The future livability of our planet can weigh heavily at times — even more so if I find myself reading too much news. I’ve incorporated reusable bags, public transport and a reduce/reuse/recycle mindset into daily life, but one area I return to again and again is household food waste.
Yes, wastage occurs between the farm and the supermarket, but a significant portion of food waste actually happens in our homes. Meal planning and thoughtful shopping are a really good place to start if you want to combat waste. Fruit and vegetables are understandably the lion’s share of household food waste and one area where it’s easiest to make a meaningful impact which in turn benefits the hip pocket.
One book that really reshaped my thinking around food scraps — and one I’ve spruiked before and will happily spruik again — is Cooking with Scraps: Turn Your Peels, Cores, Rinds, and Stems into Delicious Meals by Lindsay-Jean Hard. Seek it out if you want to broaden your thinking around food waste. Another brilliant reference is The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A‑Z by Tamar Adler.
Plan meals.
For me, planning three to four days ahead helps ensure I only buy what I need, reducing the chances of food going to waste. A big part of this is checking the pantry, fridge and freezer first so I’m not buying ingredients I already have. At the same time, I try to opt for smaller quantities of produce.
Fridge-scaping.
By not overpacking the fridge, air can circulate properly — and more importantly, you can actually see what’s in there. Clear containers help too. Out of sight often means out of mind.
On a related note, know the difference between best before and use by dates so you’re not throwing away perfectly good food.
I also like to rebrand leftovers as a head start on another meal. Head-starters, not leftovers, get the marketing team on that!
Ease up on the vegetable peeler.
Let’s start a campaign to ban them — well, not quite, but you get my drift. Many vegetables like carrots and potatoes don’t actually need to be peeled, saving time and effort while also delivering more nutrition.
Vegetable scraps like onion skins and carrot tops can go straight into stock, and excess ripe fruit can be frozen for smoothies or baking.
Compost what you can’t use.
Depending on your living situation, consider a compost bin or worm farm for scraps that can’t be saved or reused. It turns waste into nutrients for the garden. Alternatively, your local council might offer FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) collection.
We’re heading away for five weeks soon, which has me in the position of making meals that use up foodstuffs unlikely to last until we return. So this is me walking the walk with a meal we ate over the weekend: Smoked Chicken Caesar Salad.
I often make Caesar using store-bought rotisserie chicken, but this time there was a large smoked chicken fillet in the fridge — excellent find.
When it came to croutons, there was only one lonely pizza base and no bread crusts in the freezer, which is what I usually default to. Into a hot oven the pizza base went until crisp, then I spread it with garlic butter and cut it into shards. Chicken and croutons sorted.
The dressing begins with one of my beloved fridge staples: mayonnaise. From there I added other pantry regulars — anchovies and pickle brine. There was no fresh garlic to hand, but I did have fried garlic bits in the pantry, so they went into the mortar and pestle for a quick pounding.
The dressing is simply mayo, Worcestershire sauce, pickle brine, mashed anchovies, pounded fried garlic bits and a touch of Dijon mustard. Taste and adjust as needed. If it feels too thick you can loosen it with a splash of water or milk, but I tend not to bother once it coats the lettuce it naturally thins a little anyway.
Some people add egg to the dressing itself, but we like a soft-boiled egg crowning the salad instead. It makes the whole thing feel just a little bit special.
So, the only thing I needed to buy was the cos lettuce and that was the real win.
There are plenty of cities with good food and, while I might be a little biased, I think Melbourne has something a little more interesting: a food culture that feels like the city itself. Diverse, curious, somewhat scruffy around the edges and dotted with just enough genuinely passionate producers.
People often say they want a village, but they’re not always ready to become an active participant in one. Being part of a community requires actually walking the walk.
I’ve been sharing meals with family and friends more often recently, and every so often someone asks what’s in a dish – or, brazenly, whether they can get the recipe.