Hey everyone, I wanted to write this post so that we as a people can keep this in our minds and maybe make a little impact on the world. I was reading an article about Americans and food waste. We waste about 150,000 tons of food a day! That amounts to one pound per person per day. I myself have been guilty of having to toss out food from time to time. Sometimes I plan a dish and don’t get around to making it before one of the ingredients spoil. Life happens we’re busy, but the thing is, I would venture to say most of us including myself don’t give it a second thought. It’s food right? We have tons of it, but others aren’t as lucky. Another way to look at it is, each of us toss out about $650 worth of food a year. So think what you could do with that money. I’ll admit it doesn’t seem like a huge amount of money but if you invested that $650 a year for thirty years in a 401K it could be around $72,000!
One way I like to keep from tossing stuff out is to make it into something else . Like when I roast a turkey or a chicken I’ll try making other things from the leftovers. Even if it’s as simple as chicken salad or turkey tetrazzini or a broth. Another thing that I see all the time is bananas. People have their favorite stage of ripeness for eating bananas, but I have yet to see anyone who eats them when they are turning black, However, this is the perfect time to make banana bread. It’s also very easy and can be made in 5-10 min plus cooking time. The recipe below has only seven ingredients, eight if you add nuts.
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2-3 mashed bananas
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Cream together the oil and the sugar until fully mixed. Add the eggs and mashed bananas and mix well. Next add the baking soda and salt and then slowly add the flour while mixing. Your batter should be somewhat thick, almost like a paste. Pour into a greased loaf pan and cook at 350 degrees for 45 min or until a fork stuck in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack before serving. You can also use this recipe to make muffins, the cooking time will be a little shorter.
Do you have any ideas for ways to save food? Do you have a favorite dish you make from leftovers? Please share it in the comments below. Also as always if you have any comments or questions please feel free to leave them in the comments box. Have a great day and until next time Boone Appétit!
Thanks for the blogpost, Charlie! I, too, hate to throw out food. When good leftovers start to pile up, we have a ‘buffet night’ for dinner. When the kids were younger, they loved the idea of taking whatever they liked from the smorgasbord!
Great idea on the banana bread for the overripe Chiquitas too. Did you know you can freeze them if you’re not ready to bake?
I’m in Vermont now, and enjoying the local foods and flavors: maple bacon and local beer, among other things.
See you next time!
Jenn,
that’s a great idea having a leftover buffet night! I have frozen bananas before but my problem is I usually forget them until I clean out the freezer every few years! Enjoy the local goodies in Vermont and Happy Mother’s Day!
Hi Jenn and Charlie,
I freeze bananas and they are perfectly fine to use in your banana bread or any other recipe where it is cooked. Here is my new favorite banana recipe and the riper the banks, the better!
The original recipe is gluten-free!
Gluten-Free Silver Dollar Banana Pancakes
1 ripe banana
1 egg
1 heaping tsp of almond butter
OPTIONAL ingredients (which I add)
1 Tbs chia seeds
1 Tbs oats (they have gluten-free at shop-rite – I use regular)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Mix all ingredients in blender, food processor or bullet.
Stir in:
raisins
chopped walnuts
To Cook:
Heat a skillet until very hot. If necessary, use a tiny amount of coconut oil (or other oil) but you probably don’t need it if it is a non-stick pan.
Spoon batter into pan about 2 inches across. You can fit three to five in a circle. LOWER HEAT to very low and cover.
Check after about 4 minutes and carefully flip over with spatula. Cook another three minutes. Time will vary. Cooking on very low heat is important so it cooks all the way through.
Depending on the ripeness of the banana, you may not need syrup or honey. Serving berries on top is another option. I have also stirred in blueberries to make them banana blueberry pancakes instead of adding raisins and nuts. — yum!
I usually triple or quadruple the recipe. The pancakes freeze very well and you can pop them in the toaster right from the freezer. Enjoy!
Hi Bets! Thanks so much for sharing a recipe and helping to give ideas on how to use leftover food that might otherwise be tossed out. These little pancakes look tasty and are a nice idea for any of our gluten free readers.
bookmarked!!, I love your blog!