Heather Spalding

My EcoChallenge is focusing on food waste. I got really busy yesterday and didn't eat my two hard boiled eggs :(.

Shame...shame...shame ;).

But I ate my breakfast today! 

Focusing on food waste again today - trying to be mindful about not making too much food for lunch so that I will eat all of the food I bring with me to work :)

I have been making vegetable broth from leftover scraps when I cook, and it has been awesome! I just keep a gallon ziploc bag in the freezer, and when I am making food, I throw the extras in. Examples: ends of onions and squash, kale stems, and garlic peelings. I try to make the broth in the crockpot (just add water and salt) on Saturday night, and then I strain out the veggie scraps in the morning. This allows me to use up extra food before going to the grocery store again. I am also lucky that my roommate brings home veggies from the farmers market where she works! 

The last crockpot soup included lentils that need to be used up (I soaked those in water on Saturday night, too),  sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, broccoli, and the broth. I added in coconut milk, curry powder, salt, and sweet paprika. About an hour before it was ready to eat in the afternoon, I also added in leeks and herbs from our garden (thyme, rosemary, oregano). It was delish! Then the leftover soup can last us another day or two. I live with roommates and was able to share soup with them, too.

In talking with my mom on Sunday, she mentioned that her doctor wants her to eat more broth. She is buying it, but I am going to take her a quart of homemade broth this weekend when I go down to Douglas County! I hope she will be inspired to try making her own broth, too. It saves money, reduces waste, and is so healthy!

In the past few days, I have wasted the following foods: one hard boiled egg I forgot to eat on a busy day, a few 1/2 cans of LaCroix, a salad I didn't eat. I think the biggest challenge is that I get really busy and forget :|. Also I sometimes think I will eat more than I do. Still working on it.

Excited to start tracking the food I waste, and I hope I can decrease it over the course of these two weeks. Anytime I waste food, I'm going to take a picture and post it :)

Excited to start the EcoChallenge for the first time! This year, I will focus on eating all of the food I obtain and taking a picture anytime I waste it to see the impact.