Think Eat Save with OzHarvest
words by Kit
Think Eat Save!!
Three one-syllable words carried the day at a humming event with OzHarvest, in Martin Place on a Monday 25th July. This was done in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme.
Crowds converged at lunchtime on the various stalls set up there: some offering less-than-perfect apples, pears, mandarins and bananas, being given away by Woolworths (‘wonky’ fruit and veg are sold at a low price in the supermarket). Other stalls had samples of food that was being prepared from ‘rescued food’: delicious soups, banana ketchup, rescued carrot humus and day-old bread dumplings.
Craig Reucassel from War on Waste hosted the event, passing on to the seated crowd, tips and comments about food waste. Apparently the most wasted foods are iceberg lettuce (very good stir-fried, according to restaurateur Neil Perry) milk and bread (try bread-and-butter pudding).
Craig asked OzHarvest founder Ronni Kahn to expound on the three words:
THINK about your meals before you shop, get only what you need, take into account when you’ll be eating out (and not using what you’ve got in the fridge). One in five bags of food is wasted in an average family’s shopping.
EAT all that you prepare. So don’t cook more than you need, or make sure to eat leftovers. Dig out the foods from the back of the fridge or freezer, or the bottom of the drawer.
SAVE waste by tailoring your shopping to your weekly needs. Also by freezing or being creative with leftovers. Baked goods freeze well (e.g. cakes). All of that saves money.
These recipes were provided:
Rescued Carrot Humus – Vegan
- Soften 350g grated carrots a tbsp of olive oil til soft and orange.
- Blend with 300g cooked chickpeas, 2 cloves garlic, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1.5 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp salt, pepper, water for the right texture
Spotty Banana Ketchup (can be served as paste/dip) – Vegan
- Soften 1 cup chopped onion in 2 tbsp oil, add 1 tbsp tomato paste and cook 1-2 min.
- Add chilli (to taste), 2 tsp minced garlic, 2 tsp chopped ginger, ½ tsp pdr turmeric, ¼ tsp allspice, 1tsp mustard seed, and cook til fragrant.
- Add 2 bananas, ½ vinegar,1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp honey and cook for 15 min. Blend till smooth and finally water and salt to taste.
OzHarvest has recently acquired a van, which allows education programs to be made widely available, about local and global food waste.
If you’d like to learn to cook in a way that makes the most of local, seasonal foods and minimises waste, why not volunteer for one of our Film & Feast events? No experience is necessary, and you’ll learn to make filling and delicious vegan and gluten free meals. Send us a note to [email protected].