Reducing Food Waste Vol I - Avoid Buying Too Much

 

Reducing Food Waste

Vol I

Avoid buying too much

If you’re anything like me, you get anxious seeing a depleting pantry. I probably lived through the great depression in a past life! But maybe a lot of you like to socialise and want to be able to whip up a quick meal even if you have unexpected guests. Or there’s the fear of inflation and rising costs, or the uncertainty of availability in the current times. Our reasons might be any, but it may not always be a wise decision to stock up in anticipation.

I like to keep my dry pantry full so that I don’t have to rush to the store every time I want to cook/ bake. That habit often becomes evident in my fridge as well – stocking large quantities of vegetables and fruits. This leads to leftovers (which leads to whining family members) and at times unnecessary wastage of food. Sometimes these items are forgotten at the back of shelves and end up getting thrown away after they’re way past expiry.

Here are some ways to break the habit

• ·       For a few weeks, keep a log of the food that you buy and throw away. Note what, how much, why it was thrown, and the cost of this wastage. That might inspire you to buy less and sensibly
• ·       Buy what you will eat. If you don’t see yourself cooking the food that you’re buying in the next 10 days, give it a second thought. Before going shopping, make a list including quantities and stick to it. Ask yourself, as my daughter says, “is it something you want or something you need” before you buy it
• ·       Start with a time limit for yourself in the store. Be in and out within that time limit.
• ·       Check expiration dates. Don’t buy items too close to expiry
• ·       Freeze what you can’t use immediately. Food lasts longer in the freezer and there is no reason to feel guilty about it. Milk, butter, bread, blanched vegetables, well roasted gravies, whole spices, dry fruits, all can be frozen. Surprisingly, ice cream can’t be frozen very long – it starts to get icy and gets a weird after taste. Keeping the food well labelled with the oldest food in the front, is more efficient too. Do not forget to keep checking and using up freezer items, though. I note down every item on every shelf, in the fridge and pantry, so that the next time I open the storage, I’ll know exactly what’s in there
• ·       If your leafy greens seem to be wilting, don’t toss them out. Soak in a bowl of ice-cold water to revive them.
• ·       Compost if you’re up to it. There are a lot of hassle-free composting units now available in the market (5 Best Compost Bins For Home In India - Home Composting Made Easy (gardentroubles.com) or 11 Indoor Compost Bins For A Low Waste Household (sustainablejungle.com)) This will also give you nutrients for your balcony garden. Think of the greenhouse gases you will help reduce by not sending food waste to landfills
• ·       Make a rule where you will not buy more produce till you have finished everything that is in your fridge. This will also make you use up everything more creatively (more on that in a later post)
• ·       Never shop when you’re hungry! When you’re hungry, EVERYTHING looks good
• ·       Don’t buy multiple items just because they’re on sale or BOGO and you feel you’re saving a buck. Think of the money you’ll save by NOT buying them or not having to throw them away later.
• ·       If you want to buy a fancy ingredient for a dish you want to make, think of other ways you may be able to use it. If you can’t, think of substitute for that ingredient. There often will be

It might not be possible to follow all the tips mentioned above, but start with those you feel are the easiest and then work your way up. Let this year’s resolution be to feel even better about yourself!

 

 

 

 

Source : Buying too many groceries you don't use? Here are 8 tips to waste less food - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

               Easy Ways to Spend Less Money on Food | Kitchn (thekitchn.com)

 

 

One Year On

Today it’s been a year since my father passed away. He would have been a young 72 if he were alive…

The past year has not been easy. It’s probably been the most difficult for my Mother - Ma suddenly lost everything that meant home. Even when they had precious little worldly belongings, they always had each other. But the way she’s handled it is inspiring. Her presence gave me strength when I was questioning the fairness of it all. I wonder where she gets her strength from…

When you lose someone, it is difficult to hear people say the same clichéd words of sympathy. Obviously, they’ve never lost a dear one. They’ll say that he’s in a better place now or that the soul is immortal and continues its onward journey of experience; it’s the body that’s been discarded etc. It takes away from your grief. We loved the soul AND the body it was in. And even if the soul continues to live, it doesn’t live with us, does it? Even though we know death is an eventuality for all, NOTHING prepares us for the heartache when it happens. Your heart is torn between wanting to hold on, and knowing that letting go is better than a painful existence.

The most difficult part, though, has been to come to terms with the fact that he’s gone forever and we’ll never see him again. EVER! When I’m out and see an elderly couple together, or grandparents playing with their grandchildren, I suddenly feel a lump in my throat – that’ll never be my parents… Growing up, my children and nephews will not have their grandfather. They will never have the privilege of hearing more of his stories and learning some more from him.

My father was a very knowledgeable man. Anyone who has interacted with him even briefly would agree with me on this. He loved a good debate, and it was always an informed discussion, not hearsay. He was a voracious reader, an avid gardener who won many awards for his efforts, and a very talented self-taught artist/ painter. Being a bread lover, he also tried his hand at bread making and developing his own Sourdough Starter. And these were only a few of his many talents. He developed a love for teaching while posted at the Railway Staff College in Vadodara as Senior Professor of Mechanical Engineering. We realised this love when he continued to address himself as “Professor” well into his retirement!

Pa, as my brother and I call him, was a simple man at heart. He had few needs and even fewer wants. He was very strong willed and at times set in his ways and unwilling to compromise if he thought he was right. I guess we get that from him ;-) Another trait we got from him was the love of learning. Since he was with the Indian Railways, we travelled extensively by train. The window seat was much coveted, and irrespective of who got it, we would be bombarded with a running commentary – about the crops, the soil, the people, the architecture or anything else we could see. He was especially passionate about explaining anything Railway related, be it the tracks, the warehouses, bridges, or types of locomotives (yes, you don’t call them Engines!). I try doing that with my children now, and often realise how little I know to pass on, and how MUCH he knew. The first instinct, still, is to confirm things with him before searching on Google!

There’s so much of him in my brother and I. Every time I realise I’m walking or sitting like him, I miss him even more. And I also realise that a part of him will continue to live on in us and our children. That doesn’t make up for his absence, though. A constant fear for me has been that I will forget. Not HIM, but that I might forget his smile, the sound of his full-throated laughter, the sound of his voice (which was lovely, by the way) or anything else that is not documented. Why didn’t we take more pictures/ videos together as a family? Did I pay enough attention when he talked? What if I forget the mole on his toe…? Will I remember him as the strong, handsome man I’d known him to be all my life, or as the person in the hospital I found hard to believe was my father?

Times of grief reveal who your real friends and well-wishers are. I used to feel that people who are happy in your happiness are your true friends, the type who “Like” your photos or status updates on social media. Turns out, I felt closer to people who shared my grief with me. Not those who told me it would get better with time, but those who promised to stick with me till (and if) such a time, or just held me when I cried. My childhood friends who called or texted even when I told them I didn’t feel like talking. Or my father’s friends who told me I should consider them a father figure, and true to their word, have helped us immensely and still keep checking on us.

I have always felt life is like a Railway Platform. A train enters the platform, people alight from it, and are united with their family waiting for them. So like a child being born. Some people board the train, leaving behind loved ones. So like death… When the train leaves, each person goes about their life, oblivious of the others’ happiness or sorrow.

Ultimately, the truth is, life waits for no one. And only death is final…

Shame! Shame! Shame!

I started this blog over THREE YEARS ago, but never posted anything. I probably never felt as strongly about anything...


Everyday there are numerous articles in the newspaper about crimes against women. But why is it that crime against Indian women abroad is sensationalised? There are night candlelit vigils, protest marches, signing of online petitions and the support of the entire country, not to mention headlines for several days (case in point being Savita Halappanavar and Jacintha Saldanha). The rest we read with a pinch of salt, discuss over the breakfast table and blame everyone from the parents (of both the perpetrator and the victim!) to the government. We give it five minutes of our precious time, move on to more important daily activities, and forget about it. It takes a horrendous and brutal crime like the latest shocker in the capital to make us get up and protest against something happening in our own country.

Statistics show that there has been an alarming increase in the number of sexual crimes over the years. But there has always been a stigma attached to such issues, more so 50 years back than now, and they were therefore hushed up. These crimes have always happened (right from eve teasing to incest to prostitution), but are reported more now than earlier. This barbarianism is not specific to India. The USA tops the list of crime against women. Obviously prosperity and education has no effect on demons. Question for you : What is it that makes men want to exercise their physical power over women and humiliate and torment them in this fashion – temporary insanity/ frustration with life/ dissatisfaction with their social standing… What is it?

Then there is the issue of the punishment for the criminal. There have been suggestions for medical castration, chemical castration, public humiliation, life imprisonment and even the death penalty. Of course, punishment will be given when the criminal is convicted, which might take years, given the condition of our judiciary, and the ease with which anyone can be bought. The opinion of a friend of mine (whose name I think would be unethical to mention in my blog) is that we should not waste the tax payers’ money in keeping him alive in jail. Death penalty would be the obvious “choice”, considering the victim suffers a fate worse than death, often being ostracized and ridiculed, not to mention the mental and physical trauma she endures.

Some women’s groups claim that giving capital punishment for rape would increase the risk for the women, as the rapist would be tempted to kill the victim to get rid of the eye witness evidence. Another friend of mine is of the opinion that the penalty for murder is also death, but only if you’re caught and convicted. The criminal does not get deterred from doing the crime just because the punishment he might have to face. But then he should know that if he is caught, then death is what awaits him. Question : Should capital punishment be given to rapists, or should they be medically castrated to forever remind them of their horrendous crime?

The husband thinks we should have a powerful, autonomous body that controls and regulates the Police force in our country. That way they will not have to bow to the pressure of the government officials and the politicians, and thus may be more motivated to at least lodge a formal complaint, without the fear of "repurcussions". The only criterion for selection of this body would be that it should be elected only by the educated citizens (not just literate, but those who have at least cleared the 10th standard) of the country.

The solution probably lies in educating our children (though, I also feel that the root of almost all the problems in our country is over population). We must teach them right from wrong, about what it means to have strength/ power and its misuse, and above all, respect for a fellow human being. Tehelka Blog sites a lot of disturbing statistics and facts about our society. But perhaps the most important thing author Kiran Manral says, is that first we need to bring up good citizens in our children.

I worry about my children and the world we’ll leave behind for them. Do we not love them enough to ensure they inherit a safer world? Crime and disorder are only increasing. This is entropy on an altogether different level. When will we learn and live the fact that we have not inherited this planet from our parents; we have only borrowed it from our children? Farhan Akhtar’s poem is titled “What Is This Country That I Live In?” I would say “What Is This World That I Live In?”