Make more, waste a little less

By Melissa Boncher, MS, RD, LD, Registered Dietitian, Mt. Pleasant Hy-Vee

Do you ever look in your pantry or refrigerator and think: ?Where did that come from?? Then you look at the product and notice there is no way you can use that in a meal at your house; there is mold or it?s past its best-use-by date. Proper meal planning, along with utilizing what?s in your house before it goes bad, is an important way to decrease food waste.

Did you know that, on average, each American is throwing away 20 pounds of food waste per month? An important way to decrease this would be by creating a meal plan for you and your family to follow. You can start with these three easy steps.

1. Long Live Leftovers

Leftovers are a great way to use foods in your fridge that otherwise would go to waste. Try to plan one meal per week that involves leftovers. Here?s an example: Take leftover chicken breast from dinner earlier this week, combine it with pasta from the fridge and sautéed zucchini and mushrooms that were on their last leg. This will be a quick and easy meal your whole family will enjoy. Or use leftover hotdog or hamburger buns in the cheese toast recipe below.

2. Freeze Forgotten Foods

Sometimes foods we fully intend on using can get pushed back in our fridge, and when we find them again, they?re one day from going in the trash. Instead of throwing them away, put them in the freezer! This can include things like hotdog or hamburger buns, bananas, berries, spinach and other greens.

3. Save Scraps

Every piece of our foods is something we can make use of. This can include potato peels, carrot and celery ends and even chicken bones. Potato peels can be turned into homemade potato chips that are fun for kids to make and eat. Combining vegetable scraps or chicken bones with water and herbs can create a fantastic vegetable broth that you can use to create soup for your family. Scraps can also be turned into compost for your garden!

Decreasing food waste can be a fun way for you and your family to get creative with what meals you make for dinner. Take inventory of your fridge every night to make sure you?re having the least amount of food waste you can. Leftovers are perfect ingredients for soups.

Gather up some leftovers to create this recipe:

Chicken-Broccoli Orzo Soup

Serves four.

Ingredients:

-1 Tbsp. olive oil

-1/2 cup chopped fennel

-1/2 cup chopped carrots

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-4 cups 33 percent-less-sodium chicken broth

-1/2 cup uncooked orzo

-2 bay leaves

-2 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts (3/4 pound)

-1 cup steamed broccoli florets

-1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

-Juice of 1/2 lemon

-Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat oil over medium heat in stock pot. Add fennel, carrots and garlic. Cook and stir until softened.

2. Stir in chicken broth, orzo and bay leaves. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cook, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes or until orzo is tender.

3. Stir in chicken, broccoli and thyme. Cook until heated through. Just before serving, remove bay leaf and add lemon juice. Season to taste.

Serve with the following Cheese Toasts recipe.

Cheese Toasts

Preheat broiler. Spread eight (1/2-in.) baguette slices with 3 Tbsp. garlic butter spread.

Sprinkle with 1/2-cup shredded Parmesan cheese. Place under broiler,four to six inches from heat, and broil for one to two minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Dietitian Tip: Use leftover hotdog or hamburger buns in place of baguette in the Cheese Toast recipe to help reduce food waste.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 280 calories, 7g fat, 1g saturated fat, 650mg sodium, 27g total carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 3g sugar, 28g protein.

Daily Values: 70 percent vitamin A, 50 percent vitamin C, four percent calcium and 10 percent iron