February 19, 2010

Food Waste Friday plus favorite blog post of the week

I don't have a photo today, but it's not because we had a "no waste" week. We had about one bowl's worth left of some very mediocre soup I'd made last week. I was actually impressed with both my husband and myself for eating three bowls each before we gave up. He said he just couldn't eat any more beans.

On the positive side, I soaked and cooked black-eyed peas from scratch, and then made a big bowl of nutritious soup that we ate most of, even if it was slightly lacking in flavor. We tried adding salt and pepper, parmesan, spices, but nothing really perked it up quite enough.

Aside from that, we've gone through the entire CSA delivery except some huge radishes and some cilantro, and we're working on the citrus.

Check out Wasted Food to find out why I care about keeping food out of the landfill (it's bad for the environment!). Plus, you'll save money if you make a plan to keep from buying more than you need and throwing away what you don't use. Click here to read an article about the whimsical nature of expiration dates. What it comes down to is that they can't be entirely relied upon. So what can? Usually your nose will tell you what you shouldn't eat.

My favorite blog post of the week goes to Vanessa at Green Ness for this post about going organic with cosmetics. Her husband is a chemist, and she basically tells you all the chemicals to watch out for and why they're bad for you, so that you can go through your bathroom and get rid of the stuff you don't want anywhere near you. Just remember to recycle what you're replacing. If you have an Origins store near you, they'll take the bottles and jars from ANY brand and recycle it for you.

Are you watching your food waste? How did you do this week? Let us know in the Comments section.

5 comments:

Kaylen said...

I generally check the beauty products I buy here http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/.

frugalista said...

There is an Australian brand called TNS ( The Natural Store) here that takes back their containers and every 10 they take back they give $20 off their next purchase. Their pricing is decent as well.

Vanessa said...

Thanks so much for having my post as post of the week. I have been so shocked by what I have found out about cosmetics and personal care products. So far I've had to toss (or recycle) about 40 items and have only replaced about 10 so the bathroom cabinet is looking very bare (but a lot healthier)

Wendy said...

For the black-eyed peas...try garlic salt next time.

Angela said...

Kaylen- Thanks for that great resource!

frugalista- good to know, for the Aussie readers! I'm glad some companies are being responsible about this type of thing.

Vanessa- Yes, I admit I'm a bit worried that some of my favorites will have to be phased out. Also not sure where to start as far as replacements. If anyone has a comment about that, please chime in. As far as organic products/good companies.

Wendy- We finished all of the black-eyed peas, in which I add salt, pepper, garlic salt, a bit of sugar, and vegetable oil. those are delicious. We didn't finish the mediocre soup, which when I tossed it was less than a bowl. I should have added some of those same spices to it. I'd already eaten the equivalent of two bags of dried beans in just a couple of weeks, so I'm amazed that we only had that much waste, actually- once I first tasted the soup and it wasn't great. Thanks for the tip- garlic salt is always my quick pick-me-up for anything lacking in flavor.