One of my life's purposes: Reduce Waste.
So, I'm extremely frugal and hate seeing food wasted, because not only did I grow up in a house where waste NEVER happened (friends/family still make fun of our non-waste food antics), but I also think that my father scarred me. This is a typical waste conversation after our nightly Stone-family meal:
"I can't eat anymore dad."
"Okay, Shell, go ahead and throw it away."
At
this, I usually think about whether I could stuff myself (most the time
I would finish eating). But on the rare occasion, I couldn't eat
anymore, I would head to the garbage can.
"Shell?"
"Yes, dad?"
"I want you to think about all the little children in Africa and other countries that are dying of starvation. Many of them younger than you - probably around Renny's age (my sweet baby sister sitting there smiling at me). They are starving. Little children standing there in those commercials, the ones (he'd love to point out) that you cry for and adopt (I used to adopt the children on the commercials and put their little faces all around my room). Chokes me up to think about them - their little stomachs poking out. To be honest, there are a lot of children, here in the US that are starving, too. Possibly some of your classmates - like, Lynne, what's that girls name (he'd go into his description) "Barbara" my mom would echo in the background. Right, maybe Barbara doesn't have enough to eat. Goodness, there are so many people - esp. little kids that aren't eating dinner right now and here you are throwing away food - wasting the food that they would love to eat."
I'd look at him and he'd give me the look of shame (lips curled in, a furrowed brow, and nostrils slightly flared) - he'd shake his head and mumble "um.um.um.tsk.so sad."
"Fine, I'll eat it."
"Lynne,
I agree. She doesn't need to eat it if she absolutely can't. Shell, you
don't have to honey. I just want you to think about what it means to
waste. Now, go ahead and throw it away." His eyes tell me his, "sadness."
Later in life, if we wasted, he gave the starvation speech along with a speech about working hard and watching someone waste your hard-earned money. "Shell, I'm a lion. Every day I go out and fend for my cubs. I have to fight other lions day in and day out, trying to feed and protect you guys. I'm out here breaking my back in this jungle." The speech would end in him being slightly riled up and me having to pay him back for the meal. "Okay, well you make your own money now. It's time for you to see how much it cost to waste. When we get home, Shell, I'll need $7.50 plus tax plus gratuity - $9.50"
All this to say, when I waste - there is something in me that dies a little - but, I can't force myself to eat everything off my plate and eat leftovers after so long. After two nights - I'm over it!
SIDE NOTE: One of my major gripes on the food business is the high waste - it's sickening to see tons of tons of eggs (baby chickens) thrown away. I mean think past starvation and hard earned money - think about the work of farmers that pick grain/fruit/veggies, animals that lost their lives, and cows that were milked (most of the time inhumanely) - all for a waste.
Here recently we moved and we threw away a lot of food - I felt sick for days. I promised myself that I would make all my food and eat leftovers.
...Then I wasted again at Martha's Vineyard (a dessert gone bad) (Dad was there to remind me about the orphans and the children!) - this time something in me came to a solution: I have to figure out how to use every scrap of food. Even my mess-ups! I need to find out how long certain fruits, veggies, etc. can last and best storage. What to do with mushy brown bananas, etc.
BACK TO POINT: So, what I've been doing recently is researching and reading books about how to use leftovers, how to eat economically, and best eating/cooking practices for reducing world starvation.
That said, starting at one of the world's favorite drinks - coffee.
Dilemma:
I love coffee (decaf and reg.). I find that making big pots = better
coffee. I live with a sporadic coffee drinker. So, I find myself often
throwing away cups of coffee at a time. It's driving me nuts. So, I
researched best ways to use left over coffee :) These are amazing
tricks. Click here to read article on coffee-leftovers or visit: http://shelbystonesteelsmenu.blogspot.com/2012/07/sss-waste-eliminator-leftover-coffee.html
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| My dad wasn't playing "GAME"s (hehe) with waste! |
"I can't eat anymore dad."
"Okay, Shell, go ahead and throw it away."
My mom: "Okay, that means no dessert."
"Shell?"
"Yes, dad?"
"I want you to think about all the little children in Africa and other countries that are dying of starvation. Many of them younger than you - probably around Renny's age (my sweet baby sister sitting there smiling at me). They are starving. Little children standing there in those commercials, the ones (he'd love to point out) that you cry for and adopt (I used to adopt the children on the commercials and put their little faces all around my room). Chokes me up to think about them - their little stomachs poking out. To be honest, there are a lot of children, here in the US that are starving, too. Possibly some of your classmates - like, Lynne, what's that girls name (he'd go into his description) "Barbara" my mom would echo in the background. Right, maybe Barbara doesn't have enough to eat. Goodness, there are so many people - esp. little kids that aren't eating dinner right now and here you are throwing away food - wasting the food that they would love to eat."
I'd look at him and he'd give me the look of shame (lips curled in, a furrowed brow, and nostrils slightly flared) - he'd shake his head and mumble "um.um.um.tsk.so sad."
"Fine, I'll eat it."
My mom: "Ken? If she can't eat it - she can't eat it. I don't want them stuffing themselves!"
Later in life, if we wasted, he gave the starvation speech along with a speech about working hard and watching someone waste your hard-earned money. "Shell, I'm a lion. Every day I go out and fend for my cubs. I have to fight other lions day in and day out, trying to feed and protect you guys. I'm out here breaking my back in this jungle." The speech would end in him being slightly riled up and me having to pay him back for the meal. "Okay, well you make your own money now. It's time for you to see how much it cost to waste. When we get home, Shell, I'll need $7.50 plus tax plus gratuity - $9.50"
All this to say, when I waste - there is something in me that dies a little - but, I can't force myself to eat everything off my plate and eat leftovers after so long. After two nights - I'm over it!
SIDE NOTE: One of my major gripes on the food business is the high waste - it's sickening to see tons of tons of eggs (baby chickens) thrown away. I mean think past starvation and hard earned money - think about the work of farmers that pick grain/fruit/veggies, animals that lost their lives, and cows that were milked (most of the time inhumanely) - all for a waste.
Here recently we moved and we threw away a lot of food - I felt sick for days. I promised myself that I would make all my food and eat leftovers.
...Then I wasted again at Martha's Vineyard (a dessert gone bad) (Dad was there to remind me about the orphans and the children!) - this time something in me came to a solution: I have to figure out how to use every scrap of food. Even my mess-ups! I need to find out how long certain fruits, veggies, etc. can last and best storage. What to do with mushy brown bananas, etc.
BACK TO POINT: So, what I've been doing recently is researching and reading books about how to use leftovers, how to eat economically, and best eating/cooking practices for reducing world starvation.
That said, starting at one of the world's favorite drinks - coffee.
