Have you ever had leftover white rice after ordering Chinese take-out? I almost always do, because we almost always order an extra order of fried rice to go with our entrees. Today’s tip: Use it, don’t waste it!
What you should know about consumer food waste
You may not realize how much food you waste or throw away. It seems logical to throw away moldy or spoiled food, but asking yourself “why” it wasn’t eaten and then spoiled is worth considering. I like to remind consumers that the food you throw away isn’t just lost food – it’s lost nutrition and lost money.
About 40% of our food supply is wasted, and the consumer sector is guilty of a good chunk of it. With grocery costs these days continuing to rise, it’s a good idea to make the most of what you have. Enter: That simple, lonely carton of rice in your fridge. Instead of pithing it, make lunch out of it. All you need are some chopped veggies, an egg, and a pan.
Easy Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup plain rice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce I use reduced sodium
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup leftover cooked veggies chopped
- 1 egg beaten
- Optional:
- 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
- Sriracha to taste
- Chopped scallions
Instructions
- Heat a small nonstick pan over medium high heat.
- When hot, add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil.
- Add rice, and quickly break up and stir fry in hot oil for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chopped veggies and stir for a minute.
- Evenly pour the beaten egg over rice mixture and quickly stir fry for 2 minutes
- Transfer to serving bowls, garnish as desired, and enjoy!
Consider these tips for saving money and wasting less:
- Avoid over-buying perishable foods and shop for only what you need. Only buy the amount of fresh vegetables and fruit that you know you can consume. Most. only last for one or two weeks in the refrigerator
- Balance fresh fruits and veggies with frozen and canned to meet your nutrition needs. Look for reduced sodium canned veggies, canned fruits without sweetener or sugar added, and plain frozen fruit or veggies.
- Think of your fridge like you would a garden – tend to it daily and reorganize it weekly. Place foods with closer expiration up front so they get used first. Place veggies within eyesight (cooking vegetables will help them last a few more days, then you can reheat and enjoy).
- Rethink how you store your groceries in the refrigerator
- Store milk and dairy on the bottom shelf where it’s coldest.
- Don’t wash fresh fruit until you are ready to eat it. A simple and thorough water rinse is all you need
- Lettuce greens like moisture and can be washed and stored with a damp paper towel.
- Use the drawers properly. Some veggies enjoy high humidity, others don’t. Most refrigerators include drawers that have levers you can set to either high or low humidity. Instead of randomly throwing all of the produce into the bins, separate them according to humidity. Place lettuce, greens, herbs, carrots, broccoli in the high humidity drawer. Place fruit, mushrooms, zucchini and peppers into a lower humidity drawer.
- Rethink the fruit bowl. Some fruits emit ethylene gas that promotes ripening. Keep bananas away from apples. Store tomatoes by themselves on the counter (or separately in the fridge if you don’t want them to ripen).
0 Comments