how to save food that’s ‘gone bad’
So you get to the grocery store and see a huge box of softening carrots. Or you’ve got some quickly blackening bananas at home and you don’t think you’ll be able to eat them up before they turn to complete mush. What is one to do? Fear not - there are so many ways to prevent food from getting tossed! Here are some of my favorites.
By Ingredient
Apples: Make applesauce. Or apple chips. Or apple chia jam. Recipe here.
Bananas: Peel, chop and place them in a container in the freezer for smoothies! Or make vegan banana bread, recipe here.
Carrots, radishes, cauliflower, onions or cucumbers: Pickle them! Recipes here and here.
Greens: Either cook and then freeze them into squares using an ice cube tray (perfect for adding to smoothies!) or make a pesto with oil or avocado, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and nut/seed of choice.
Avocado: For those rare beings who let avocados go bad… they can be frozen and added to smoothies for extra creaminess!
Zucchini: Freeze and add to smoothies for extra nutrition! Or make zucchini chips, recipe here.
Mushrooms: If your mushrooms have dried up in the fridge, leave them until dehydrated, then add to a food processor to create a mushroom powder. Add this as a flavoring to make a yummy broth/ramen base!
Bell peppers: Roast them and eat as is or add to a processor with chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt for some delicious homemade hummus.
Herbs: Freeze them in an ice cube tray with some olive oil and throw it into a pan as a cooking base.
By Recipe
Smoothies + juices: aka food waste heaven. One of my favorite food-waste fighting juice combos: add wilty greens, imperfect apples, softening carrots and beets into a juicer with some ginger and you’ve got a winner.
Soups: Similar to smoothies and juices, but savory! Throw in softening root veggies, greens, and more. Blend it all up and your tastebuds will never know the difference.
Tomato sauce: If you’ve got too many tomatoes on hand, make an easy homemade tomato sauce, recipe here. If you’ve got an old bell pepper lying around feel free to add it in for a combination tomato/romesco sauce!
Pesto: I loooove pesto for using up broccoli stem, kale, spinach, and other greens! Just add lemon juice, olive oil, nuts, garlic, and nutritional yeast and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Honestly, freezing is always a great option, so if you really don’t know what to do throw your produce in the freezer! Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments :)
