Food ... Glorious Food

Recently, to kick off the holiday season, we watched "A Christmas Carol". I love the scene where Scrooge comes out of his bedroom to find the Ghost of Christmas Present sitting atop a bountiful table of delicious food. This scene seems to represent everything we hold dear ... a table with plenty ... a generous and happy spirit ... the very essence of human kindness. In homes around the world, we try to recreate that opulence and generosity ... offering our guests much more than they could ever consume. And what is left over often becomes landfill waste.

As landfill contributions go, I've always thought that food would be less imposing than other items. After all, it will compost down and ultimately enrich the soil, right? Unfortunately ... there are problems with this thinking. To maximize the space used for landfills, the trash is compacted before being buried in the soil. These tidy bricks of garbage are air tight ... preventing decomposition. Simply put, the process of composting requires air. No air ... no compost. For landfills which allow organic materials to compost, there's another problem. We simply have too much waste. According to the EPA, methane (the gas produced by food waste) traps 23 times as much heat in the atmosphere as the same amount of CO2. Landfills account for 34 percent of all methane emissions in the U.S.

So ... how do we prevent food waste? I'm glad you asked. Here are some ideas:

• Planning a party? When entertaining, consider sending leftovers home with guests.
  

• Plan ahead ... twice. When I shop, I have an idea of what I'd like to cook during the week. This ensures that I have a use for everything ... and if I stick to my plan, everything gets used. But what happens when that dish that sounded oh so great at the beginning of the week, sounds less than appetizing today? That's where planning ahead twice comes in. Be sure that for every item purchased, an alternate dish is considered.

• Don't shop hungry ... and bring a list. Grocery stores are in the business of selling. They plan out their displays to entice us. And who can resist that box of donuts when their stomach is growling. So eat before shopping and make up a list ... it'll help avoid any impulse buying.

• Buy local produce. Have you ever purchased a bag of produce at a supermarket chain, just to get it home and find that there are rotten items at the bottom of the bag? Or how about those lovely tomatoes ... grown halfway around the world ... that are black inside? Produce in big chain supermarkets is older and typically isn't handled with care, causing many items to become bruised or broken which speeds up the decaying process. Buying produce locally ensures that the item is fresh ... which means less waste.

• Buying in bulk saves money and lessens the amount of packaging that gets sent to the landfill. However, one must use caution when buying large quantities. Ensure that the item being purchased has an adequate "use by" date. Also, make sure that the item is something you'll actually use. Most items, regardless of their shelf life, will get tossed out if, after a year or so, they haven't been used up.

• Store foods properly. If the food you purchase doesn't come with storage instructions, check out the Internet. Storing food properly will ensure it's maximum shelf life and safety ... not to mention it's taste.

• Check your refrigerator ... and your pantry. Adopt the grocer's strategy and rotate. Foods that are out of sight, usually get forgotten. Browse the contents of your food storage areas often ... at least once a week. You'll remind yourself what's there and you can move forgotten items to the front where they'll get used instead of turning into fuzzy, green stuff.

• Use what you have before shopping for more. In our house, we have fun with this. We try to use almost everything before making another shopping trip and this has generated some very creative meals.

• Cook only what is needed. If you're cooking for two and the recipe is for eight ... cut it down. Even if your family adores leftovers, there comes a point when everyone is tired of the same old thing.

• Don't toss out bits and pieces. You know the ones ... that last piece of bread in the package ... the crumpled chips at the bottom of the bag ... the peelings from the carrot you had at lunch. These things can be re-purposed. Save pieces of bread to make your own bread crumbs or take them to a park and feed the ducks. Crushed chips are great for topping a casserole or use them as coating for your favorite fried food. Vegetable peelings can be saved and turned into a natural, additive free, broth.

With a little effort, we can reduce ... if not eliminate ... food waste. And that ought to make the Ghost of Christmas Present joyous indeed.

As always ... I would love to hear from you!

13 (more) Ways to Easily Go Green

Here are 13 more ways to easily reduce our footprints on the earth.

1. USE YOUR CRUISE CONTROL - When using cruise control your vehicle could get up to 15% better mileage. Good for the environment and your wallet.

2. GO TO A CAR WASH - Professional car washes are often more efficient with water consumption. If everyone in the U.S., who washes their car themselves, took just one visit to the car wash we could save nearly 8.7 billion gallons of water.

3. WAIT UNTIL NIGHT - Do not fuel your vehicle or mow your lawn during morning hours ... all those emissions bake in the sun all day causing more ozone.

4. RECYCLE UNWANTED WIRE HANGERS - Wire hangers are generally made of steel, which is often not accepted by curbside recycling programs. Instead of tossing them, take them to the nearest dry cleaners ... they typically accept them back to reuse or recycle (just call them first to be sure they'll take them). If they won't, donate them to thrift stores or homeless shelters.

5. WHEN NOT USING A FIREPLACE, KEEP THE DAMPER CLOSED - Keeping the damper open (when you're not using your fireplace) is like keeping a 48-inch window wide open during the winter. It allows warm air to go right up the chimney. This can add up to hundreds of dollars each winter in energy loss.

6. CHOOSE MATCHES OVER LIGHTERS - Most lighters are made out of plastic and filled with butane fuel, both petroleum products. Since most lighters are considered "disposable," over 1.5 billion end up in landfills each year. When choosing matches, pick cardboard over wood. Wood matches come from trees, whereas most cardboard matches are made from recycled paper.

7. USE COTTON SWABS WITH A PAPERBOARD SPINDLE - Some brands of cotton swabs have a paperboard spindle while others are made of plastic. If 10% of U.S. households switched to a paperboard spindle, the petroleum energy saved per year would be equivalent to over 150,000 gallons of gasoline.

8. DOWNLOAD YOUR SOFTWARE - Most software comes on a compact disc, and more than thirty billion compact discs of all types are sold annually. That's a huge amount of waste, not to mention the associated packaging. Another bonus to downloading your software is that it's often available for download at a later date when you upgrade to a new computer or are attempting to recover from a crash.

9. PAY BILLS ONLINE - By some estimates, if all households in the U.S. paid their bills online and received electronic statements instead of paper, we'd save 18.5 million trees every year, 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and 1.7 billion pounds of solid waste.

10. SKIP THE COFFEE STIRRER - Each year, Americans throw away 138 billion straws and stirrers. To stir without stirrers, simply put your sugar and cream in first, and then pour in the coffee ...it should be well mixed. Determined to stir (and didn't bring your Swiss Army Knife)? Ask the establishment for a spoon (a real one ... not a plastic one).
    

11. SHORTEN YOUR SHOWER - For every 30 seconds you shorten your shower, you'll save up to 4 gallons of water.

12. EAT LOCAL - It takes 17 times more oil to transport non-local food compared to that which is produced nearby.

13. FIND A BETTER WAY TO BREAK THE ICE - When a big winter storm heads our way, most of us use some sort of ice melter to treat steps and sidewalks. While this makes the sidewalks safer, rock salt and salt-based ice-melting products can contaminate wells and drinking water causing health problems. It's also harmful to pets, plants and the environment. Searching for an Eco-friendly alternative, however, is tough because almost everything used to clear away ice is bad for the environment in some way. So ... the message here is moderation ... if you must use an ice-melting product, use as little as possible.
    

Yes ... these 13 tips can be yours for the low, low price of a little time. BUT WAIT ... there's more!! If you act now, we're giving you a bonus ... another easy way to reduce your footprint on the earth:

• Share these easy ways to go green with everyone you know. Together we can make a difference!

As always ... I'd love to hear from you!