez Wright). I’d totally forgotten about the last piece in the tin. There you go Guys – my food waste this week.
Think it may be time for a Kitchen blitz, me thinks, when a tin can hide a piece of Nom-Nom Bread! Watch this space! I can feel some cupboard decluttering coming on.
Over to Kristen for the last word, as always…
“How did you do this week? If you blogged about your food waste, link us up by entering your info into the widget below. You’ll save money, reduce your trash output, and get a little publicity for your blog! And if you don’t blog, you can still share about your food waste by leaving a comment.
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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
Those of you who participate in Food Waste Friday can now grab a fancy-schmancy button to perk up your posts. If you copy and paste the following code into your Food Waste Friday post, this little graphic will appear.”
<div align="center"><a href="http://simplybeingmum.com/" title="Simply Being Mum"><img src="http://simplybeingmum.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/food-waste-with-leaf-v2.1.jpg" alt="Simply Being Mum" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
If you blog on WordPress, just make sure you’re in html mode when you copy and paste the code, or it won’t work properly.
I also battled mould colonies this week, although mine were on humus!
Also, I can’t get the image to display in wordpress (I am in html mode), and the link goes to simplybeingmom.com, which is to a completely different website to yours and has nothing about food waste!
Hope you can get it fixed up – these things are always so complicated!
Struggling a little with this button. Kristen kindly helped me out yesterday. It seemed to be worked. However something seems to have happened when the post published. I tested it by copying and pasting on my blog and it worked but it appears not to be once more.
I think I’m going to take the code out and take another look at it. If you’ve used the HTML code before you can go back into your previous post and copy and paste the HTML from there…
Thanks for the heads up!
Ok, I THINK I fixed it now. I redid the code, updated the post, and when I tested the code on my blog, it worked and directed me here to Simply Mum. Let me know if it gives anyone else trouble!
Yay, the button works now and I updated it on my post 🙂 However, the link on the Frugal Girl page now sends me to:
http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/simplybeingmum.com/2012/09/28/food-waste-friday-a-full-friday-fridge/
Which brings up an error page (it looks like it has thefrugalgirl.com instead of just www in the web address)
Thanks for all your help Kristen!
I also battled mould colonies this week, although mine were on humus!
Also, I can’t get the image to display in wordpress (I am in html mode), and the link goes to simplybeingmom.com, which is to a completely different website to yours and has nothing about food waste!
Hope you can get it fixed up – these things are always so complicated!
Struggling a little with this button. Kristen kindly helped me out yesterday. It seemed to be worked. However something seems to have happened when the post published. I tested it by copying and pasting on my blog and it worked but it appears not to be once more.
I think I’m going to take the code out and take another look at it. If you’ve used the HTML code before you can go back into your previous post and copy and paste the HTML from there…
Thanks for the heads up!
Ok, I THINK I fixed it now. I redid the code, updated the post, and when I tested the code on my blog, it worked and directed me here to Simply Mum. Let me know if it gives anyone else trouble!
Yay, the button works now and I updated it on my post 🙂 However, the link on the Frugal Girl page now sends me to:
http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/simplybeingmum.com/2012/09/28/food-waste-friday-a-full-friday-fridge/
Which brings up an error page (it looks like it has thefrugalgirl.com instead of just www in the web address)
Thanks for all your help Kristen!
More than usual (usual for me is bits of this and that, such as a couple moldy berries or the bruised bit of a cuke):
– Some of a sliced bell pepper went slimy on a day that I didn’t have enough cope to sort through for the edible ones
– Last remnants of gifted cheese that didn’t get eaten at Sunday’s potluck
– Carr’s peppercorn crackers; some time ago a box of 5 asst boxes of Carr’s crackers was on sale for less than 2 boxes separately. I knew the peppercorn crackers were not popular but decided I’d rather waste some of those than pay twice what I had to for the 4 boxes I wanted.
Successes:
– Almost-stale cookes were given away at work.
– Leftovers from Sunday’s potluck were sent home with others or frozen. Still one meal-sized container, which I think I’ll freeze for a later lunch.
– I sorted through fridge and freezer before anything else went bad. There was lots, owing to the potluck and other events.
Loving ending on the successes…no-ones perfect and there will of course be occasional waste, but as long as we are doing what we can…
p.s I was gifted some pork loin (how random, I know!) – I was determined that it would be eaten despite not being part of my meal-plan, and it was!
OTOH the cuke that was fine before I left for work, had 5-6 bad spots come dinnertime. There was about 3/4 cuke remaining by the time I finished cutting away the bad parts but still! What’s with the magic instant rotting effect?!?
No idea – a carrot got me last week…but none was salvageable!
More than usual (usual for me is bits of this and that, such as a couple moldy berries or the bruised bit of a cuke):
– Some of a sliced bell pepper went slimy on a day that I didn’t have enough cope to sort through for the edible ones
– Last remnants of gifted cheese that didn’t get eaten at Sunday’s potluck
– Carr’s peppercorn crackers; some time ago a box of 5 asst boxes of Carr’s crackers was on sale for less than 2 boxes separately. I knew the peppercorn crackers were not popular but decided I’d rather waste some of those than pay twice what I had to for the 4 boxes I wanted.
Successes:
– Almost-stale cookes were given away at work.
– Leftovers from Sunday’s potluck were sent home with others or frozen. Still one meal-sized container, which I think I’ll freeze for a later lunch.
– I sorted through fridge and freezer before anything else went bad. There was lots, owing to the potluck and other events.
Loving ending on the successes…no-ones perfect and there will of course be occasional waste, but as long as we are doing what we can…
p.s I was gifted some pork loin (how random, I know!) – I was determined that it would be eaten despite not being part of my meal-plan, and it was!
OTOH the cuke that was fine before I left for work, had 5-6 bad spots come dinnertime. There was about 3/4 cuke remaining by the time I finished cutting away the bad parts but still! What’s with the magic instant rotting effect?!?
No idea – a carrot got me last week…but none was salvageable!
Jo,
my fridge is looking more like your’s, being the end of the month and all. It’s a wonder my kids can find anything to snack on (actually there are cookies in the pantry, and scone dough in the freezer, and my two daughters like to bake and made a batch of microwave brownies last night so no one’s going hungry here). But nothing wasted over here, so far. I’ve got a large bag of plums in the fridge to deal with before they go too soft.
Great going Lili…Lovely to hear that a little bit of home-baking sorts snack shortages over at yours!
Jo,
my fridge is looking more like your’s, being the end of the month and all. It’s a wonder my kids can find anything to snack on (actually there are cookies in the pantry, and scone dough in the freezer, and my two daughters like to bake and made a batch of microwave brownies last night so no one’s going hungry here). But nothing wasted over here, so far. I’ve got a large bag of plums in the fridge to deal with before they go too soft.
Great going Lili…Lovely to hear that a little bit of home-baking sorts snack shortages over at yours!
Not a great week, but not a bad one. A slice of moldy cheese, some strawberries, tiny bit of spinach, may have to toss a bit of meatloaf. I have to look at it and make up my mind. Oh, and a bit of the outer leaves of romaine. Lately the leaf lettuce at my grocery store has some not so nice outer leaves when I buy it, so can’t be helped.
Did manage to save my mashed potatoes. I browned some ground beef, threw in a frozen pound of peas and carrots, some garam masala and cumin, then topped with mashed potatoes and baked. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and the left mashed potatoes disappeared. That is a left over that tends to stick around at my house.
Still slowly emptying out our fridge and freezer in preparation of that impending move. IE the refrigerator above, is mine in a fairly empty state. Mine is fuller right now.
The garam masala and cumin sound a fab addition (to what I’d class as cottage pie). Will have to give it a go! I love Cumin in chilli, really does make a difference. I’m an indian spice fan. Thanks for the heads up. Hope the move goes well!
Not a great week, but not a bad one. A slice of moldy cheese, some strawberries, tiny bit of spinach, may have to toss a bit of meatloaf. I have to look at it and make up my mind. Oh, and a bit of the outer leaves of romaine. Lately the leaf lettuce at my grocery store has some not so nice outer leaves when I buy it, so can’t be helped.
Did manage to save my mashed potatoes. I browned some ground beef, threw in a frozen pound of peas and carrots, some garam masala and cumin, then topped with mashed potatoes and baked. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and the left mashed potatoes disappeared. That is a left over that tends to stick around at my house.
Still slowly emptying out our fridge and freezer in preparation of that impending move. IE the refrigerator above, is mine in a fairly empty state. Mine is fuller right now.
The garam masala and cumin sound a fab addition (to what I’d class as cottage pie). Will have to give it a go! I love Cumin in chilli, really does make a difference. I’m an indian spice fan. Thanks for the heads up. Hope the move goes well!
Ah ha !!! I was just about to post on your blog about my friday routine here at Charlie’s Angels, and voila ! you have a no waste friday thing going on !! Every friday , I go through my cupboards, fridge and farm veg box – anything left that’s taking up precious space, or is coming to the end of it’s life, is cooked and presented to my great big gang of kids as FRIDAY BUFFET !!! At the moment present for this teatime delight are 2 crawling babies, 1 toddler, and 2 reception class children (aswell as my own 2 girls of course). Any additional school friends who care to join in with us are always welcome, and of course this becomes hassle free as there is so much food on the table, and with no effort required, so all round it’s a winner , This is so popular with the children as it means they get plates and plates of all sorts of different things ….. some of them familiar, and some of them not …. so they can try new stuff with no pressure. I always try and come up with various ingenious ways of preparing the food to make it fun, sociable and easy to serve / eat. When we all roll in from the school run , everything is already laid out on the table – so as soon as they are all ready we just pull up at the table and tuck in. This is also a fab way of filling the fridge with ready cooked nibbles for the weekend – thus minimising any effort on my part to sustain the children !! So today here is what has been prepared for the friday buffet .
(everything is laid out in bowls with a spoon in ready for serving )
a few boiled eggs, shell removed and cut in half
beetroot chips and parsnips chips
cooked cauliflower
cooked brocolli
wholemeal toasted muffins, buttered
marguerite pizza – served cold
some salad leaves
salad veg
miniature baked red skin potatoes
home made leek and carrot soup (pan on the table, small tea cups and teaspoons for serving)
miniature hot dogs
a plate of homemade cupcakes bought from the school macmillan morning today
some fruit in a basket
a selection of yoghurts (ie what’s left in the fridge!) with teaspoons
I always do a menu for the week and this helps to minimise waste. When I am doing the shopping I often pick up anything on offer and serve it on the friday buffet – for example, I wouldn’t normally buy mini tinned hot dogs, but as they were BOGOF and worked out at about 40p a tin , they’re on the menu !!
Happy friday everyone !!
PS.. all good with us here Jo, happy hectic times .. your blog has grown so much since I last looked !! xxx
Hey Charlie this sounds fantastic and lots of fun. But then again I wouldn’t expect anything less from you! It is amazing what children will try when not dished up on a plate as a meal as such. I did buffet yesterday lunchtime, and decided (not that this is the safest method of eating but they are 7 and 4 and were supervised) to let them pick the grapes and cheeses up with cocktail sticks. It was a winner! Lot’s of fun and no grumbling!
Ah ha !!! I was just about to post on your blog about my friday routine here at Charlie’s Angels, and voila ! you have a no waste friday thing going on !! Every friday , I go through my cupboards, fridge and farm veg box – anything left that’s taking up precious space, or is coming to the end of it’s life, is cooked and presented to my great big gang of kids as FRIDAY BUFFET !!! At the moment present for this teatime delight are 2 crawling babies, 1 toddler, and 2 reception class children (aswell as my own 2 girls of course). Any additional school friends who care to join in with us are always welcome, and of course this becomes hassle free as there is so much food on the table, and with no effort required, so all round it’s a winner , This is so popular with the children as it means they get plates and plates of all sorts of different things ….. some of them familiar, and some of them not …. so they can try new stuff with no pressure. I always try and come up with various ingenious ways of preparing the food to make it fun, sociable and easy to serve / eat. When we all roll in from the school run , everything is already laid out on the table – so as soon as they are all ready we just pull up at the table and tuck in. This is also a fab way of filling the fridge with ready cooked nibbles for the weekend – thus minimising any effort on my part to sustain the children !! So today here is what has been prepared for the friday buffet .
(everything is laid out in bowls with a spoon in ready for serving )
a few boiled eggs, shell removed and cut in half
beetroot chips and parsnips chips
cooked cauliflower
cooked brocolli
wholemeal toasted muffins, buttered
marguerite pizza – served cold
some salad leaves
salad veg
miniature baked red skin potatoes
home made leek and carrot soup (pan on the table, small tea cups and teaspoons for serving)
miniature hot dogs
a plate of homemade cupcakes bought from the school macmillan morning today
some fruit in a basket
a selection of yoghurts (ie what’s left in the fridge!) with teaspoons
I always do a menu for the week and this helps to minimise waste. When I am doing the shopping I often pick up anything on offer and serve it on the friday buffet – for example, I wouldn’t normally buy mini tinned hot dogs, but as they were BOGOF and worked out at about 40p a tin , they’re on the menu !!
Happy friday everyone !!
PS.. all good with us here Jo, happy hectic times .. your blog has grown so much since I last looked !! xxx
Hey Charlie this sounds fantastic and lots of fun. But then again I wouldn’t expect anything less from you! It is amazing what children will try when not dished up on a plate as a meal as such. I did buffet yesterday lunchtime, and decided (not that this is the safest method of eating but they are 7 and 4 and were supervised) to let them pick the grapes and cheeses up with cocktail sticks. It was a winner! Lot’s of fun and no grumbling!
Jo, your carrot cake looks wonderful and I’ll be trying it out as a surprise for a carrot cake loving friend. One question – I don’t think we have anything here called simply “mixed spice” – am assuming it’s nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and the like. Can you tell me what the mix contains? Thanks! I’ve been spending very little time online the past few weeks and have missed reading your blog.
Hi Susan… Just checked the back of the jar and the ingredients are: Cinnamon, Coriander Seed, Dill, Ginger, Cloves and Nutmeg. Wikipedia reckon it’s the same as ‘pumpkin pie spice’ used in the US? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_spice
Hope that helps and I hope you enjoy the cake! Great to have you back!
Thanks, Jo! I just checked my container of pumpkin pie spice and it contains: China cassia cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, mace & cloves. I never would have guessed at the dill & coriander. Maybe I’ll try just putting a very tiny amount of each into the mix when I make the cake. I absolutely love anything that smells like autumn/fall, and pumpkin and all things cinnamon and nutmeg-y do it for me!
Jo, your carrot cake looks wonderful and I’ll be trying it out as a surprise for a carrot cake loving friend. One question – I don’t think we have anything here called simply “mixed spice” – am assuming it’s nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and the like. Can you tell me what the mix contains? Thanks! I’ve been spending very little time online the past few weeks and have missed reading your blog.
Hi Susan… Just checked the back of the jar and the ingredients are: Cinnamon, Coriander Seed, Dill, Ginger, Cloves and Nutmeg. Wikipedia reckon it’s the same as ‘pumpkin pie spice’ used in the US? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_spice
Hope that helps and I hope you enjoy the cake! Great to have you back!
Thanks, Jo! I just checked my container of pumpkin pie spice and it contains: China cassia cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, mace & cloves. I never would have guessed at the dill & coriander. Maybe I’ll try just putting a very tiny amount of each into the mix when I make the cake. I absolutely love anything that smells like autumn/fall, and pumpkin and all things cinnamon and nutmeg-y do it for me!