Do you ever need to remind yourself… “nothing you’ve done well was done perfect the first time”
Salvaging the out going trash that is full of empty hanging file folder boxes because you are sure you can use them for something.
You decide which is which……
Till Next Time,
Lori
I made quinoa for the first time last week. And while we loved it I have to say it was a bit deceiving. You see it’s these little teeny tiny grains that look like they aren’t going to amount to much, so I made the entire box and it made a mountain of quinoa.
We really liked it and we had it for lunches and dinners for what seemed like forever. Needless to say that we got quinoa(ed) out.
It’s in the larger bowl, but all you can really see is the radishes, carrots, and edemame but there is quinoa in there too.
A few more lime slices got tossed.
One of the things I struggle with is sauces. I made tenderloin bites last week and I made a yogurt horseradish dipping sauce to go with them. I tend to make too much sauce from time to time, so it got tossed out too.
About a cup of rice that never got repurposed went too.
This has not been a good week for waste.
I’ll admit that it is harder to stay on top of everything now that I’m working longer hours, but being able to report it here at least help keep me honest about it, and keeps it a little better than it could be.
Most of this stuff went into the compost bin, and some got tossed in the yard to feed the birds, which makes is not as bad… But, I’m still a bit disappointed in our waste this week.
How about y’all. Are you finding ways to reuse, repurpose and recycle?
Y’all Take Care!
Lori
Now that it’s just the ZMan and I at home, I’m trying to cut back on the amount of food that I cook. I still want to cook enough to have leftover for lunches and perhaps to freeze a second meal for later use, which makes dinner time a breeze.
In combination with that I’m also trying to cut back on the amount of electricity we use. Not only because we are facing “another” rate increase in May, but because I’d rather keep as much of our money as we can, and it’s the right thing to do. Another form of waste I’m trying to cut out.
These two efforts have led me to use my toaster oven more instead of my conventional oven. It uses less energy, and smaller meals are by design a requirement.
The problem was I only had the one baking pan that came with the small oven, that was really getting a work out and limiting me to what I could cook.
Then I came across these smaller cast iron pans. You can see them on top of the toaster oven.
First let me tell you I love to cook in cast iron cookware. I love that it will go from stove to oven and that they will literally last forever. I even use my cast iron on top of the wood stove to cook.
I love that my kids will someday inherit my cast iron cookware and then their kids and so on…
Finding these little babies has allowed me to really open up the meal options while still using the toaster oven.
The toaster oven gets warm enough that I can even heat a side dishes on the top of it.
I love that (pardon the pun) the switch has flipped and I am always trying to think of ways to cut back and save, instead of just tossing it out, cutting it on, or buying a new one.
I’ll admit it does take quite a bit of planning, but thinking about a process instead of just jumping into it always works out best doesn’t it. Kind of like the measure twice and cut once theory.
Sure, I still have my impulse times that I shoot from the hip and make a stupid purchase, but they are a lot less frequent now which is allowing the hopes and dreams jar get a little more full.
Are you thinking of ways to cut back or perhaps to off set the electric company increase that’s coming? I’d love to know what your ideas are.
Y’all Take Care!
Lori
I have a confession to make…. I haven’t done a very good job at taking pictures for our blog when I should be. I find myself breezing through recipes or the fun things we do and forgetting to take pictures.
I’ll do better I promise… ’cause I know our lifestyle is of the utmost importance to you 🙂
I did have a few things I had to toss this week.
A few salad greens. I had bought a “huge” container of them on sale and we did really good at eating them up, but didn’t finish all of them, obviously.
We also tossed some leftover spaghetti sauce with 3 meatballs and about 1 cup of mexican dip. (no picture, sorry) It got pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten about.
I have been focusing lately on waste outside of just food related waste. What I mean is I’ve been trying not to use disposable items when I can very easily use something more sustainable.
For example when I’m packing our lunches, even if it’s just granola or chips, they go into a reusable container instead of a plastic baggie. Although, I will admit that I have no problem washing crumbs out of a plastic baggie and reusing it, but at some point it has to be tossed out.
Or if I’m baking a dish that needs to be covered, instead of using foil I use one of my aluminum baking sheets.
Less waste and saving money. By the way, have you noticed the price of aluminum foil lately? WOW!
I love these storage containers and have a few sets of them.
About a year ago I decided that I was sick of all the stained and melted plastic containers falling out of the cabinet when I opened the door, so I’ve been gradually switching to the glass Pyrex containers. I love them! You don’t have to worry about the microwave melting or staining them and they should outlast any other storage containers I’ve had… ok, provided that I don’t drop them.
I do still use the hard plastic storage containers (like these) for freezing foods, because I don’t like to freeze a glass container.
So, it’s not just about the food being tossed in the trash. I’m really trying to cut back on all the waste in our lives. We have a long way to go.
Like everything else, it’s a process.
Y’all take care.
Lori
Z Life Homestead 