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food waste

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How to store Valentine’s Day candy to make it last

We’re barely through Halloween when Christmas candy starts piling up. Then comes Valentine’s Day, and you know Easter is right around the corner. Unless you’re making a serious effort to gobble up your holiday candy, chances are that by now you have too much of it laying around. But no need to fret! Your Valentine’s Day candy—or any holiday candy—can be stored for the long haul and enjoyed later this year. Here’s how: General tips Candies have different storage requirements, but the pantry or a dry basement are usually safe bets to stash sweets for months. Freezing is a popular method for preserving food over a long period of time, but not all sweets are suited for the harsh cold of the freezer. Toffee and truffles can be frozen for up to 2 months, but avoid freezing anything with fruit or nuts. Avoid mixing types of candies in one container.…

Each American throws out more than $50 a week in food, survey shows

If you think tossing those banana and spinach is of no real consequence to you, think again. According to new research, your wasteful food habits are costing you more than $50 a week. The new study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Bosch home appliances found that Americans have about $102 worth of food in their fridge at any given time. Based on survey results, the average American will end up tossing $53.81 worth of that. That amounts to $2,798 every year! In terms of pounds, each American tosses about 103 pounds of spoiled food every year, which adds up to 6,180 pounds in a lifetime. With numbers like those, it’s safe to say we should seriously reconsider our shopping habits, especially when it comes to fruit. Fruit was the most commonly wasted food overall. Specially bananas (55%), strawberries (50%), and apples (47%), which makes sense since these are some…

Study reveals top reason why we waste food, what foods we waste most

We know food waste is a huge problem. As a nation, we end up wasting nearly $220 BILLION growing, transporting, and processing the 70 million tons of food that goes to waste. In an effort to better understand why we’re throwing away so much food, researchers at Ohio State University set out to uncover what’s really going on in our households. According to a recent study, our biggest problem is misunderstanding food labels. Consumers get stuck on the wording around expiration dates and end up throwing food away that is still, in fact, safe to eat. “People eat a lot less of their refrigerated food than they expect to, and they’re likely throwing out perfectly good food because they misunderstand labels,” said researcher Brian Roe. The study will be published online this month and will appear in the November issue of the Resources, Conservation & Recycling journal. The study found…

Moldy foods that are still safe to eat, according to the USDA

Americans waste more than $160 billion in food every year — yikes! Of course, no one buys food with the anticipation of throwing it in the trash, but once something gets moldy, we have little choice. This might be true of most foods — but not all. According to the USDA, some foods can still be consumed even when mold is visibly present. This handy guide can help you decide if you’re still unsure. Here are 3 foods that don’t need to wind up wasted just because of a little mold: Moldy foods you can still eat 1. Hard salami and dry-cured country hams The USDA says that it’s normal for  these products to have a layer of surface mold. Think about the white coating around certain salamis — this is actually a benign mold that helps cure the meat and prevent harmful bacteria from growing. Just remove the surface,…

Is it safe to tear off the mold and eat the rest of the bread?

Bread. It’s one of those foods that you always like to have at your house, yet it gets moldy so quickly. When you see a loaf start to go bad you just rip off the green stuff and use the rest. All is good, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, that one little circle of moldy bread does ruin the whole loaf. In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture recommends that you toss bread at the first sign of mold. It seems excessive, but it’s true. Studies have shown that mold has long, threadlike roots that can penetrate deep into the entirety of nearly any food it grows on. And mold is nothing to take lightly. The microscopic fungi can cause a wide range of health problems including allergic reactions, breathing problems, stomach problems, and some molds — those that produce the substances known as aflatoxins — can even cause liver cancer.…

Healthy eaters create more food waste. Here’s what you can do

Healthy eaters can be proud of their nutrient-rich diets, but a recent study shows that the healthier you eat the more food you are likely to waste. The average American wastes nearly a pound of food every day, a new University of Vermont study concluded. But a person’s exact amount depends on how healthy their diet is. In the study, published April 18 in the journal PLOS One, researches found that consumers who ate higher-quality diets were also those who were the most prone to planet-harming food waste. Investigators reported that as much as 39 percent of food waste in the United States is made up of fruits, vegetables and dishes made from produce. Dairy was the second biggest culprit, making up 17 percent of the nation’s waste. Meat made up 14 percent. “Eating healthy is important and brings many benefits, but as we pursue these diets, we must think much more…

Tomato, zucchini, goat cheese and thyme tart recipe

Any recipe that uses up a good amount of veggies is a hit with me. I tend to go overboard at the farmers market — this time of year everything looks so delicious! — but it’s important not to let food go to waste. According to a Guardian report, roughly 50 percent of all produce in the United States is thrown away amounting to $1,600 in annual food waste for every family of four. With this staggering number in mind, I’ve made it a point recently to keep recipes on hand that use unusual vegetables, vegetables in bulk, or difficult herbs sometimes delivered in the CSA. Juices and stews are great for this task, but sometimes your veggies are just too darn pretty to hide. Tarts and galettes are a great option for showcasing those shiny vegetables, while also allowing plenty of space for layering and packing in leftover produce. You could easily throw in another layer of zucchini to…