Prevent Wasted Food

Kids rocking the waste-less kitchen

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumer Families!

In this edition of Kitchen Confessions, we’d like to offer some resources and support to families of Future Chefs and Conscientious Consumers. It’s the middle of summer vacation, so hopefully you are having some opportunities to enjoy spending time in the kitchen together!

How many of your treasured memories involve cooking and food preparation in the family kitchen? Did the pandemic help your family rediscover the joy of cooking at home?

Many kids are eager to help in the kitchen from the time they can maneuver on their own two feet in there and comprehend an adult’s instructions. From that point on, they’re learning significant life lessons about the value of food, food preferences, nutrition and how to shop, as well as desirable practices in the handling and preparation of food. Sustainable food practices are skills that will serve children for the rest of their lives!

Just like us grownups — but as appropriate for their age and with adult supervision — kids can learn how to plan meals and create shopping lists for what’s on the plan, to properly store perishable food and, finally, how to prepare it. After the meal, they can learn how to properly freeze leftovers and other foods, and to start regularly scouting the “Eat First” areas in the fridge or freezer. (All these “Smart Strategies” available in Spanish.)

Young Farmers’ Market patron’s waste-less pledge: “Take only what I will eat”

KNOW-HOW FOR KIDZ WHO COOK

You may already be familiar with the glow of pride and accomplishment on a child’s face when the family enjoys a dish or meal that he/she/they helped prepare, or that they made all by themselves!

Excellent resources for kids learning to cook are available from Oregon State University’s KidSpirit year-round programs (scholarships available), and Food Hero, offered free by the OSU Extension Service’s Family and Community Health division.

Both programs emphasize safe kitchen practices (including washing hands often) and offer an extensive selection of kid-friendly recipes for making healthy food, while helping kids develop confidence and have fun! Food Hero’s compendium of family resources includes gardening, large-batch cooking, and information for older adults and in Spanish.

Be sure to check out the huge list of videos at Food Hero’s Kids Cooking Show — including Grape and Cucumber Salad, a fresh and yummy summertime snack!

WASTE-LESS KIDZ WHO COOK:

  • Are learning to make the most of a family grocery budget, instead of just tossing things in the compost or garbage. (The average American family of four wastes at least $1,600 a year on food that was purchased but not eaten!)
  • May stretch their comfort zones as picky eaters. (I had one of those in my home.) A kid who says “beets are gross” may be willing to sample some pretty pink-colored hummus that he/she/they made themselves from a kid-friendly recipe. Bonus: beet juice is great for coloring summertime Easter eggs!
  • Eat “ugly” produce (like apples with minor bruising, spotted grapes, strangely-shaped tomatoes) or other food products with less-than-perfect characteristics — and have fun doing it.  Next time you see the OSU student Organic Growers Club at the downtown Saturday Farmers’ Market, ask if they still give away free “ugly” produce!
  • Learn portion control early. Many kids are happy to serve themselves when they get the chance. Let’s help them be like our young Farmers’ Market patron (above) who pledged to “take only what I will eat” on her next plate!
  • Learn good waste-less habits early. Check out these waste-less training tips for kids from SaveTheFood.com to see how they resonate with your parenting approach.
  • Make friends with their family freezer. Remember those overripe bananas that were saved from the compost a couple months ago by popping them in the freezer? It’s Banana Smoothie Time! Or popsicles…  Or maybe even banana ice cream for breakfast!
  • Get creative with what’s collecting on the “Eat First” shelf in the fridge. See a video of the “aha” moment for this father and daughter below! Delight your budding chef with the task of assembling “Bagel Faces” from leftover veggie and fruit pieces, or maybe the last few olives in the jar. Thanks to Mollie Katzen and her charmingly-illustrated cookbooks for younger children.
  • Keep making friends with their family freezer.  Oh boy! Frozen grape “ice cubes” (great for iced tea and sodas)! All because somebody got proactive with the last third of a bunch that had started to shrivel. Veggie freezing tips here.
  • Enjoy portion control as part of summertime grilling and social gatherings. Foil-wrapped grill packages or bamboo skewers (with the sharpest point removed) are perfect for this. First kids help prep ingredients, then load up their own appropriately-sized servings. Wrinkled cherry tomatoes and peppers from the “Eat First” shelf can be pretty tasty right off the grill! Same with summer squash, onions, leftover chicken nuggets/tempeh, or what have you.

Getting creative with what’s already in the fridge! Credit: StopFoodWaste.org

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NEW IN LOCAL SCHOOLS THIS FALL!
A fun educational video in English and Spanish, starring local kids

We’re pleased to shine a brief spotlight on NFLB’s amazing “Eco-EduTainment” program for local schools, run by our Outreach Specialist Kjersten Hallin, aka Magic Mama. When the pandemic shut down schools, she also shifted digital and began developing an educational video as a fun new way to teach kids about the massive issues around food waste and climate change.

Anyone who’s seen “Magic Mama” at the downtown Farmers’ Market (prior to COVID19) or in their classroom knows what a delightful presence she brings to this huge topic. Her curriculum, delivered with the help of some catchy raps performed on unusual handmade instruments (like a repurposed pizza box), inspires kids to “rock” the prevention of wasted food in their own families and social circles of influence.

More than just entertaining, Kjersten’s presentations also help schools fulfill their district’s core and STEM education goals. (Please click on the photo to jump to NFLB’s Eco-EduTainment program page.)

Watch for exciting details about the Eco-EduTainment videos, launching in 4th and 5th grade classrooms this fall!

 

Pumpkin Banana Shake

Recipe by Donna T., of Corvallis

MONEY SAVED: $3

INSPIRATION:
When your bananas are riper than you want for eating fresh, just peel and cut them into 8 slices each (6 slices if they are small bananas), and then freeze the separated pieces on a parchment-lined plate or cookie sheet.

Next day, move the slices to a freezer bag. Then when you need 1 banana for a recipe or a smoothie, you know that 8 slices equals 1 banana.

Having bananas and pumpkin ready to use and measured out will help you make good use of them out of your freezer.

RECIPE (with leftovers* clearly identified):

  • 8 oz sweetened soymilk
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin – uses pumpkin frozen in measurable portions from an opened can
  • 1 frozen banana – uses banana frozen into measurable portions
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp peanut butter

Blend and enjoy! If you use cow’s milk or unsweetened non-dairy milk, you may wish to add 1 Tbsp maple syrup or honey.

LEFTOVER PUMPKIN TIP: After opening a new can or a jar of my home-canned pumpkin, I freeze the leftovers in 1/4 cup portions in a muffin tin. When needed, just pop them out by running water on the bottom of the tin. Allow the frozen portions to thaw slightly before using so your blender doesn’t have to work quite so hard. Store the rest in a plastic bag in the freezer, ready for your next shake!

Tuna Patties with Picklejuice Crema

Recipe adapted from Simplyrecipes.com, by Karen K. of Corvallis

MONEY SAVED: About $9

INSPIRATION:

During the Catholic era of my childhood, we always ate fish on Fridays. In those days, that meant fish sticks or tuna fish cakes! So I got inspired when I was perusing my Eat First pantry area and found a couple cans of tuna that were a bit past their “Best By” dates.

I also had on hand: 1) going-stale crackers (cutting down on my carbs); 2) a bunch of cilantro that I had been picking at for awhile (fortunately most of it was still good bec I stored it in a glass of water with a plastic bag-tent over it); 3) just under 1/2 of a red onion; and 4) about half a jar of organic dill (not sweet) pickle juice left after all the pickles had been consumed.

I had saved that because I found out that pickling brine (I call it juice) — particularly w/o preservatives or added sugar — is really good for you! (Kind of like an apple cider vinegar shot.) It turns out there’s a zillion ways to use pickle juice — including drinking it! I’ll never pour my pickle juice down the drain again.

I didn’t use a recipe for the pickle juice crema — I just did what I usually do when making a simple tarter sauce for fish, substituting pickle juice for dill weed and mustard.

Omnivore/kid-friendly, easy to make for lunch or dinner. Can substitute canned salmon, crab or other meat like chicken but will need to adjust cooking time accordingly.

RECIPE with leftovers* clearly identified:

  • 2 cans tuna,* 5 or 6 oz (preferably sustainably harvested)
  • Water, 1 TBSP (reserve liquid when draining tuna packed in water)
  • Crackers* (or bread ends), crumbled, 1/2 cup
  • 1 egg
  • Lemon juice, 1 TBSP
  • Lemon zest, 1 TSP (or so)
  • Extra virgin olive oil, 2 TBSP (1 of these is for cooking the patties)
  • Tabasco or other hot sauce, 1/4-1/2 TSP (to your taste)
  • Red onion/green/other onion or chives or shallots: 1 TBSP (or so)
  • Cilantro or parsley, chopped, 2 TBSP
  • Dijon or other mustard, 2 TSP
  • Salt/Fresh ground black pepper to taste*
  • Lemon wedges for serving

TO PREPARE:

  1. Drain the cans of tuna, reserving at least a tablespoon of the packing liquid. If using tuna packed in salted water, consider omitting salt as a seasoning for the patty mix.
  2. Mix together the tuna, tuna water or oil from the tuna can, crumbled bread/crackers, lemon zest/juice, onions, mustard,
    salt/pepper, hot sauce. If using tuna packed in water, add 1 of the 2 TBSP of olive oil. Taste for seasoning and adjust.
  3. Mix in the egg, then use your hands or a scoop to portion the mix into 4 balls. Flatten the balls into 4 equally sized patties.
  4. Heat 1 TBSP of olive oil in a stove top frying pan on medium heat and saute patties for 3-4 minutes per side.
  5. Serve with lemon wedges and Picklejuice Crema.

Makes 4 medium-sized patties.

For Pickle juice Crema, whisk together:

    • Used DILL pickle brine* from jar, 1-2 TBSP (depending on the size of cooked patties & your taste) Make sure there is no off-smell or mold on the surface of the liquid!
    • Mayonnaise, 1/3 cup
    • Sour cream or plain yogurt, 1/2 cup

OPTIONAL: Before cooking, if time allows, you can chill the patties for an hour on waxed paper in the fridge. The recipe I started with suggests this will help the patties stay together while they are cooking, but I didn’t find it was necessary.

Peach Pie Pancake Mix Muffins

Recipe by: Cathy W. 

INSPIRATION:
I have several of these pancake mix muffin recipes. Pancake mix is cheap, versatile and comes in a huge bag. These require only a few ingredients, a bowl and a spoon! Kids love all of them and can easily help with this recipe. It also gives me a great way to use up any bruised or forgotten fruit. Think pears, berries, avocado, bananas, whatever!

RECIPE (*leftovers clearly identified):

  • 1 & 1/2 cups fresh mashed peaches, or whatever overripe/bruised fruit you have!
  • 1/4 cup water PLUS save some of the juices from skinning and chopping the peaches
  • scant 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 cups pancake mix*

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or paper line 12 muffin cups.

In large bowl mix together peach mash, juice and water, cinnamon, ginger, and sugars.

Fold in pancake mix just till moistened. Do not over mix! You will have a thick batter.

Spoon into your prepared muffin cups. They don’t rise a whole bunch so fill them pretty full.

Bake 18-20 minutes till tops are dry and spring back when lightly poked.

Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee!

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Recipe by: Amy B. of Corvallis

MONEY SAVED: $10

INSPIRATION:

I like to snack at night on something that is healthy and yummy tasting at the same time. But I don’t like complicated recipes, so I create healthy snacks by blending things that may be already sitting in the fridge and kitchen.

This can be made vegan or vegetarian by substituting the egg with a chia seed mixture. Also a very kid friendly recipe, depending on how sweet you make it!

RECIPE (with leftovers clearly identified):

(NOTE: the amounts in this recipe are not exact. You may need to alter the proportions and ingredients to get the appropriate dough consistency.)

  • 1 cup flour ( use whatever you have: pastry flour, white flour, mixtures of both, or gluten free flour alternatives to wheat)
  • 2 Tbsp peanut butter (leftover)
  • 2 Tbsp tahini (leftover)
  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil (on hand)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
    Vegan substitute: 3 Tbsp water combined with 1 TBsp chia seeds, let soak until gel forms.
  • Choice of sweetener – maple syrup, sugar, stevia, honey
  • Extra water if dough needs more moisture
  • Optional: Chocolate chips
  • Optional: Raisins, amount as desired
  • Optional: Nuts, your choice as desired

Mix flour and salt. Bring egg to room temp, add oils and nut butters, and mix well. Add wet mixture to flour to form a soft dough (texture should be soft and oily). Add raisins, chocolate chips, and nuts as desired and according what you have around your kitchen.

Add sweetener as desired. Mix well, flattened dough patties and place on baking sheet.

Cook in toaster or regular oven at 350 for 20 -25 mins. Toward the end of that time, check for desired browning (may vary due to different ovens). These taste better the next day, so let sit overnight!