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, 4-years on, the amount of food I waste is minimal. Every Friday, as part of my No Waste Tastes Great routine, I account for all my potential food waste as well as confessing to any items that I failed to save.
Kristen kindly asked me to host Food Waste Friday, alternate weeks and her initial invite for everyone to join in is cordially extended here!
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When I hosted Food Waste Friday a fortnight ago I extended an invitation to join in. And it was taken up by many of you. Thank you.
(In fact Clare’s even started blogging once more)
I know that taking time to blog yourself, and to comment on other blogs takes time. If you don’t have this time, there is another way to join in.
Lately I’ve been generally out and about on social media more.
If you haven’t fallen in love with Instagram yet then do go take a look.
For me, Instagram is the best bits of Facebook and Twitter, without the down-sides.
To explain – my Facebook posts rarely reach 10% of those who have liked my page. Although I’m not 100% sure why, I think it may have some connection to the fact I’m not prepared to pay to ‘boost’ my posts aka ‘advertise’. So I have to live with it. In fact just yesterday I had someone comment that they thought I had ‘run off’. They don’t see anything I put on Facebook anymore.
Twitter I really enjoy – it’s a fabulous way to meet like-minded people . However I like to talk (a lot) and show my photos (a lot) – so it’s a little restrictive for me. But hey, I still love it. Hashtags are used well on Twitter (unlike Facebook – where it didn’t really take off). This means you can find relevant conversations quickly.
Instagram also uses hashtags really well. And it allows you to write as much (or as little) as you like and upload fantastic photos (as you can alter them as you upload).
Have I sold Instagram yet?
The reason I’m going off on a tangent today is because:
A) I do not have any actual food waste to share! Yay! This week has been a good week!
and
B) I totally and sincerely believe that being part of a community with a shared focus and goal works to improve habits and keeping us all on track.
Therefore I have another invitation. Today it is to hashtag #FoodWasteFriday.
This Friday and every Friday – whenever you take part!
This can be done wherever you hang out. Instagram is fantastic, but Twitter is greatly used, and even if you’re only on Facebook you can use it there. I can still find you, which would be A-Mazing! (not in a weird scary way of course).
By using the hashtag #FoodWasteFriday you can be found and you can find others. No blogging required. But if you are a blogger – shout about it! Get your readers to join in.
Let’s have some fun, and reduce food waste at the same time Guys.
And back to normal service…
Simply Being Mum’s Friday Fridge
Too much plastic this week, without a doubt.
I’m working on this – my shopping habits have started to change and I’ll be talking more about this next week.
I do have a banana hanging around. (see top photo).
But bananas never go to waste. There’s so much to do with them. Including this recipe. And this recipe. Oh and of course this recipe.
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.”
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
I seem to be hanging around at your place alot these days. First the Open House and here is my waste ( a little this week). I am not on instagram or twitter but I am on Pinterest and Facebook. Indeed yes it is very disheartening to see your post only reach a few folks you are “friends” with. I do not take Facebook very seriously to be honest when they can control your interactions like that. OK. Happy Weekend and all that!
http://www.veeseasyvegan.com/stuffed-roasted-pumpkin-with-quinoa-gardens-cheap-thrifty-home-made-goodies-food-waste-friday/:
Thanks Vicki – It’s lovely to have you here. Ahhh forgot about Pinterest – I do have an account, but it’s been a little neglected. It’s on my ‘to-do’ list as I know that I will love it! I’m a scrapbooking fan whether it be virtual or IRL.
I’ll be hanging out over at yours in about…20 seconds!
Happy Weekend to you too!
I seem to be hanging around at your place alot these days. First the Open House and here is my waste ( a little this week). I am not on instagram or twitter but I am on Pinterest and Facebook. Indeed yes it is very disheartening to see your post only reach a few folks you are “friends” with. I do not take Facebook very seriously to be honest when they can control your interactions like that. OK. Happy Weekend and all that!
http://www.veeseasyvegan.com/stuffed-roasted-pumpkin-with-quinoa-gardens-cheap-thrifty-home-made-goodies-food-waste-friday/:
Thanks Vicki – It’s lovely to have you here. Ahhh forgot about Pinterest – I do have an account, but it’s been a little neglected. It’s on my ‘to-do’ list as I know that I will love it! I’m a scrapbooking fan whether it be virtual or IRL.
I’ll be hanging out over at yours in about…20 seconds!
Happy Weekend to you too!
No waste, I think.
The real triumph is NO WASTE ON MY BUSINESS TRIP!!! Day 1 lunch remnants (grilled cheese & ham) became Day 2 breakfast. Day 2 lunch was just right. Hotel had a fridge and microwave so I hit the grocery for food, which was Day 3 lunch while waiting for my plane; the rest came home with me. The remaining cans of soda went to my colleages at the office I visited.
This might actually balance out my utter failure a few weeks ago, when I wasted a $20 crab bake/dip because I either waited too long or it really wasn’t to my taste.
Please don’t be so hard on yourself. Is the crab still bothering you? Oh Boy! We all have bad weeks, in everything, food-waste, life, everything! You do so well all year round! Your business trip sounds very successful. Its very hard not wasting when on the road or not at home. We have a day at the Olympic park in London tomorrow and already I’m trying to gauge exactly what we will need, how I will store it and how I will minimize waste!
No waste, I think.
The real triumph is NO WASTE ON MY BUSINESS TRIP!!! Day 1 lunch remnants (grilled cheese & ham) became Day 2 breakfast. Day 2 lunch was just right. Hotel had a fridge and microwave so I hit the grocery for food, which was Day 3 lunch while waiting for my plane; the rest came home with me. The remaining cans of soda went to my colleages at the office I visited.
This might actually balance out my utter failure a few weeks ago, when I wasted a $20 crab bake/dip because I either waited too long or it really wasn’t to my taste.
Please don’t be so hard on yourself. Is the crab still bothering you? Oh Boy! We all have bad weeks, in everything, food-waste, life, everything! You do so well all year round! Your business trip sounds very successful. Its very hard not wasting when on the road or not at home. We have a day at the Olympic park in London tomorrow and already I’m trying to gauge exactly what we will need, how I will store it and how I will minimize waste!
Hi
This might seem a random question! I remember reading on your blog that you do your weekly food shop in Aldi on a Friday. This is the day I would also like to do my shopping at Aldi, but its awful! So busy. How do you do it? Is there a certain time you go? I know it might be different across different stores, but I would be interested. Told you it was random!
Donna
This is not random – its very topical!
Historically I have always done my Aldi shop on a Friday morning. But….
The way I shop has changed and I will be blogging about it soon.
But back to Aldi… I shopped there today. I got there for 8.30am (The Kids can attend a breakfast club at school) and I was home in 45 mins – very quiet. Later on a Friday it can get very busy!
A couple of weeks back I asked the shop staff when was best to go, and they said a Monday night (I think? or it may have been Thursday). They are now open till 10pm. My concern was the shelves would be empty (as they can be in other supermarkets) but they assured me not. They stock up at night as well as in the day.
Going forward I am probably going to do my fresh shop locally (farm/butchers) and stock up on store cupboard supplies from Aldi – probably fortnightly (if I can free up enough storage to do this). watch this space.
Good luck!
Hi
This might seem a random question! I remember reading on your blog that you do your weekly food shop in Aldi on a Friday. This is the day I would also like to do my shopping at Aldi, but its awful! So busy. How do you do it? Is there a certain time you go? I know it might be different across different stores, but I would be interested. Told you it was random!
Donna
This is not random – its very topical!
Historically I have always done my Aldi shop on a Friday morning. But….
The way I shop has changed and I will be blogging about it soon.
But back to Aldi… I shopped there today. I got there for 8.30am (The Kids can attend a breakfast club at school) and I was home in 45 mins – very quiet. Later on a Friday it can get very busy!
A couple of weeks back I asked the shop staff when was best to go, and they said a Monday night (I think? or it may have been Thursday). They are now open till 10pm. My concern was the shelves would be empty (as they can be in other supermarkets) but they assured me not. They stock up at night as well as in the day.
Going forward I am probably going to do my fresh shop locally (farm/butchers) and stock up on store cupboard supplies from Aldi – probably fortnightly (if I can free up enough storage to do this). watch this space.
Good luck!
Thanks for commenting on my blog! I’m always awed by how organized your fridge looks, although I do admit that a bare fridge makes me nervous.
Mine is always packed to the gills but posting about Food Waste on Fridays has definitely cut down on how much I waste and I’m happy to report that the only thing I had to compost this week were a couple of apples that looked fine but were all spoiled on the inside (I dehydrated the rest of the bunch, in case the rest went bad too). Unfortunately, I realized too late that my daughter had thrown away some Chinese take-out that she didn’t like but that could have been 2 lunches for the rest of us 🙁
Another step that I have taken, for the past 6 months, to avoid food waste (and stick to a grocery shopping budget) is to shop only once a week instead of running to the store every time I “needed” something. I do shop at Aldi’s (and 3 other stores) and I go on Wednesday mornings since it’s the first day of the new “week” for Aldi’s AND their meat sale day and the last day of the “week” for Publix (which allows me to maximize savings combining weekly sales and the latest coupons). I’ve also started posting a list of things that I need to use up from my fridge that week with my plans for using them up. This is really helping me keep on top of things (well, better than before, in any case).
Oops replied in the wrong place! Sorry – see below!
Thanks for commenting on my blog! I’m always awed by how organized your fridge looks, although I do admit that a bare fridge makes me nervous.
Mine is always packed to the gills but posting about Food Waste on Fridays has definitely cut down on how much I waste and I’m happy to report that the only thing I had to compost this week were a couple of apples that looked fine but were all spoiled on the inside (I dehydrated the rest of the bunch, in case the rest went bad too). Unfortunately, I realized too late that my daughter had thrown away some Chinese take-out that she didn’t like but that could have been 2 lunches for the rest of us 🙁
Another step that I have taken, for the past 6 months, to avoid food waste (and stick to a grocery shopping budget) is to shop only once a week instead of running to the store every time I “needed” something. I do shop at Aldi’s (and 3 other stores) and I go on Wednesday mornings since it’s the first day of the new “week” for Aldi’s AND their meat sale day and the last day of the “week” for Publix (which allows me to maximize savings combining weekly sales and the latest coupons). I’ve also started posting a list of things that I need to use up from my fridge that week with my plans for using them up. This is really helping me keep on top of things (well, better than before, in any case).
Oops replied in the wrong place! Sorry – see below!
Without a doubt Nathalie a routine is key to reducing food waste. Your’s sounds similar to mine, but different to meet your needs of course. Just thinking about reducing food waste, makes a difference. Being mindful of what you have and what needs using up really does help, as you know. Thank you so much for popping by and I do hope you’ll join in here on a Friday if you can.
Without a doubt Nathalie a routine is key to reducing food waste. Your’s sounds similar to mine, but different to meet your needs of course. Just thinking about reducing food waste, makes a difference. Being mindful of what you have and what needs using up really does help, as you know. Thank you so much for popping by and I do hope you’ll join in here on a Friday if you can.