Meatless Monday is of utmost importance, especially in the United States, as we consume much more animal products than the rest of the world.
The meat industry uses vast amounts of our finite fossil fuels and water and lots of grain to feed livestock, which is extremely inefficient. Why not use those resources to feed people more directly?
Meat production also is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which has proven to correlate to the climate change crisis.
Some benefits of eating plant-based once a week include:
Save 133 gallons of water with each meatless meal!
Reduce your carbon footprint by 8 pounds each Meatless Monday you participate in
If you commit to participating in Meatless Monday every Monday, that is equivalent to skipping one serving of beef for a year, would save the same amount of emissions as driving 348 miles in a car.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Proofing and Stretching: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
This scrumptious pizza with peppers is a real treat for any pizza lover! It’s crusty, full of flavor, and packed with juicy peppers, soft mozzarella and fresh basil leaves. This is truly a terrific vegetarian pizza that smells and tastes amazing.
Added bonus? It uses a great pizza dough, super EASY to make in 1 bowl: all you have to do is mix the ingredients with a spoon, no mess and no kneading are required. We love peppers because they pack so much flavor, they keep well in the fridge, they’re healthy and so versatile. Cook them slowly in olive oil to bring out that delicious sweet flavor. Take your time here, it’s worth it.
Serve this amazing pizza with bell peppers with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and plenty of fresh basil leaves. And have a great pizza night!
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
1 ½ cup + 2 Tbsp (210 grams) all-purpose flour or bread flour
½ tsp instant yeast (or Active yeast, see notes)
½ tsp fine salt
¾ cup lukewarm water
¾ Tbsp olive oil
Topping
1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
4 medium-sized bell peppers, deseeded and cut into slices (green peppers or frozen mixed peppers are fine too)
1 large garlic clove, minced
salt & pepper, to taste
5 oz (140 grams) fresh mozzarella, shredded
Fresh basil leaves, to garnish
Cooking Instructions
Pizza Dough
In a large bowl mix flour, instant yeast, and salt until combined.
Add water, olive oil, and stir with a spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients into the liquid. The dough is sticky, it doesn’t look smooth, and a few lumps are totally fine.
LET THE DOUGH PROOF: cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel, place in a warm place, and let it rest for 1 hour, or just until the dough doubles in sized.
When the dough is ready and fluffy, preheat the oven to 440°F/230°C, and cut a large piece of parchment paper (if you use a pizza stone) or use the parchment paper to line a large baking pan.
SHAPE THE DOUGH: scrape the edges of the bowl with a spatula and pour the dough onto the parchment paper, dust with some flour and starting from the center gently press it out with your fingers until you get approx a 9×13 inch pizza. Let it rest for 10 minutes if time allows..
TOPPING: top with shredded mozzarella, peppers, and season with fine salt and cracked black pepper.
BAKE: bake in the lower shelf of the oven for 15 minutes or until nice and crusty.
Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and fresh basil leaves.
Peppers
Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan, then add the sliced peppers, season with fine salt and cracked black pepper, cover with a lid and cook over medium heat for about 25 minutes. Stir frequently, and add a touch of water only if needed.
When the peppers are done, add the garlic, give a good toss, and cook for another minute.
Taste, adjust the seasoning according to your liking, and set aside.
Notes
YEAST: you can use Active dry yeast instead of instant yeast in this recipe, however, keep in mind Active yeast needs to be activated in water and let it sit until slightly foamy (follow the manufacturer’s instructions).
LUKEWARM WATER: the water should be mildly warm, not too cold not too hot .
MEASUREMENTS: I use both US cups and grams. The cups of flour are levelled: fill the measuring cup all the way to the top letting the flour flow over a little. Then, use the back of a knife to level the top off.
WATER ABSORPTION: water absorption is the amount of water taken up by flour and may vary significantly depending on the type of flour, brand, and weather conditions. When you add water to the flour, start with the amount stated in the recipe. If the liquid is not enough to achieve the dough consistency, just add gradually a little extra water (1 or 2 Tbsp) until the flour has been incorporated.
HOW LONG DOES WITH PEPPERS LAST?Once pizza is cold, place it in a large freezer bag and refrigerate for up to 2 days in the fridge. Alternately, wrap your pizza in cling film or place it in a freezer bag, make sure you squeeze the air out and freeze it up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature. Toast your leftover pizza in the oven, enjoy.
Nutrition facts: please note that the nutrition values are based on an online nutrition calculator. It’s an estimate only and it should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. The nutrition values are for one small serving (about 6 x 4 inches each), the final drizzle of olive oil is not included.
Nutrition
Calories: 257kcal
Carbohydrates: 30g
Protein: 9g
Fat: 11g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Cholesterol: 17mg
Sodium: 527mg
Potassium: 220mg
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 4g
Vitamin A: 2630IU
Vitamin C: 101mg
Calcium: 121mg
Iron: 2mg
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #meatlessmondays, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
Katia. (2021, June 29). Pizza with peppers (no-knead recipe). The clever meal. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
Join Food Finders for the largest sustainability-focused event of the year in Long Beach. The Green Generation Showcase will be held on Thursday, April 20th from 4-7pm at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden and we hope you can be there!
Last year, more than 450 students, faculty, university staff, and Long Beach community members gathered for a fun evening featuring live music and a display of sustainability-themed student and faculty research and creative projects.
We hope you will join other campus and local organizations, community groups and green businesses to share your resources and initiatives with an engaged community. Our whole team would be delighted to add Food Finders to our list of participants for what promises to be an inspiring night.
2022 Food Finders Make A Choice
Event Details
When
Where
Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden 1250 Bellflower Boulevard Long Beach, CA90840 United States
At Food Finders, we always work with community partners to help feed food-insecure communities in Southern California. Our food rescue operations and programs are working to stop food waste by rescuing food from area businesses. We are on a mission to eliminate hunger by delivering this rescued food to local area nonprofits that can distribute the food to people in need. For 34 years, we have been feeding people and preventing food waste from further damaging our climate. Still, we can only do so much to make significant changes to the barriers and challenges preventing communities from thriving and nourishing their families.
During Black History Month, we wanted to explore the changemakers to food justice. Most people don’t think of the Black Panther Party as a leader in food justice. Still, one of the fundamental aspects of the Party was its commitment to serving black communities through various social programs, including ambulance services, health clinics, and the creation of schools. Their most successful social program was the Free Breakfast for Children Program, which provided food for children across the United States.
Black Panther Party Free Breakfast Program, Oakland, California
In 1966, when the Black Panther Party was established, they knew that the children in Oakland, California, were hungry and did not have access to nutritious meals. They understood that the ability to focus and be ready for school is much easier for a child if they have a nutritious breakfast to start the day learning. That is how the free breakfast program started ‘to help ensure kids had a healthy start to the day’.
By 1971, the Black Panthers had implemented programs in 36 cities across the United States. They served children meals in church basements, community centers, and local cafeterias. Thousand of free meals were served to thousands of young people. A little-known fact is that their efforts ultimately helped to inspire the National School Breakfast program, which expanded to all schools by 1975.
Here is a description from History.com:
The first BPP Breakfast Program opened in January 1969 at Father Earl A. Neil’s St. Augustine Episcopal Church in Oakland, California. On the first day of the Free for Children Breakfast Program, Party members fed eleven children. By the end of that week, the number rose to 135 children. According to BPP member Flores Forbes, Panthers “cooked, served the food, knocked on doors to let the people know which apartment the food was being served in.” Less than two months later, the Party opened up another breakfast program at San Francisco’s Sacred Heart Church.
In Los Angeles, Forbes and others spoke to parents and business owners, explaining how the Breakfast Program would help black children “grow and intellectually develop because children can’t learn on empty stomachs.” Forbes later recalled that the response was “overwhelming.” Breakfast Programs were springing up everywhere. During the height of the Party’s influence, the Los Angeles Breakfast Program provided food for an estimated 1,200 children per week. In New Orleans, the BPP’s Breakfast Program fed more than 300 children on a weekly basis.
BPP Food Distribution
As the BPP became overwhelmingly successful, it became mandatory for all chapters to have a Free Breakfast for Children Program. The minimum requirement for the Free Breakfast Program was an available space with tables and chairs for at least fifty people. Panther leaders requested a minimum of ten persons working—two persons on traffic control; one person at the sign in table; one person taking coats and hats; four servers; and two cooks. As a grassroots organization, the BPP relied on the support of ordinary men and women to help fund the Breakfast Programs and the organization as a whole. To that end, members of the Party organized a number of fundraising events in order to collect money, food, and kitchen supplies from local churches and businesses.
Black History Month is an opportunity for everyone to learn more about the contributions of people of color in America. The free breakfast movement expanded by the Black Panther Party was a contribution that ultimately helped to feed millions of children who suffer from hunger in our country. Their dedication and sacrifice have lived on to help educate children and lift them out of poverty for over 50 years.
Food Finders and it’s over 500 community nonprofit partners hope to build on this legacy and make a long-lasting impact in the lives of children. We will end childhood hunger when we all understand how nourishment and education cannot be separated. Today we recognize and honor Huey Newton and Bobby Seale for their vision to empower their communities and feed their children.
To Learn More about the Black Panthers watch this PBS Documentary
With 2023 well underway, it is important to take some time to reflect on last year in order to plan for this one. Taking a moment to reflect is key to setting up goals that align with your values, are efficient, effective, and achievable, and push you out of your comfort zone.
In this article, I will:
discuss Food Finders’ impact in 2022,
reflect on the implementation of SB 1383, and
provide three key ideas that Food Finders must keep in mind for the new year.
Food Finders: Statistics in 2022
In 2022, Food Finders continued its mission of reducing food waste by reallocating edible surplus to those who are food insecure throughout Southern California. The organization rescued 13,386,801 pounds of food and provided 11,155,668 meals. Through their rescues, Food Finders diverted 7,269,033 million pounds of C02 emissions and saved 6,104,381,256 gallons of water. Food Finders’ mission is to simultaneously reduce food waste and food insecurity through strategic surplus diversion and reallocation. These environmentally conscious goals mitigate the effects of climate change and provide much needed food. Finding methods that solve multiple problems at once is the kind of thinking that guides us closer to a sustainable future.
Greenhouse gas emissions such as methane is released from landfills in huge quantities that pose a threat to human health, NPR.
SB 1383: California’s Law to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
On September 19, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1383 into law which established a statewide initiative to reduce emissions produced by short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP). The targets aim to reduce edible food and organic waste disposal by 75% by 2025, and to rescue at least 20% of disposed edible food to be allocated for human consumption by 2025. The law actually expands upon AB 341 (Mandatory Commercial Recycling) and AB 1826 (Mandatory Commercial Organics) which focused on commercial waste diversion and recycling. SB 1383, on the other hand, applies similar guidelines to residents and property managers and owners. Under the bill—which went into effect on January 1, 2022—jurisdictions are required to provide “organic waste collection services to all single-family and multifamily residences.”
The efforts to reduce food waste reflect the increasing threat greenhouse gases pose for Californians, especially to those with health conditions. In California, organic waste left in landfills release 20% of all methane, a gas that is a “climate super pollutant 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide.” According to the EPA, reducing the presence of food and organic waste in landfills in the United States helps reduce climate change since more than 15% of methane emissions caused by humans come from municipal solid waste landfills. In 2019, those landfills emitted almost 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of methane. California’s dumps in landfills are 50% food scraps, yard trimmings, and cardboard which reflects the need for more conscious efforts when throwing away trash.
California has specific targets that need to be met in order to reach the goals set by SB 1383, Waste Dive.
SB 1383: Changes, Progress, and What’s Next
According to Waste Dive, California estimates that it will need to prevent 27 million tons of organic waste from ending up in landfills annually by 2025. Unfortunately, 18 million tons of the waste is not “eligible for edible food recovery.” One challenge that companies are facing with implementation lies in the composting infrastructure and equipment to meet the requirements. Some owners have resorted to either selling their businesses to larger competitors or finding new investors.
One major effect that has threatened the timeline is the COVID-19 pandemic. The start of the pandemic impacted the 2020 goals and now California is under pressure to “make up for lost time.” On September 8, 2022, the Hearing on Organic Waste Recycling was held during which Shereen D’Souza, CalEPA’s deputy secretary for climate policy and intergovernmental relations, stated that “it makes sense that the 2020 diversion rates required in 1383 were not met” since the regulations of SB 1383 only became enforceable in 2022. Despite these setbacks, D’Souza concluded that “local jurisdictions are making a lot of progress” since January of last year.
Although the law was passed in 2016, SB 1383 regulations were only enforced in 2022, CalCities.
The most notable changes have been the arrival of waste bins for residents to use. CalRecycle believes that most jurisdictions have adopted the “standard” model or the three-bin system which might be the case since the law’s regulations make “three carts the smoothest path to compliance.” Overall, it is still too early to determine the total effects of SB 1383’s implementation. The Little Hoover Commission, an independent state oversight agency, is currently conducting a study that will “assess how California’s organics recycling law is implemented, examine what impact it has on the state’s environmental goals, and provide recommendations to the Governor and Legislature for any changes.”
Three Key Areas for Food Finders
As Food Finders’ Community Outreach and Advocacy Intern, I have been tasked with reaching out to different organizations in the industry to understand what their goals are and how they became involved in policy and advocacy work. Over the past few months, I have met with several local and out-of-state organizations who are focused on ending food insecurity, food waste, or like Food Finders, work at the intersection of both issues. Each organization has provided me with insight that exposes their core values which inform their goals and plans regarding policy advocacy. From these meetings, I have compiled three major takeaways that should guide Food Finders in its development of a policy and advocacy agenda that creates lasting systemic change.
Grounding the policy work in the community
In every single meeting I have had so far, the importance of community has been at the forefront of the conversation. The idea that policy should address the needs of a community cannot be more obvious, and yet, it is often inexplicably neglected. The community should always be involved in decision-making that affects their lives because they carry knowledge that is crucial to their own betterment and longevity. When the policy doesn’t represent the people or align with the community values and concerns, even the kindest intentions are rendered useless without consent and accordance on multiple levels.
One way to create a space for this kind of dialogue is through the inception of a community-led policy council. Oregon Food Bank, an Oregon-based organization that aims to address the root causes of hunger in order to eradicate it, created its Policy Leadership Council in 2021. The Council is composed of community members who are BIPOC, LGBT, have experienced food insecurity and “some sort of oppression” in their lives. Simply put, the Council is made of community members and the community informs the direction of their advocacy. Without input from the Council, the Board would not know how best to address the issues that impact their community.
Taking the pulse of the community
Taking the pulse of the community regarding food insecurity and food waste is crucial before taking the next step towards policy advocacy. Since Food Finders focuses on finding food (as well as distributing, reallocating, and reducing waste), understanding how the community views the issues of food insecurity, waste, and its impact on the environment is important. Simply asking the questions of What do they know? and What do they want to know? can open up a dialogue and clear the pathway toward aligning food waste and insecurity policies with the values of the community.
Recognizing the social issues that impact food insecurity
My third and final takeaway encompasses not just food insecurity, but what causes food insecurity. A lack of food does not equal food insecurity which is why more food (read: food waste and overproduction) is not the solution to this persistent problem. Other social circumstances that affect food insecurity are poverty or low income, lack of affordable housing, lack of access to healthcare, and systemic racism and racial discrimination. Thus, addressing the root causes of food insecurity has to be a priority in order to do more than place a band-aid on an already infected wound. Addressing issues such as homelessness, low wages, and affordable housing is what can eliminate food insecurity once and for all.
Homelessness and food insecurity
In 2022, California contributed to 30% of the country’s homeless population even though the state makes up less than 12% of the country’s total population. According to CalMatters, California’s homeless population grew by 22,000 during the pandemic. Although the state’s investment in shelters is “bearing fruit,” there still isn’t enough “permanent, affordable housing to bring people indoors for good.” On February 24, 2022, the “Homeless Count” in Long Beach determined that 1,801 people were living on the streets or other locations, 485 people were found living in cars, vans, and RVs, and 1,009 people were living in emergency shelters and transitional housing programs. Since 2020, there has been a 123% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness who are sheltered in Long Beach. As we know, newly-elected Mayor Rex Richardson (who recently visited my college campus), undoubtedly has made it clear that homelessness, an issue that affects everyone and spans across the state of California, is a major priority for his administration. During his State of the City on January 10, 2023, Mayor Richardson listed homelessness and stable housing as the first key area to address in his first 100 days.
On February 24, 2022, 69% of the total homeless population were unsheltered in Long Beach, City of Long Beach.
Another area the pandemic affected was food insecurity. The pandemic exacerbated food insecurity across the nation with the USDA reporting that 13.5 million US households were food insecure in 2021. According to the California Association of Food Banks, 8 million California residents struggle with food insecurity and in Los Angeles County, 30% of low-income residents don’t know where their next meal will come from. Homelessness and hunger are very much linked to one another since individuals experiencing homelessness are often food insecure.
Edible Food Waste: The Solution to Feeding Long Beach’s Homeless Population?
Mayor Richardson’s decision to tackle homelessness in Long Beach is commendable and shows a dedication to all the residents of the city, even the ones who are often invisible. This hefty endeavor will require cooperation and collaboration between different levels of government, various sectors and industries, and the local community. According to Stanford’s Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), accelerated production of affordable housing, reforms to the criminal justice system, and vast improvements in mental health care are crucial to address California’s homeless problem. Although hunger wasn’t explicitly identified, caring for unhoused residents includes addressing their most basic needs.
Food waste is an issue that often flies under the radar. Consumers rarely stop and wonder what happens to those packed shelves and towering fruit displays when the store closes. In reality, 30% of the food in American grocery stores is thrown away while a significant amount of food doesn’t even make it to shelves due to cosmetic “imperfections.” Food Finders already works hard to intercept food destined for the landfills so that perfectly edible food can be enjoyed by those who need it throughout Southern California. The bottom line is that there is enough food out there. SB 1383 requires that at least 20% of edible food is recovered for human consumption by 2025, which will result in a “boom” in rescued food. It might be worth noting for Mayor Richardson’s administration that when they are searching for a way to feed the city’s unhoused residents, the food might already be there.
What Can You Do To Help?
Food Finders works daily to change how edible food waste is distributed to eliminate hunger and food insecurity. If you would like more information, please visit our website, volunteer, or support our mission to eliminate hunger and food waste by making a donation today.
Nickee O’Bryant is the Community Outreach and Advocacy Intern at Food Finders. She is a senior at California State University, Long Beach and is studying International Studies and French and Francophone Studies. Through monthly blog posts, Nickee documents her journey as she learns more about food insecurity, food waste, and how they are interconnected.
Meatless Monday is a very important day for the planet. It asks each of us to take one day to avoid meat products. Why? Eating less meat reduces demand, greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and our carbon footprint, all from changing one simple meal choice
Top 3 Reasons to Go Meatless Once a Week
For the Environment: * Reduce your carbon footprint * Minimize Water Usage * Fight deforestation * Reduce land degradation * Protect wildlife and plant Biodiversity * Reduce Greenhouse Gases
For Your Health: * Reduce Heart Disease and Stroke * Limit Cancer Risk * Fight Diabetes * Curb Obesity * Improve The Nutritional Quality of Your Diet * Live longer
For Your Wallet: * Curb Healthcare Spending * Cut Weekly Budget
Recipe from Soul Fire Farm
Soul Fire Farm is a nonprofit Afro-Indigenous-centered community farm committed to uprooting racism and seeding sovereignty in the food system. They raise and distribute life-giving food as a means to end food apartheid. They teach people to farm, educate all of us about food inequities, and empower people of color through and understanding of the food system.
During Black History Month, we want to share recipes from food justice advocates working to empower and change the food system. Let us know if you prepare this recipe. Share your images and comments. And if you know of a Food Justice Organization in the United States, let us know that too!
Source: Soul Fire Farm
Oatmeal and Fruit Boil 2 cups of water or milk. Add ¾ cup of regular oats and ½ cup of fruit (such as chopped apple, banana, raisins, pear, or berries.) Add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of honey or other sweeteners. Continue to cook on low until oats are soft and creamy, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. (serves 2)
Vegetable Soup Coat the bottom of a pot lightly with oil, then add one medium chopped onion and 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic. Similar to the onion and garlic in the oil. Add 4 cups of water or vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add 2 cups of finely chopped vegetables (such as carrots, tomato, greens, celery, squash, and sweet potato.) Continue to cook on medium until the veggies are almost soft. Add 1 cup of cooked/canned beans (such as chickpeas, kidney beans, and black beans.) Add salt, pepper, and herbs to taste (such as oregano, thyme, and basil.) If you did not use broth, mash up a bit of the soup to give the liquid some texture. (serves 4)
Omelette with Toast Coat the bottom of a skillet lightly with oil and heat it up until water sizzles when dropped on the surface. Crack two eggs into a bowl and beat well. Pour the eggs into the hot oil. Cover the top of the egg with ⅓ cup total of finely chopped onion, spinach (or other green), tomato, and pepper. Add grated cheese as well, if you choose. Use a spatula to fold the egg in half. Flip as needed to cook on both sides. Serve with toast. (serves 1)
Veggie and Fruit w/ Dip Mix ½ cup peanut butter and two tablespoons of honey in a bowl. Slice one apple, one carrot, and one celery stalk. Dip the fruits and veggies in the peanut butter mixture and enjoy. (serves 2)
Black History Month
It’s Black History Month, and we’re taking this opportunity to learn and share more about Black History in relation to food, farming, and food justice.
Black History Month originally started as a way to educate students and young people about Black and African-Americans’ contributions, triumphs, and struggles, and it has continued to be a time for commemorating and recognizing their integral role in our history and culture. Their stories are a critical part of our history here in Southern California. Food Finders is always looking for ways to educate and inform people on Food Waste, Food Justice, and the diverse culture that surrounds us–including the many people we serve 365 days a year!
Many significant Black figures have shaped our agriculture system and spearheaded the fight for food justice. We hope that you enjoy this recipe and you take the time to learn more about #MeatlessMonday, #BlackHistoryMonth, and #SoulFireFarm
In celebration of Black History Month we are highlighting three black individuals who have had significant contributions in the way that we approach hunger and food justice, both historically and currently. Although communities of color have always had a critical role in shaping our American foodscape, their contributions have historically gone unrecognized. These three advocates offer a peak into these contributions, to engage and learn from not only this month, but at all times.
George Washington Carver is perhaps one of the most honored figures in the black American landscape for his food contributions, specifically the peanut. What many people don’t know about him is that he had a master’s degree in Scientific Agriculture. Born into slavery, he often skirted chores as a child to study plants and eventually found his passion in food and cooking. He obtained a college education as the first black student at Iowa State University, and after joining the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama as the director of agriculture, he made significant strides in helping farmers to efficiently grow crops, best utilize their harvest, and even published bulletins and recipes to distribute to farmers. He was one of the earliest proponents of sustainable agriculture and “conscious eating”. His research made a huge impact on soil fertility and waste reduction in addition to general farming practices.
Dr. Rashida Crutchfield is an associate professor at CSULB, where she initiated a study of student homelessness and hunger. What started as a local concern became a national study, and her passion to lend a voice to those who were displaced and food insecure helped initiate the Office of the Chancellor’s 3-phase study on basic needs, setting a precedent for making student food insecurity and homelessness among students a health priority. She’s since become a respected authority and advocate in this arena, and her findings and strategies to address these issues were published in 2019 as a book.
Ron Finley is a community contributor in downtown L.A., often referred to as the Guerrilla Gardener. Since 2010 he has been actively growing fresh produce for his local neighborhood using abandoned strips of land or parkways. These areas of South Central, often labeled as food deserts, have limited or nonexistent access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The “food prisons” as Finley calls them, impact the health of residents, each of whom deserves equal access to nutritious foods. To tackle this issue, he not only shares his harvest but teaches gardening and the importance of good food and provides a place for residents to gather and form tighter community bonds.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger, help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
#WhyWasteFood Wednesday is a call to action to take those almost-in-the-trash food items and turn them into delicious meals!
At least 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted every year around the world—in fields, during transport, in storage, at restaurants, and in our homes! If each individual made a call to action to stop their own food waste–the planet benefits, we have less hunger, and your own grocery bills will go down through the savings.
UN Food & Agriculture
Scraps: Soured Milk, Overripe Tomatoes, Stale Bread, Wilted Greens
Crumb-y Green Lasagna
Fall bounty can get away from you and this recipe is a perfect chance to play catch-up. Preserve your fall garlic crop by confiting it and storing it in the fridge. Tired, blemished tomatoes can be trimmed to make a hearty sauce. Accumulate soft tomatoes in the freezer until you have enough to make a sauce. Wilted and neglected greens from spinach, chard, or kale can be sautéed into new life as a filling for this classic-style lasagna.
Ricotta
Ingredients
12½ cups (3 L) soured milk, 3.25%
1½ cups (350 ml) cream, 35%
2 lemons, juice and zest
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp (12 g) sea salt
Directions
Heat the soured milk and cream in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, stirring often so it does not scorch on the bottom.
Bring to 195°F (90°C) and stir in the lemon juice and zest.
Remove from heat and stir for 2 minutes until curds form.
Line a large strainer with a clean towel or a piece of cheesecloth that is 4 layers thick.
Pour the mixture into the strainer and let sit for whey to drain for 1 hour.
Reserve whey for future use.
When the ricotta has drained, transfer to a small bowl and cover.
Refrigerate for 2 hours. When cool, mix the ricotta with the eggs and sea salt. Ricotta can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Green Confit
Ingredients
12 large cloves garlic, peeled
1¼ cup (300 ml) grapeseed oil
Directions
Submerge the garlic cloves in a small pot filled with grapeseed oil
Bring to a low simmer and reduce heat to lowest possible level. Simmer until garlic is soft when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour.
Remove from heat and cool. Store the garlic in the oil and refrigerate immediately until ready to use. Use within a few days of preparing.
Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
½ cup (125 ml) olive oil
½ yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 lbs (900 g) tomatoes (can be spotty
and soft), bad spots removed, chopped
1 tbsp (2½ g) fresh thyme leaves,
removed from stems
1 tbsp (1½ g) rosemary, chopped
2 tsp (12 g) sea salt
1 tbsp (7 g) smoked paprika
Directions
Heat the olive oil on medium low in a medium-sized saucepan, and add the onion and garlic.
Cook for 5 minutes until translucent.
Add the tomatoes, herbs, sea salt, and paprika.
Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 30 minutes.
Adjust seasoning to taste and set aside.
Olive Oil Crumb
Ingredients
2 slices stale bread
1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
1 pinch sea salt
Directions
Remove crusts from the bread if they are very hard.
Blitz bread in a food processor until crumbly.
Pour into a bowl and dress with the olive oil and sea salt.
Spread on a small sheet pan and toast in a 300°F (150°C) degree oven until dry.
Stir every 2 to 3 minutes to ensure even cooking.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Lasagna Assembly
Ingredients
8 cups (240 g) wilted greens such as kale,
chard, spinach, washed and dried
2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
4 cups (1 L) tomato sauce (on previous page)
12 pieces cooked lasagna noodles
2¾ cups (687 ml) ricotta (recipe above)
12 cloves garlic from garlic confit
(on previous page)
1 cup (225 g) mozzarella cheese, grated
1½ cups (300 g) pecorino cheese, grated
Olive oil crumb (recipe above)
Directions
Sauté the greens in the olive oil.
In a 9×9-inch (22 cm x 22 cm) non-reactive pan, layer ⅓ of the tomato sauce on the base of the pan.
Top with ⅓ of the lasagna noodles, covering with an even layer.
Top with ½ of the ricotta mixture and 12 cloves of garlic, removed from the garlic confit.
Layer another ⅓ of the lasagna noodles on top.
Add another ⅓ of the tomato sauce and top with the final ⅓ of lasagna noodles.
Top with the remaining ricotta and then sautéed greens.
Finish with the remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle both cheeses and olive oil crumbs on top.
Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 45 minutes until hot throughout.
Divide into 6 portions and serve with crusty bread or a green salad.
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #whywastewednesday, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
As a food rescue organization, Food Finders, Inc. is always searching for tools and tips to help make people aware of the high costs of wasting food. Today we discovered a wonderful article on building a “Sustainable Pantry.” Like most things at home, it’s about organizing things so that they are accessible and easy to find, but with food, we must make sure that good food doesn’t go to waste because we forgot about it before going bad. We hate that!!Below are some very useful tools to start the new year off right: organize pantries, refrigerators and your counter space so that you do not waste food.
Organizing your fridge prevents food waste
Building a Sustainable Pantry
Like many of us, you may have found your routine changing with news of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, whether you’re working remotely or keeping more supplies around for a possible extended stay at home. In stressful times, we usually look to food as a source of comfort. That doesn’t have to change if you follow a few guidelines and do as best you can to plan ahead. (Experts agree that it’s always a good idea for everyone to have 2-4 weeks of food on hand if budgets and space permit.)
Here are some smart and easy-to-follow tricks we’ve found for stocking up responsibly without adding to your stress.
Here’s our handy printable checklist
Source: Misfits Markets
Take stock of what you’ve got Before you shop, do a simple pantry check and inventory what you already have. Move items that have the most recent expiration dates to the front of your pantry. Just like the FIFO (first in, first out) method for the fridge, the same rules can apply for shelf-stable items. You’ll want to eat up nearly-expired food first and plan to restock.
Buy what you like If you’re going to have more food on hand than usual, make it stuff that you and your household already eat. If that means an abundance of pasta or soup mix—great! Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s a good idea to have both favorite snacks and nutrient-rich crowd-pleasers on hand, so don’t be tempted by labels with years-long expiration dates if it’s not something you normally eat. If by chance you don’t end up having to rely on your pantry of food, unfamiliar foods will continue to go to waste and could be better used by others who like them.
Start with non-perishables Anything that can live in your pantry for weeks and months at a time is good to have on hand. The following items have long shelf lives with extended expiration dates. As long as you have a few on hand, you can make any meal in a pinch without sacrificing taste or nutrition:
Rice: A mix of short and long grain, plus varieties like risotto, can take on basically any flavor profile.
Dry pasta: Get long noodles as well as shorter ones like penne or bowtie so you’ve got a bit of variety on hand. If you’re looking into pasta mixes like mac and cheese, note whether you need milk to complete the recipe.
Cereal: Non-flavored versions can be added to snack mixes as well as your morning bowl.
Dried and canned beans: Dried tend to taste better when made at home but canned is easiest in a pinch.
Canned tomatoes and pasta sauce: Canned tomatoes work with a variety of cuisines from Indian and Italian to French.
Lentils: High-protein legumes are great for soups and salads. They’ll also keep you fuller, and longer if you need to space out your meals more than usual.
Nuts: Filled with protein, dried nuts are great for snacking and add flavor and crunch to salads. They can also stay fresh for up to 6 months.
Dried fruit: Perfect for snacking, salads, baking, or even rehydrating; try to invest in unsweetened versions as some are packed with sugar.
Peanut or nut butter: Good for spreading on bread as well as making energy balls.
Baking essentials: Just remember that flours expire too, so use the oldest ones first.
Dried herbs and spices: If you haven’t refreshed yours in a while, consider stocking up on new ones since flavor deteriorates with time.
Canned fish: Tuna is a go-to for sandwiches and for adding lean protein to salads if you need a meal in a pinch and don’t have access to an oven.
Stocks or broths: Vegetable, beef, and chicken broth are the base for many big-batch dishes like chili or bean soups.
Shelf-stable milks: Though dairy milk is occasionally found in shelf-stable packaging, here’s where the trend of plant-based milks really comes in handy. Consider keeping unsweetened, non-flavored (unless you really love it) almond, oat, coconut, or soy milk on hand.
In our Marketplace, we currently sell a number of deeply-discounted pantry and shelf-stable items such as oatmeal, dried lentils, and canned tomatoes—and even more goodies to come!—so you can fill your pantry while getting the fresh Misfits Market produce that you love.
Move onto fresh fruits and veggies Some produce can last for weeks or months without refrigeration as long as it’s kept in a cool, dark, and dry place. We call these cellar foods. Many are hardy and starchy, so they help you make large and filling meals that can last a few days when refrigerated. Store the following items in a pantry or basement cellar if you have one:
Potatoes
Onions – just be sure to store far from other items, as the gasses they emit can cause other foods to ripen (and rot) faster
Hard/winter squash
Apples – as with onions, they also emit ethylene, a gas that speeds up spoiling so keep them separate from other veg
Beets – if yours come with greens, store in the fridge instead
Sunchokes
Rutabaga
Garlic
Other fruits and veggies do require refrigeration but can still keep for 1-3 weeks:
1 week: mushrooms, strawberries, raspberries, green beans, zucchini
1-2 weeks: brassica (cauliflower and broccoli), lettuce and leafy greens, celery, bell peppers, eggplant, blueberries, cucumbers
3-4 weeks: citrus like lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit, apples (yep, we said the cellar but they will last longer in the fridge if you have room), carrots
Store fruits and veggies in the fridge with FIFO in mind: Keep the ones you need to eat first in the front of the fridge and the produce with a longer shelf life in the back. Always prioritize eating the most perishable fruits and veggies first or you’ll continue to create more food waste. Before eating produce that’s been in the fridge for a while, check for dark spots, mold, and mushy areas. You may be able to cut away bruised spots with no issues, but always smell the produce first—if it seems off, toss it.
Consider pickling You can save time, money, and even save your Misfits Market produce from going to waste by pickling. Onions, cabbage, and even cherry tomatoes can be pickled and used for weeks if access to fresh produce is touch and go.
Freeze everything else Frozen foods you can quickly heat will always be a staple in any emergency, but you don’t need to rely solely on pre-made meals and packaged veggies. If you can spare the time, take a day or weekend to cook meals in batches, starting with your favorite meals and foods like chicken, roasted veggies, smoothie packs, meatloaf, and lasagna. Many of these meals can last 3-6 months in the freezer so you’ll have easy weeknight meals or blended drinks at the ready if you’re in a situation where you can’t make it to the store or if you’re in-between Misfits Market deliveries.
What’s more, bread, butter, and even eggs can be frozen. If you can’t fit everything you’ve bought in the fridge, take perishable items you always use and toss them in the freezer to use in a pinch. Just use them within a week after thawing.
Then, you’re ready to eat In the event you’re holed up at home for any reason in the future, you can easily combine your shelf stable items with fresh produce as long as they’ve been stored and frozen properly. Pair fresh Misfits Market fruits and veggies with pantry items and you can still eat fresh, delicious, and nutritious meals like grain bowls, smoothies, tacos, one-pot pastas, soups, chilis, fried rice, and even ramen. Canned tomatoes can be paired with just about any fresh veg. Toss canned beans into salads and on top of baked potatoes. Add steamed fresh veggies and a hard boiled to instant ramen for a filling, nearly no-cook meal.
Parmesan rinds add flavor to soups and homemade tomato sauces—combine canned tomatoes with tomato paste, garlic, fresh basil, salt, pepper, and a Parmesan rind. Remove the rind before serving and you have a fragrant and flavorful homemade sauce to pair with a box of pasta.
Veggie scraps, tips, ends, and peels can be saved and used to make a flavorful homemade stock, which can quickly become the base for homemade soups with a can of beans or chickpeas.
Leftover bones from whatever meat or poultry you cook can be saved to make a beef or poultry broth.
Even pickle juice from store bought (or homemade!) pickles can be used in place of vinegar in things like gazpacho, to brine other veggies and eggs, and even added to hummus and other dips for a tangy kick.
Got a tip for saving food indefinitely or a question about the best way to stock your pantry? Let us know in a comment below!
#WhyWasteFood Wednesday is a call to action to take those almost-in-the-trash food items and turn them into delicious meals!
At least 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted every year around the world—in fields, during transport, in storage, at restaurants, and in our homes! If each individual made a call to action to stop their own food waste–the planet benefits, we have less hunger, and your own grocery bills will go down through the savings.
UN Food & Agricultural
Scraps: Whole Carrots with greens, Cilantro with white roots
This recipe uses the entire carrot, including the tops, and also an uncommon part of the cilantro, the white roots. They’re pungent and slightly peppery, which is a perfect complement to the carrot top chimichurri.
Chimichurri
Ingredients
2 bunches carrots, with green tops
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar
½ bunch cilantro, white roots attached
¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
Cooking Instructions
Rinse the carrots well, then remove the tops and set the carrots aside.
In a food processor, pulse the garlic, shallot, red wine vinegar, cilantro, carrot tops, and olive oil until finely chopped (see notes).
Allow the chimichurri to sit refrigerated for at least 2 hours so the greens soften and flavor the olive oil.
Roasted Whole Carrots
Ingredients
1 cup (118 g) chopped walnuts
2 carrots, tops and greens removed
2 tbsp (30 ml) grapeseed oil
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1 cup (250 ml) yogurt
¼ cup (60 ml) sriracha
¼ cup (60 ml) honey
Cooking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
Toast the walnuts in the oven for 4 to 6 minutes. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, coat the carrots with the grapeseed oil, salt, and black pepper.
Season the yogurt with salt if it’s too thin. Strain it with a fine-mesh strainer, reserving the whey. Add the whey to the chimichurri for mild acidity.
Combine the sriracha and honey, and pour half the mixture over the carrots, coating them evenly. Arrange the carrots in an ovenproof pan. Bake uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes (depending on thickness), until tender and browned.
Remove the carrots from the oven and drizzle with the remaining sriracha and honey.
To finish, spread the yogurt on a plate and arrange the carrots on top. Spoon the chimichurri over the carrots and sprinkle with the toasted walnuts.
The scrapsbook. IKEA. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2022.
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #whywastewednesday, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
Join Food Finders in our weekly #MeatlessMonday posts and recipes. Taking one day a week to eat “meatless” is of the utmost importance, especially in the United States, as we consume much more animal products than the rest of the world. Below are some of the reasons that we spotlight these recipes:
Meatless Monday is of utmost importance, especially in the United States, as we consume much more animal products than the rest of the world.
The meat industry uses vast amounts of our finite fossil fuels and water and lots of grain to feed livestock, which is extremely inefficient. Why not use those resources to feed people more directly?
Meat production also is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which has proven to correlate to the climate change crisis.
Some benefits of eating plant-based once a week include:
Save 133 gallons of water with each meatless meal!
Reduce your carbon footprint by 8 pounds each Meatless Monday you participate in
If you commit to participating in Meatless Monday every Monday, that is equivalent to skipping one serving of beef for a year, would save the same amount of emissions as driving 348 miles in a car.
Why Meatless Monday? Some avoid meat products for environmental reasons, or for their love of animals, and ethically oppose consuming animal products. Others go meatless to live longer, healthier lives. A lot of scientific research points to significant health benefits of eating vegetarian, and even the federal government recommends consuming most of our calories from grain products, vegetables, and fruit. An estimated 70 percent of all diseases are related to diet, and that’s just one benefit of a meatless diet.
Ward Off Disease
Vegetarian diets are shown to have more health benefits than the average American’s diet. Eating meatless can help treat and prevent heart disease and reduce the risk of certain cancers. A low-fat vegetarian diet is a major way to prevent the progression of coronary artery disease, and can help prevent it entirely. Cardiovascular disease kills 1 million Americans annually and is the leading cause of death in the United States.
To Help Reduce Pollution
The meat industry has huge, devastating effects on our environment. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), chemical waste and animal waste runoff from factory farms is responsible for 173,000 miles of polluted rivers and streams. This runoff flowing into farmland is one of the greatest threats to water quality today. Agricultural activities that cause pollution include confined animal facilities, plowing, pesticide spraying, irrigation, fertilizing and harvesting.
Create a Plate Full of Color
Disease-fighting phytochemicals give fruits and vegetables their rich, varied hues. They come in two main classes: carotenoids and anthocyanins. Carotenoids include rich yellow and orange fruits: carrots, oranges, sweet potatoes, mangoes, pumpkins, corn. Leafy greens are also full of carotenoids, owing their color to chlorophyll. Anthocyanins cover all red, blue, and purple fruits and vegetables: plums, cherries, red bell peppers. Planning meals and rotation by color will help boost your immunity and prevent a range of diseases.
Help End World Hunger
On Average, 40% of grain worldwide is fed to animals, in wealthier countries grain used for feed is around 70%. If these crops were used to feed people rather than animals, roughly 70% more food would be added to the world’s supply. This would be enough to feed 4 billion additional people, and the sudden surplus of this food alone would feed over half the Earth’s population; let alone the 795 million who face hunger every day.
Finding good-for-you and great-tasting vegetarian foods is almost effortless nowadays. Walking down the aisles at a supermarket or down the street during lunch, vegetarian options are abundant. The internet, or a local bookstore are also a great resource for delicious at-home recipes. Even eating out, including fast-food, it’s not difficult to find vegetarian options. Their menus usually will now include healthful salad, sandwiches, and entrees on their menus. So instead of asking ‘Why Meatless Mondays?’, instead ask why not.
Asaph. (2022, May 18). Why Be a Vegetarian? Consider Your Health. Vegetarian Times. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
In the midst of the holiday season, one thing is on everyone’s mind: food. But whether food is easily accessible and affordable is another story and gives way to the different, less joyful word on everyone’s minds: inflation.
To understand the impact of inflation on current food prices in the United States, I will explore the following areas:
current causes of food inflation in the US,
the rise of food prices and impact on low-income households, and
food insecurity during the holidays.
Food inflation has been on the rise especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Current Causes of Food Inflation in the US
It is important to put the current rates of inflation into context. In the United States, the price of food began to increase in mid-2021 and coincided with higher distribution costs, labor shortages, and commodity price increases in the sector. Many farmers and manufacturers saw disruptions in the supply chain which led them to shut down temporarily or permanently. Labor shortages and higher wages were reflected in the raised menu prices for customers. At the same time, global food prices were also increasing but the start of the war in Ukraine in early 2022 exacerbated these trends. Evidently, the war has put significant pressure on global food inflation which began to increase first in developing countries and then in developed ones.
COVID-19 Pandemic
Unfortunately (but not surprisingly), the COVID-19 pandemic continues to mark our lives in numerous ways which includes inflation. Although, a global pandemic like this one is rare, this means that there is less information for policymakers to rely on regarding decision-making protocol during periods of emergency. According to a White House statement on prices during the pandemic, three temporary factors have contributed primarily to the increase in inflation:
base effects,
supply chain disruptions and misalignments, and
pent-up demand.
Base effects occur when “the base, or initial month, of a growth rate is unusually low or high.” Supply chain disruptions arise when the cost of production increases and businesses decide to pass on higher prices to consumers. Finally, pent-up demand during the pandemic has led to a surge in consumers eating out at restaurants. But as Americans find less food options available compared to pre-pandemic levels, restaurant prices may increase as a result. Optimistically, the authors believe that these factors will be “transitory,” fade over time, and mimic America’s behavior following past wars and pandemics. But they do warn that history is “not a perfect guide” either.
Several sectors have experienced product shortages during the pandemic, Econofact.
Future Outlook on Food Inflation
While history may not be able to predict our future exactly, we have tools today to get a picture of what is likely to come. According to the USDA, food prices, food-at-home prices, and food-away-from-home prices are expected to “grow more slowly in 2023 than in 2022” but will remain above “historical average rates.” According to President Joe Biden’s recent statement on Personal Consumption Expenditures in October, inflation moderated and the nation is on their way to “more steady, stable economic growth” and food inflation has also slowed.
“How people believe prices are going to behave in the future plays an important role because inflation expectations can sometimes become self-fulfilling.”
– Alberto Cavallo, Associate Professor Harvard Business School
The Impact of Rising Food Prices on Consumers and Low-income Households
The rise in food prices is reflected in the changing consumer habits. According to CNN, more consumers are searching for deals, switching to off-brand choices, and eating at less pricey restaurants like IHOP and Applebee’s. Others have started shopping at cheaper grocers and buying store-bought items instead of making them at home. Most worryingly, one respondent stated that once she can afford it, she will “go back to buying more fruits and veggies.” In Los Angeles County, 12.1% of adults reported consuming five or more servings of fruits and vegetables the previous day and the rate rose with education and income. It is not difficult to understand how income can affect buying habits. Increasing food prices do not affect everyone equally. According to Rory Smead, an associate professor at Northeastern, those in the “middle class and reasonably comfortable” will not feel the impacts as much as those “working in the margins.” So with the rise in food inflation and daily fruit and vegetable consumption rates already fairly low at least in Los Angeles, a county with a high rate of food insecurity, we should be very concerned about how rising prices are affecting the long term health of low-income households.
According to the White House National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, the COVID-19 pandemic “exacerbated food insecurity, diet-related diseases, and health disparities” and disrupted a decade-long downward trend in food insecure households with children (p. 6). In 2021, the USDA reported that 13.5 million (10.2%) US households were food insecure at some point during the year while 8.4 million (6.4%) US households reported low food security. In California, 8 million residents struggle with food insecurity and in Los Angeles County, 30% of low-income residents don’t know where their next meal will come from. NYU also found that the pandemic increased food insecurity especially among families with children and that school closures made it more difficult for children to access meals through the National School Lunch program.
National School Lunch Program lunches served 1971-2021, USDA
Food Insecurity During the Holidays
The holiday season can be the busiest times of year for food banks and with the impact of the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine on inflation and food prices, food-insecure households and individuals are even more vulnerable during this time of year. Additionally, as schools close for the winter break, students who benefit from the National School Lunch Program temporarily lose access to a source of food.
As we continue to ease the pandemic restrictions on everyday life, economic instability and uncertainty remain. That is why the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health is so important. In its first pillar, The National Strategy recognizes the need for economic security and providing Americans and their families with more income through expanding the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the minimum wage.
In the meantime, families need to eat now which is what many organizations and groups are focused on throughout the country year-round.
Food Finders
Food Finders, anticipating the increased need during the holidays, holds an annual Holiday Food Drive to collect food for their non-profit partners. It begins October 1st through December 31st. Throughout November, Food Finders held a Turkey Drive and during their Holiday Pack and Sort event on November 19th and 20th, the organization distributed 2,322 food boxes for agencies to provide for families and assembled a total of 4,231 boxes. They also distributed 2,600 turkeys during the event and provided an additional 200 turkeys and 100 hams during the month of December.
What Can You Do To Help?
Food Finders works daily to change how food waste is distributed to eliminate hunger and food insecurity. If you would like more information, please visit our website, volunteer, or support our mission to eliminate hunger and food waste by making a donation today.
Nickee O’Bryant is the Community Outreach and Advocacy Intern at Food Finders. She is a senior at California State University, Long Beach and is studying International Studies and French and Francophone Studies. Through monthly blog posts, Nickee documents her journey as she learns more about food insecurity, food waste, and how they are interconnected.
This recipe is for a classic, unadorned latke; no kohlrabi or cumin here. Serve them hot and make more than you think you need. They go fast.
Ingredients
2 large Russet potatoes (about 1 pound), scrubbed and cut lengthwise into quarters
1 large onion (8 ounces), peeled and cut into quarters
2 large eggs
½cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt), plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Safflower or other oil, for frying
Cooking Instructions
Using a food processor with a coarse grating disc, grate the potatoes and onion. Transfer the mixture to a clean dishtowel and squeeze and wring out as much of the liquid as possible.
Working quickly, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the eggs, flour, salt, baking powder and pepper, and mix until the flour is absorbed.
In a medium heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat, pour in about ¼ inch of the oil. Once the oil is hot (a drop of batter placed in the pan should sizzle), use a heaping tablespoon to drop the batter into the hot pan, cooking in batches. Use a spatula to flatten and shape the drops into discs. When the edges of the latkes are brown and crispy, about 5 minutes, flip. Cook until the second side is deeply browned, about another 5 minutes. Transfer the latkes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and sprinkle with salt while still warm. Repeat with the remaining batter. ****************
Why Meatless Monday?
Meatless Monday is of utmost importance, especially in the United States, as we consume much more animal products than the rest of the world.
The meat industry uses vast amounts of our finite fossil fuels and water and lots of grain to feed livestock, which is extremely inefficient. Why not use those resources to feed people more directly?
Meat production also is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which has proven to correlate to the climate change crisis.
Some benefits of eating plant-based once a week include:
Save 133 gallons of water with each meatless meal!
Reduce your carbon footprint by 8 pounds each Meatless Monday you participate in
If you commit to participating in Meatless Monday every Monday, that is equivalent to skipping one serving of beef for a year, would save the same amount of emissions as driving 348 miles in a car.
Clark, M. (2012, November 30). Classic potato latkes. The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #meatlessmondays, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
The holiday season can be a magical time that brings people together. Often, celebrations and get-togethers are accompanied by a much-anticipated shared meal. However, for some, the holidays can be difficult, and those holiday meals (as well as others) may be hard to provide for their children.
Children are what make the holidays fun and filled with laughter! But child hunger is a serious year-round issue. Sadly, during the holiday season, there are some unique struggles–the first of which is the focus on collecting and distributing toys. Every adult wants a child to be a child, enjoying games and toys until adulthood takes over. But with inflation on the rise and food insecurity increasing, we propose that in addition to donating toys this year, you also share a part of your holiday table!
Holiday Break
While children are in school, they have access to the USDA National School Lunch Program. This program provides food to over 30 million kids per day that otherwise might go without. During the school year, Food Finders helps families over the weekend with a program called Food 4 Kids, but Holiday breaks mean that those children do not have access to either program. This may mean a decreased food availability or a financial strain on their parents as more food than usual is needed to feed their families.
With holiday movies playing everywhere, families are pressured to provide more food for their children during the holidays. These big Holiday Spreads include classic foods like turkey and ham, both of which have increased in cost since the Pandemic. The emotional impact on children and their parents makes the celebrations experienced by neighbors and friends more disheartening when you cannot afford the traditional meal.
Holiday Food
Although the quantity of food is a concern, quality is also important to ensure children get the nutrients they need to be healthy. Low-quality food can greatly impact tiny stomachs. This can affect energy, focus, and even long-term health.Eating regular, nutritious meals over the holiday break means that kids can return to school in the new year ready to learn.
What Helps During the Holiday Season?
Did you know that most annual giving takes place in December? That means that donations, including food donations, increase around the holiday season. That can help to offset the increase in needs for food insecure families, especially for organizations like Food Finders. We have hundreds of volunteers who come to our warehouse to help us fill bags and boxes with holiday foods and distribute them to our local nonprofit agencies that share these meals with people who need them.
Our #OneMillionMeals campaign makes donating meals easy–during the Holiday Season and throughout the year. Our Food Rescue Operations collect good food and repurpose it with the help of over 400 nonprofit agencies. Donating to this program helps us to meet our one million meal goal each month, especially during December. Every donation can be made directly to the#OneMillionMeals campaign. It will go straight to our local nonprofit partners, who will help seniors, families, kids, the homeless, and veterans all struggling with food insecurity.
Make An Impact: Share Your Holiday Table
Your donations this Holiday Season help to combat hunger, especially during times of the year when children and their families need it the most.
2 leeks, halved, thinly sliced, and rinsed well (2 cups)
4 celery stalks, diced (1¾ cups)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
¾ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped sage
Heaping ¼ cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1½ to 2 cups vegetable broth
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Cooking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8×11 or 9×13-inch baking dish.
Tear the bread into 1-inch pieces and place in a very large bowl.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper, and sauté for 5 minutes, turning the heat to low halfway through. Pour the leek mixture over the bread and sprinkle with the sage, parsley, rosemary, and thyme. Use your hands to toss until coated. Pour 1½ cups of the broth evenly over the stuffing and toss to coat. Add the eggs and toss again. The bread should feel pretty wet. If it’s still a bit dry, mix in the remaining ½ cup of broth. The amount you use will depend on how dense and dry your bread was.
Transfer the mixture to the baking dish. If making ahead, stop here, cover the dish with foil, and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
When ready to bake, drizzle the olive oil on top and bake, covered, for 30 minutes. If the stuffing is still pretty wet, uncover the dish and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes to crisp the top a bit.
Why Meatless Monday?
Meatless Monday is of utmost importance, especially in the United States, as we consume much more animal products than the rest of the world.
The meat industry uses vast amounts of our finite fossil fuels and water and lots of grain to feed livestock, which is extremely inefficient. Why not use those resources to feed people more directly?
Meat production also is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which has proven to correlate to the climate change crisis.
Some benefits of eating plant-based once a week include:
Save 133 gallons of water with each meatless meal!
Reduce your carbon footprint by 8 pounds each Meatless Monday you participate in
If you commit to participating in Meatless Monday every Monday, that is equivalent to skipping one serving of beef for a year, would save the same amount of emissions as driving 348 miles in a car.
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #meatlessmondays, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com. If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
#WhyWasteFoodWednesday is a call to action to take those almost-in-the-trash food items and turn them into delicious meals!
At least 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted every year around the world—in fields, during transport, in storage, at restaurants, and in our homes! If each individual made a call to action to stop their own food waste–the planet benefits, we have less hunger, and your own grocery bills will go down through the savings.
UN Food & Agricultural
How to Reduce Food Waste at Thanksgiving Dinner
Food waste is a year-round concern, and the large Thanksgiving meal can present a challenge. You’re buying many more ingredients, and you’re making large-scale recipes with lots of potential leftovers. You may be preoccupied with the business of the holiday season, so keeping your food waste in mind can become a small concern. But there are easy ways to reduce food waste and, therefore your environmental impact, even around the holidays. Here are a few tips geared toward Thanksgiving dinner.
Plan How Much Food to Make
Until you know how many people you’re cooking for, you’ll be unable to plan portions accurately. Press for answers and get people to commit. Not only will this ensure you’re not overcooking, it will also benefit party planning in general.
Make an Entire Thanksgiving with Fewer Ingredients
The variety of dishes is a key part of Thanksgiving dinners. Part of the problem is that it can mean separate lists of ingredients for every recipe. But it’s ok if there’s some overlap between your courses; it’s smart, thrifty, and eco-friendly, because it means less packaging and less of a chance that you’re going to have lots of half-used bottles and cans hanging around your fridge or pantry waiting to go bad. Even better, synchronizing ingredients and flavors can make your meal seem like a well-thought-out package and make you look like a genius menu planner.
Use Every Ingredient Wisely
After you’ve shopped and before you reach the leftovers phase, there are ways to make smart use of the extra bits of various ingredients. A great read is a piece by Food editor Joe Yonan’s; “root-to-leaf and seed-to-stem cooking.” He shows you how to use the more expected seeds and the less expected peels of butternut squash for a crispy garnish that would work on any soup or salad. When you have peels left from an apple pie, toss them with cinnamon, sugar, and lemon juice and then bake them to make crisps. At the very least, hang on to scraps for vegetable broth. Freeze the scraps, or make the broth and then freeze that.
The same line of thought applies to whatever meat you may be serving, as well. Rendered or strained fat can be refrigerated and saved for roasting vegetables or sautéing ingredients for hash made from leftovers. Get the most out of your turkey carcass by simmering them with some aromatics for an outstanding stock to be used in future soups. Giblets included with your turkey can become part of the dressing or gravy. Extra pie crust or crust trimmings can be brushed in butter, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, twisted into any shape you want and baked for a quick sweet treat.
How to Use and Store Leftovers
Even if you’ve calculated the exact amount for the number of people at your Thanksgiving, you’re probably going to end up with at least some leftovers. And, to many, leftovers are an important part of Thanksgiving.
To prepare, have lots of containers for packing up food on hand. Your usual glass or plastic hard-sided options are perfect. If you’re planning to send guests home with food, consider asking them to bring their own storage containers. That way, no one is scrambling when it comes time to pack up.
And be mindful of how long food is put out for. Perishable food, including turkey and many sides, can be left at room temperature for 2 hours. Even less is better, so as soon as everyone is done eating, start cleaning up, as much of a drag as it can be. Eat your refrigerated leftovers within four days. If you need to buy yourself more time, go ahead and freeze them before the four days are out, though ideally sooner for the best quality. Hand out leftovers to guests when they leave.
Krystal, B. (2022, November 10). Advice | how to reduce food waste at Thanksgiving dinner. The Washington Post. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #whywastewednesday, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
Classic French ratatouille sounds fancy, but is actually a simple, lovely way of cooking vegetables that are all in season at the same time together in a single plan. Ratatouille together with creamy polenta make a dinner that’s at once hearty and warming, fresh and oh-so-flavorful.
“Ratatouille—a classic combination of late summer vegetables, cooked to tender perfection—is an ideal partner for creamy goat cheese polenta. Together, they’re the vegetarian dinner of your dreams!”
The Modern Proper
Serves: 6 minutes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Calories: 513
Ratatouille
Ingredients
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, halved
1 small globe eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 yellow, red, or orange bell pepper cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
4 Roma tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
5 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
Polenta
Ingredients
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups whole milk, plus more as needed
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 cups stone-ground polenta or yellow cornmeal
8 ounces goat cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
10 to 12 fresh basil leaves, minced
Cooking Instructions
Make the ratatouille. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and rub the cut sides of the garlic clove all over the bottom and sides. Discard the garlic clove.
On a clean work surface, spread out the eggplant, zucchini, squash, bell pepper, tomato, and onion. Drizzle them with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with the garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to taste. Toss to coat well.
Transfer the veggies to the prepared baking dish.. Scatter on the thyme leaves.
Cover. and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and continue baking until the vegetables are tender, about 25 more minutes.
Meanwhile, make the polenta. In a medium pan, combine the stock, milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and slowly whisk in the polenta.
Cook, stirring often, until the polenta begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 6 ounces of the goat cheese. If you’d like the polenta a bit thinner, stir in a bit more milk.
To serve, divide the polenta evenly among six bowls and spoon on a generous serving of the ratatouille. Top with additional goat cheese, toasted pine nuts, and basil. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Protein: 18g
Carbohydrates: 56g
Total Fat: 25g
Dietary Fiber: 8g
Cholesterol: 45mg
Sodium: 1213mg
Total Sugars: 12g
Why Meatless Monday?
Meatless Monday is of utmost importance, especially in the United States, as we consume much more animal products than the rest of the world.
The meat industry uses vast amounts of our finite fossil fuels and water and lots of grain to feed livestock, which is extremely inefficient. Why not use those resources to feed people more directly?
Meat production also is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which has proven to correlate to the climate change crisis.
Some benefits of eating plant-based once a week include:
Save 133 gallons of water with each meatless meal!
Reduce your carbon footprint by 8 pounds each Meatless Monday you participate in
If you commit to participating in Meatless Monday every Monday, that is equivalent to skipping one serving of beef for a year, would save the same amount of emissions as driving 348 miles in a car.
***
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #meatlessmondays, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
Creamy goat cheese polenta with ratatouille. The Modern Proper. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2022.
#WhyWasteFood Wednesday is a call to action to take those almost-in-the-trash food items and turn them into delicious meals!
At least 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted every year around the world—in fields, during transport, in storage, at restaurants, and in our homes! If each individual made a call to action to stop their own food waste–the planet benefits, we have less hunger, and your own grocery bills will go down through the savings.
UN Food & Agriculture
Scraps: Corn Cobs, Corn Husks, Corn Silks
Corn Husk Smoked Chicken
Corn is delicious, but creates more waste than what ends up on the plate. That’s the inspiration behind this dish. This is a delicious dinner that uses all the parts that typically end up in the compost.
Creamy Polenta
Ingredients
5 corn cobs
1½ tsp (9g) kosher salt
⅓ cup (90g) coarse ground cornmeal
2 tbsp (30g) freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter
Directions
In a heavy-based saucepan, combine the corn cobs with enough water to cover them. Heat over medium-high heat just until it begins to boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 1 hour, covered.
Strain and discard the corn cobs. Return the corn stock to the stove and simmer over medium-high heat. Add the kosher salt. Add the cornmeal and whisk the mixture as it comes to a boil. Continue whisking for an additional 3 minutes. 3 4
Reduce the heat to very low, cover the pan, and cook the polenta, stirring every 5 minutes or so (switch to a wooden spoon from this point forward), until the cornmeal is completely cooked and quite tender, 2½ to 3½ hours. It may seem too thin initially, but it will gradually thicken. As the polenta cooks, a skin will form on the bottom and sides of the pan (if you are not using a non-stick pan), which is proper and gives the polenta a slightly toasty flavor.
Fold in the cheese and butter until fully incorporated.
Corn Silk
Ingredients
2 cobs of corn worth of corn silk
4 cups (1 L) canola oil
½ tsp (3 g) kosher salt
¼ tsp (1 g) smoked paprika
Directions
Preheat the oven to 165F(75C)
discard any dark brown/black silk. Transfer the remaining silk to a parchment lined baking sheet and dehydrate in the oven overnight.
Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with oil and bring to 400°F (205°C) over medium heat and fry the silk for 15 seconds, or until crispy and golden.
Transfer to a paper towel to drain, and season with kosher salt and smoked paprika.
Chicken
Ingredients
2 whole corn husks
2 boneless chicken breasts, skin on
2 tbsp (30 ml) canola oil
1½ tsp (9 g) kosher salt
2 tsp (2 g) rosemary, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 cup (125 g) chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and torn
Directions
Submerge the corn husks in cold water and soak for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C).
In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken with 1 tbsp (15 ml) of the canola oil, 1 tsp (3 g) of kosher salt, 1 tsp (1 g) of rosemary, and 2 cloves of garlic.
Drain the corn husks and place in an ovenproof pan. Warm the husks over medium-high heat until they begin to smoke. immediately transfer to the bottom of the oven.
In a different ovenproof pan, warm the remaining canola oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers and runs easily across the pan. Add the chicken breasts, skin side down, and cook until the skin turns a medium golden brown. Flip the chicken breasts over and transfer to the oven. Be sure to turn on your hood fan as the smoke from the corn husks will billow from the oven and potentially irritate your eyes. roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked completely.
Transfer the chicken to a plate to rest. return the pan to the stovetop over medium-high heat and add the chanterelle mushrooms. Once they begin to sizzle in the rendered chicken fat and juices, add the remaining rosemary and garlic. Cook for another minute and remove the pan from heat.
Plating
Place half the polenta in the center of a plate and garnish with mushroom-rosemary-garlic mixture. Top with 1 chicken breast and finish with a nest of silk. Repeat with the remaining polenta and chicken breast.
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #whywastewednesday, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
#WhyWasteFood Wednesday is a call to action to take those almost-in-the-trash food items and turn them into delicious meals!
At least 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted every year around the world—in fields, during transport, in storage, at restaurants, and in our homes! If each individual made a call to action to stop their own food waste–the planet benefits, we have less hunger, and your own grocery bills will go down through the savings.
UN Food & Agriculture
Scraps: leftover meat or fish, leftover vegetables, leftover herb stems
Serves: 6
Prep: 40-45 minutes
Cook: 35-40 minutes
Vardagen: Baking Pan
Flotsam Filo Pie
Filo pie is known as börek in Turkish. It’s a quintessential dish you can eat almost every day, with there being countless varieties that offer different shapes and fillings that will satisfy every taste. This recipe is perfect to change and make the best use of leftover food and still enjoy a tasty, pleasant meal. Serve it with tomato cucumber salad in summer and with mixed salad greens in winter.
Ingredients
1 cup (150 g) leftover cooked protein such as fish, beef, lamb
1 cup (90 g) leftover vegetable bits (raw or cooked); can be a mixture, finely chopped
1 cup (200 g) leftover herb stems such as parsley, dill, cilantro, tarragon, chives, or chervil, finely chopped
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix all chopped ingredients, and depending on their original seasoning, add the salt and black pepper.
Combine the milk and vegetable oil in a small bowl.
Lay the filo sheets on the kitchen counter or a table and cover them with a slightly damp cloth to prevent them from drying and cracking.
Use 2 filo sheets per pie, brushing them with the milk and oil mixture. Spread 2 to 3 tbsp (30 to 45 ml) of filling on 1 long edge, about 1-inch (2½ cm) thick. Roll the filled portion of the sheet loosely to the other end, and then swirl it to create a snail shape. Repeat until all of the filling has been used.
Place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with a ½ tsp (2 ml) of water. Brush the mixture onto each pie and sprinkle them with the seeds.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, and enjoy!
Note
Nigella and sesame seeds pair with any filling, while caraway seeds pair well with a meat filling. Fennel seeds complement any fish or seafood filling.
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #whywastewednesday, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
Celebrate Halloween with these spooktacular healthy stuffed peppers. They’re perfect for a Halloween buffet or a family dinner ahead of trick-or-treating.
Prep:25 mins
Cook:35 mins
Ingredients
4 small peppers (a mix of orange, red and yellow looks nice)
25g pine nuts
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
1 red onion , chopped
2 fat garlic cloves , crushed
1 small aubergine , chopped into small pieces
200g pouch mixed grains (we used bulghur wheat and quinoa)
2 tbsp sundried tomato paste
zest of 1 lemon
bunch basil , chopped
Cooking Instructions
Cut the tops off the peppers (keeping the tops to one side) and remove the seeds and any white flesh from inside. Use a small sharp knife to carve spooky Halloween faces into the sides. Chop any offcuts into small pieces and set aside.
Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan for a few mins until golden, and set aside. Heat the oil in the pan, and heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cook the onion in the oil for 8-10 mins until softened. Stir in the garlic, pepper offcuts and aubergine and cook for another 10 mins, until the veggies are soft. Add a splash of water if the pan looks dry. Season.
Squeeze the pouch of grains to break them up, then tip into the pan with the tomato paste. Stir for a minute or two to warm through, then remove from the heat and add the lemon zest, basil and pine nuts.
Fill each pepper with the grain mixture. Replace the lids, using cocktail sticks to secure them in place, and put the peppers in a deep roasting tin with the carved faces facing upwards. Cover with foil and bake for 35 mins, uncovered for the final 10. The peppers should be soft and the filling piping hot.
Why Meatless Monday?
Meatless Monday is of utmost importance, especially in the United States, as we consume much more animal products than the rest of the world.
The meat industry uses vast amounts of our finite fossil fuels and water and lots of grain to feed livestock, which is extremely inefficient. Why not use those resources to feed people more directly?
Meat production also is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which has proven to correlate to the climate change crisis.
Some benefits of eating plant-based once a week include:
Save 133 gallons of water with each meatless meal!
Reduce your carbon footprint by 8 pounds each Meatless Monday you participate in
If you commit to participating in Meatless Monday every Monday, that is equivalent to skipping one serving of beef for a year, would save the same amount of emissions as driving 348 miles in a car.
***
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #meatlessmondays, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
#WhyWasteFood Wednesday is a call to action to take those almost-in-the-trash food items and turn them into delicious meals!
At least 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted every year around the world—in fields, during transport, in storage, at restaurants, and in our homes! If each individual made a call to action to stop their own food waste–the planet benefits, we have less hunger, and your own grocery bills will go down through the savings.
UN Food & Agricultural
Scraps: Wilted Greens, Pumpkin Seeds
This pesto recipe is a wonderful compliment to leafy greens-especially those on the edge of being composted. It can be used in any recipe where you would normally use pesto. Also make delicious use of those leftover pumpkin seeds from your holiday carving. Freshen it up with herbs and your friends won’t even know they are eating salad that has been saved from the compost!
Ingredients
Pesto
2 cups (60g) packed mixed greens, slightly wilted
2 cups (60g) packed basil/herb stems
1 cups (118g) pumpkin seeds
½ cup (125ml) olive oil
1 clove garlic
Salt to taste
Pasta
7 oz (200g) penne or any dried pasta
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup (150g) cherry tomatoes
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp (15ml) pesto (recipe above)
¼ (7½ g) arugula leaves
2 tsbp (30ml) fresh lemon juice
¼ cup (60g) parmesan cheese, grated
Directions
Pesto
Place all Ingredients in a blender and let it rip. Set aside for pasta.
Pasta
In a large pot, boil water and cook the pasta according to package directions. Strain and set aside.
In the same pot, over medium heat, ass the olive oil and sweat the garlic and cherry tomatoes with a generous pinch of salt
Add the cooked pasta and toss, then add a large tablespoon of pesto and toss
Season with salt, and stir in arugula leaves
Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice and grated parmesan
Notes
To prevent the color of the pesto from browning, blanch the greens and herbs in boiling water for 45 seconds. Cool over an ice bath before using.
The 3 P’s
Pickle, preserve, and pesto. Think of this as a kitchen mantra (or a delightful tongue twister). For just about every fruit, vegetable, or herb you can think of, there’s at least one pickle, preserve, or pesto you can turn it into. Turn your wilting greens into pesto. Save up your bruised fruit in the freezer and turn it into jam. Pickle your wrinkling veggies and enjoy them later.
You can also use herbs, garlic, chilies, and lemons to infuse cooking oil. Your taste buds will be most grateful. Use a simple jar or bottle like Korken and watch the magic happen.
If you have a recipe you would like to share with us for #whywastewednesday, please email christian.bearden100@gmail.com.
If you would like to make an impact on reducing food waste and hunger help us grow our food rescue operations: Donate
Food Finders is a nonprofit 501c3 food rescue organization with a mission to rescue food, reduce hunger, and improve nutrition in the communities we serve.
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