Checking Your Chop
As one holiday passes and more are approaching, there is a lot of food being prepared, cooked, and served. So we ask you, have you been checking the way you chop your produce??
Root to stem cooking is a great way to get creative in the kitchen, reduce food waste, and save money! It’s a win, win, win! This way of cooking utilizes produce in its entirety, down to each individual leaf and stem. Mostly all peels, rinds, and seeds can be eaten or used as garnish – so – as you are preparing your holiday meals (or really any meal), be sure to check your chop with these tips, videos, and images!
- Use it All – as I mentioned, peels, rinds, and seeds should not be disregarded! Before you throw these useful and tasty food “scraps” away, think about how you can use them! Roast pumpkin seeds for a crunchy snack, save veggie peels to use for homemade stock, and check out this video from We Eat Live Do Well on how to cut a melon and what you can use the melon rind for.
- Use the “Ugly” Produce: imperfectly shaped produce tastes just as good as the most beautiful looking produce (and it may even be cheaper…). If you are going to chop, bake, puree, blend, or mash the fruit or veggie anyway, why not give all produce a chance to shine? Check out this amazing video highlighting Compass Group’s Imperfectly Delicious Produce program and how we partner with local farms.
- Use the Leftovers: after the big holiday dinner, are you left with a ton of delicious food in the fridge? No need to worry! Repurpose leftovers into different and creative meals. Who said you can only eat those foods on the actual holiday? How can you continue to enjoy the happiness that food brings throughout the rest of the week? Other things you can do are have guests bring reusable containers to take home a care package at the end of the meal. Or, consider freezing meal items to continue spreading tasty joy even a month or two down the road.
To get ready for the holidays, and the rest of your cooking days, I invite you to take these tips to heart to help Stop Food Waste, become a Waste Warrior, and don’t forget to Check your Chop!