Growing up
I was taught that throwing out food is almost a sin. Not because I grew up in a
communist Mongolia with deficits on some food, modest choices and likewise salary,
but because we were taught that food is a result of hard work of people and
throwing food means disrespect. With
years my view against food waste was strengthened by more arguments related to
poverty and environment. I wouldn’t say that I am holy with it comes to food
saving, but I do my best to keep up with it. Therefore I would like to share
some of my tips to avoid food waste.
1. Keep your food right and tight
Obviously
keeping your food in a way to prolong their freshness is the must if you want
to avoid food waste.
Keep most
of your fruits in a room
temperature. Some fruits and berries like it more cool, so keep your peaches,
raspberries in the lowest compartment of your fridge. Apples can survive in 0
degrees Celsius, so if you had a good harvest, you can keep them in your garage
away from humidity and light. Some veggies
like squash, eggplants and pumpkins should be kept in a cooler place. Potatoes,
garlic and onions tend to sprout out, so it is best to keep them in a dark and
dry place.
The dry foods like flour, rice, dried beans
and lenses, dried pasta, sugar, salt can be kept way beyond the “expiry date”
label. Just remember to keep them dry and cool and in well-sealed bags. If you
are not sure if these are still fresh, use your nose – if it smells wrong, it
should go out, if there is mould – out! Oils,
vinegars, soya sauce, honey like to be kept in a cool and dark place.
Wheat bread should be kept in a plastic bag
and in a room temperature. The rye bread likes cooler and dry place, so you can
put it in a fridge.
All dairy
products should be kept in the fridge. If you serve milk with coffee, take out
only what you need and avoid letting the milk cartoon standing on the table. It
goes for butter as well and the butter should be kept in a container with a
lead on.
It goes
without saying that all the meat, fish
and poultry should be kept in the fridge. Use them before the expiry date.
But they can also be kept in a freezer, which will extend the expiry date. I
usually divide the meat into smaller portions and put them in a freezer. This
way, you defreeze only what you need and keep the rest of the meat fresh. If you
defrosted fish once, you have to eat it, as you cannot freeze and defreeze it
more than once.
2. Wonder-freeze
You can
freeze just about anything. Leftover food, fruits, veggies, spices, dairy and
even eggs! The general rule is that you keep the food in the freezer for 3
months (although from my experience food kept for more than 3 months is perfectly
edible and safe). Remember to put the food in well-sealed containers or plastic
bags in order to avoid odour contamination from other food.
I make double portions of food and freeze the
leftovers. That saves food and time for preparation, as you only have to warm
the food. That is a lifesaver and much better alternative to the take-away
pizza or kebab, when you come pretty crashed from work in the evenings and just
can’t pull yourself together to cook. If you made just too many dumplings and ravioli,
freeze them without cooking. If you have some leftover spiced up minced meat,
make small meat balls for the next time.
Frozen veggies and fruits have just as many vitamins as the
fresh counterparts. If you have too much veggies lying around in the refrigerator,
which are at risk of being thrown out, cut them and freeze them for next time! The
fruits and berries the existence of which you forgot - cut and into the freezer
for a healthy smoothie in the mornings. This way, you will save time and money!
But do not freeze cucumber or uncooked potatoes!
Your fresh herbs and spices will keep freshness in
the freezer, frozen chili pepper and ginger are almost as fresh and you don’t have
to wait till they are defrosted. Fresh herbs can also be frozen in different
ways. You can top up a little plastic cup with herbs and olive oil or mix the
herbs with butter. You can also freeze the herbs in water. I make ice-cubes
with fresh pieces of lemon and mint leaves.
If you have some pesto left – freeze them for the next
time, but remember to put it in a plastic container or bag, as glass might
break in the cold.
You can
grate the cheese that you didn’t manage
to use before its expiration date can perfectly be saved in the freezer for the
next occasion pizza topping, lasagne or for cheese scones. You can also freeze thick cream in smaller portions to use
for the sauces. Try also to mix yogurt
with fruits and berries in a blender and freeze them in smaller containers –
lovely substitute for ice-cream!
If you want
to freeze eggs, you have to separate
the egg white and yolk and freeze them separately. I must admit that I find the
method of separating whites and yolks just to freeze them too much of a hustle.
But the small packs with pasteurized yolks or whites can perfectly be kept in
the freezer for later use.
Fresh pasta is perfectly freezable as well. It is also possible to keep the leftover dough
in the freezer in a plastic bag, but I didn’t try to freeze bread dough myself,
but all the homemade pasta, butter dough and dough for cookies are perfectly
safe in the freezer if you put them well-sealed.
Any type of
bread can come to freezer, which
will be lovely and fresh after some minutes in the oven.
What comes
to canned food - as soon as you open
the can put the content in a plastic container and keep in the fridge.
3. Love your leftovers
Parts of veggies that you don’t want to add to
your wok, let’s say, broccoli stems, chop them in the food processor and add to
the meat balls. Healthy and no waste!
Leftover mashed potatoes are great next day, mix
it with couple of eggs, chopped onions, little bit of flour and spices, make
small sized balls and fry them in oil – that would make a nice side dish!
Again, no waste and money is saved!
Leftover cooked veggies from previous dinner –
potatoes, carrots, cauliflowers and whatever there is (ham, salmon leftovers
ets) can make perfect frittatas, homemade pizza or pies the next day with just
few additional ingredients. Just remember to put them in the fridge right after
the dinner.
And of
course, freeze the leftover food –
stews and soups. You will thank yourself later. Don’t let the meals to sit
night over, freeze them right away (after letting the meal to cool down a bit).
The ripe
fruits can make a lovely desert, if you make a fruit salad – cut into smaller
pieces all you’ve got and mix them with little bit of whipped cream, or crème fraiche
and add a pinch of vanilla sugar.
Leftover bread can be minced in a food processor and added
into meat balls. Or you can put the crumbles in an oven for a short while and
top your moussaka. I also make croutons, by cutting the bread into small cubes
and putting them some time in the oven for short time - depending on the bread
(white bread usually requires shorter time – just to get a golden colour, and rye
bread needs longer time).
 |
| The crunchy croutons are lovely with a soup or salads. |
You can also mince the rye bread, mix it with little bit of sugar or honey, distribute evenly on the pan and roast it in the oven for 15 min or until they are nice and crunchy. This mixture will be a lovely fiber addition to your breakfast yoghurt.
4. “Date of expiry” panic
Trying to
avoid food waste by any means and getting some nasty stomach infection is obviously
not the option. But religiously throwing out everything which is just a couple
of days beyond the expiry date is also not an option. My rule is – use your senses to determine if the
food is a no go.
But there
are things which I am extra cautious with. Canned
food, which stood open in the fridge for some time is a no go for me at all
costs. Nor the sausages, which are
beyond the expiry date is worth of taking risks. Anything mouldy should go directly to the trash bin. The mouldy part can be a
small part, but that is only the part of it which is visible, all the nasty
stuff has already gotten into the rest of the food. However, one exception is
cheese. If you see a mould on the cheese, just cut it off. The rest of the
cheese will be edible. But that is only the hard types of cheese. Eggs can give some nasty surprise if
they are too old, I wouldn’t take a risk, but there are ways to determine
whether eggs are still fresh or not. Learn to test your eggs for freshness here.
Other than
that, use your senses. If your milk
or thick cream has a weird odour and has big clumps swimming in it Рout with it! If your yoghurt and cr̬me fraiche
has mold – out it goes! (that means that you can still enjoy them after the
expiry date, as long as there isn’t any mold).
Ingredients: 
Recently I discovered the benefits of eye pillows, which has relaxing effects (I didn't even know that pillows for eyes existed!). These are used to relax after yoga, or just to fall asleep. I am really happy for mine with lavender fill (for extra relaxation). It is a very easy DIY project, which doesn't require too many ingredients or skills.
1. Sew a small rectangular pillowcase (the size is up to you), leave a little opening for the filling.
After some months with on and off crocheting I finally managed to finish this blanket and damn satisfied with the result! 
Working on a large crochet blanket with bubble stitches. Takes time and lots of money for yarn, but I know it will pay of! The bubble stitch looks complicated but quite easy really. I learned it from this video tutorial. 
Growing up
I was taught that throwing out food is almost a sin. Not because I grew up in a
communist Mongolia with deficits on some food, modest choices and likewise salary,
but because we were taught that food is a result of hard work of people and
throwing food means disrespect. With
years my view against food waste was strengthened by more arguments related to
poverty and environment. I wouldn’t say that I am holy with it comes to food
saving, but I do my best to keep up with it. Therefore I would like to share
some of my tips to avoid food waste. 
Your fresh herbs and spices will keep freshness in
the freezer, frozen chili pepper and ginger are almost as fresh and you don’t have
to wait till they are defrosted. Fresh herbs can also be frozen in different
ways. You can top up a little plastic cup with herbs and olive oil or mix the
herbs with butter. You can also freeze the herbs in water. I make ice-cubes
with fresh pieces of lemon and mint leaves. 
Leftover bread can be minced in a food processor and added
into meat balls. Or you can put the crumbles in an oven for a short while and
top your moussaka. I also make croutons, by cutting the bread into small cubes
and putting them some time in the oven for short time - depending on the bread
(white bread usually requires shorter time – just to get a golden colour, and rye
bread needs longer time). 
Trying to
avoid food waste by any means and getting some nasty stomach infection is obviously
not the option. But religiously throwing out everything which is just a couple
of days beyond the expiry date is also not an option. My rule is – use your senses to determine if the
food is a no go. 
I was always fascinated by colourful eastern patters and textiles. One of these that I find lovely is the Indian kantha blanket. So using a couple of old sarongs, an old fleece blanket I decided to make my very own kantha. Although I am not a sewing person - just not accurate and patient enough for big sewing projects, I find that making kantha was fun (especially because the stitches don't have to be perfect and you can decide yourself the distance between the stitches). The stitches on my blanket have 0,5 cm in between in the middle of the blanket and 1 cm on the rest of it. Except for not requiring a huge accuracy and sewing techniques, the advantage is that you can use old fabrics, pieces for kantha, so you don't have to spend a lot of money to buy fabrics. Using an old fleece blanket in between the fabrics means that you can wash it safely wash it.
This weekend I was busy with arranging a confirmation/ nonfirmation party for my daughter. I spent some time working on the decorations for the party and I made a huge amount of paper flowers. Some people asked how did I make them, so here I am sharing tutorial. As you can see there are endless versions you can make.
You need: 
