I probably sound like your grandmother who survived the Great Depression here, but people waste WAY too much food in this country! It wastes a whole lot of money, time, and is horrible for the environment. I could go on a eco-feminist rant here, but I'll stop. Instead, I am going to offer up some simple solutions.
Your freezer is a glorious place, where food can be preserved with very little effort. Trimmings you regard as garbage may not actually be garbage.
Beets are a staple in my house. You should most definitely be buying the ones with all the leaves on the top, as they are edible too. If you already eat beet greens, as they are called, you may not know that the purple spine that many people remove and toss out, is also edible. It is also edible in kale, collards, and every other member of the "greens" family. No, you cannot eat it raw. It adds loads of delicious flavor and VITAMINS to soups, stews, and stocks.
When trimming and washing my greens, I stash all my stems and spines in a freezer bag, then toss in the freezer for the next time I make soup, stew, or a stock. They are already washed and ready to go when I am. We could all use the extra vitamins and minerals, right?
Next on the scrap table is celery tops. Too many people toss out that leafy goodness, regarding it as either garnish for a bloody mary or trash. Its not trash! In those leaves is an intense celery flavor. Yet again, it can be used in soups, stocks, and stews, along with meats, stuffing, rice dishes, and anywhere you would want celery. Its tasty shit, so save it. When I'm done prepping my veggie tray, I toss the leafy tops into freezer bags and freeze them for later.
I always seem to have a few pieces of produce that I just won't get to before they go bad. They aren't bad yet... but they will be in another day or two. It doesn't take a psychic to guess what I do with it, at this point. Prep it up and freeze that shit! Chop it, peel it, and/or seed it. I toss fruits or veggies that could turn brown in a little lemon juice. Chopped and ready onions and celery from the freezer have saved my ass many a time.
After a party, I somehow end up with way more veggies from the veggie tray than we can eat in a few days. They all get chopped up and frozen, then I don't feel obligated to eat it for days or bad about being wasteful.
Pitted and chopped fruits are great for pies, smoothies, jam making, or frozen blender drinks. Random strawberry daiquiri on a Wednesday night? Yes, please!
Now onto bones. Don't have time to make a stock or soup the same night you cook your meat? Bag it and freeze it for later. I shamelessly call dibs on turkey and other carcasses at friend's dinner parties. I bag it up and bring it home to my freezer, then make stock another night. Making your own stocks is easy, insanely delicious, and will impress people with your culinary skills. Plus, you aren't buying into Big Food Corporations that are soulless, cruel, and patriarchal.
There are so many other bits of kitchen scraps that are actually useful if saved. Its too many to list here, but I hope I have inspired others to start thinking about their food a little more. Frugality can most definitely equate to responsible consumerism and eco-feminism, if you do it right.
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