• FOOD
  • HOME
  • SELF
  • HEALTH
  • FAMILY

Natural New Age Mum

Happy. Healthy. Holistic.

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • About
    • Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions

How to store fruit and vegetables without plastic

August 17, 2017 · 8 Comments

How to store fruit and vegetables without plastic

 

What’s wrong with plastic? 

I know, it’s easy to grab fruit and veggies, put them in a plastic bag and fling them in the crisper when you get home.

But, if you are keen on doing your bit for the planet, searching out other options besides plastic is really worthwhile.

Hopefully you have somewhere you can source loose produce, which is always the best option. Get some reusable produce bags to take with you when shopping or use a basket or box.  It really does become a habit, just like using your reusable shopping bags!

As well as being environmentally unfriendly, plastic bags don’t allow your produce to breath so it decays quicker and loses flavour. Slimy zucchini anyone? There are also some concerns about plastic leaching into our food and causing health issues.

Reducing food wastage is also a hot topic at the moment, so storing your food correctly and keeping it fresher for longer can help you significantly cut down how much you waste.

 

Convinced to make the switch?

 

First up, lets talk about things that go in the fridge and things that don’t.

Produce that like being at room temperature are tomato, potato, onion, garlic and most fruits. Pop them in a basket so there is a bit of airflow around them. Mushrooms store better in a paper bag or a dry cloth bag.

For the fruit and vegetables that are stored in the fridge and for anything you have cut, here are some ways you can do store them without plastic:

 

♥ Use a wet tea towel.

Okay, pretty basic right? Pop a damp tea towel over the fruit and vegetables in the crisper and tuck it in well. You usually need to wet it every couple of days. The only problem with this method is training everyone else in your house to put the tea towel back properly so it’s all tucked in around the produce!!

 

♥ Use a fabric bag

You can utilise reusable produce bags I mentioned for shopping and for storage. They are smaller and as they are quite lightweight you do have to keep wetting them more often. Obviously the mesh ones don’t work.

I prefer the organic cotton bags. 

 

♥ Use The Swag

The Swag bags are pretty awesome! Made from 100% natural unbleached cotton, these award winning bags have a three layer design to keep your produce fresher for much longer. They come in different sizes or you can get a starter kit.

To use, simply wet the bags, pop your produce in and store anywhere in the fridge. When it gets a little dry, you can simple sprinkle a bit of water on top!

Find out more about The Swag here.

 

♥ Use the Greenleaf Bag

Created by Helen, a mum from Toowoomba, the Greenleaf Bags are a larger size bag than the reusable produce bags.  They are made from unbleached, undyed 100% hemp which is a very sustainable and safe fabric. These bags need to be damp, so you wet them, wring out and put your veggies in. Repeat every few days as they dry out.

You can store several different types of vegetables in the one bag but softer leafy greens should be on their own. Simply throw into the wash after each use.

Find out more here.

 

♥ Use beeswax wraps

Beeswax wraps are great for wrapping around cut bits of fruit and veggies instead of cling wrap. You can also make little pockets with them to store smaller portions.

The Honey Bee beeswax wraps are a great quality brand and are hand made by a small business in Byron Bay. They are made from organic cotton and locally sourced organic beeswax which is naturally anti-bacterial. Beeswax wraps keep produce really fresh and are toxin free.

Check out Honey Bee Wraps and the vegan version here.

 

♥ Use food covers

These canvas food covers with a biodegradable lining work really well on things like pumpkin, pineapple, melons and coconuts once you have cut them.

I have been using these for years and they are incredibly durable and still in great condition. I just throw them into the washing machine.

Check them out here.

 

How do you store your fruit and veggies? Got any tips for us?

 

 

Filed In: HOME / Tagged: eco friendly, food wastage, food waste, fruit, no plastic, plastic free, produce, produce storage, vegetables

Tips for using up food scraps that you may not have thought of!

February 29, 2016 · 12 Comments

Tips for Using up Food Scraps that you may not have thought of. Zero Food Waste in the kitchen

Tips for using up food scraps

(that you may not have thought of!)

 

7.6 million tonnes of food is wasted or lost in Australia every year! Those statistics are frightening. 

Not only is this tough on the household budget, it’s tough on the environment. Making use of everything we have and avoiding throwing things away is a great habit to get into.

There are some pretty obvious tips on reducing food wastage like using your bones and veg scraps for bone broth, freezing bread crusts for bread crumbs, feeding dogs and chooks and composting.

But, I have a few tips for you that you may not have thought of yet.

 

♥ Leftover tea and coffee

If you make a pot of tea and coffee in the morning and it doesn’t all get consumed, you can make sure you use it in some other way! What I like to do initially is pour myself one cup and then put the rest in a thermos to keep hot and fresh until I am ready for another cup.

Any tea or coffee can also be refrigerated straight away (don’t leave it brewing as it will go nasty and bitter) for use in iced tea and coffee later on. Iced chai latte with milk is simply divine!

Cold tea bags are also fabulous for treating under eye puffiness.

 

♥ Leftover citrus

Never, ever, ever throw out your citrus peels/halves again. You can turn them into a gorgeous, fragrant and totally non-toxic cleaning spray. They are also fabulous for cleaning around the house – everything from freshening the dishwasher to cleaning chrome in the shower. Read this post for some inspiration. You can also use them to lighten the dark skin on your elbows, dry out the peel and use in cooking or add to some olive oil to make lemon flavoured oil for cooking.

 

♥ Smears in jars

You know those leftover bits clinging to the inside of the jar? Peanut butter, sauce, jam, honey, oil, kombucha juice?

Here is what you can do:

Turn them into a salad dressing, milkshake or marinade straight in the jar …… shake and eat!

Got passata or sauce that’s got a tiny bit left? Add a touch of boiling water (glass only) and shake and then use.

 

♥ Coffee grounds

There are so many things you can use leftover coffee grounds for! My favourite is to add some coconut oil and make a delicious body scrub. Cheap, easy and so effective. Now I am also wanting to make a coffee candle. Awesome!

 

♥ Egg shells

These are rich in calcium and other minerals and can make a fabulous garden fertiliser – simply crush and sprinkle. You can also use them to make homemade chalk. What a great project to do with the kids. Empty egg shells are also great seed starters.

 

♥ Banana Peels

The inside of a banana peel makes an awesome shoe shine, teeth whitener or wart remover. Add them to a jar of water and leave for a day to make an awesome homemade plant fertiliser!

 

♥ Pawpaw skins

These make great exfoliators due to the enzyme, papain. Simply rub it all over your face, wait a while and rinse off! Avocado skins also are great for a nourishing face mask.

 

♥ Meat fat
Our grandparents never threw away meat fat! It was always carefully strained and re-used in cooking. Roast potatoes in meat fat is simply divine and the nutrients are so good for you. Try it!

 

♥ Potato Skins

Puree up these babies and use them as a hair treatment. Leave in for 15 minutes and then wash out for strong, healthy hair. You can also toss them in oil and salt and pepper and whazz in the air fryer or oven until super crispy for potato peel chips! Yummo.

 

♥ Vanilla Pods

I am lucky enough to have loads of vanilla pods from bulk buying. After using them in a recipe, I save them in a jar and re-use them by infusing in milk to make a drink or custard, adding to a pot of tea to make a vanilla flavoured tea, adding to a jar of rapadura sugar to make vanilla sugar. Heavenly.

 

♥ Broccoli Stalks

So many people throw these out but they are fabulous sliced thinly in a stir fry, grated into bolognese or frozen to use in soup. Don’t throw away precious nutrients!

 

♥ Cauliflower Leaves

Did you know that you can eat these? Roast with some olive oil or use them in this vegetable dish.

 

♥ Apple Peels and Cores

These can be made into your own homemade apple cider vinegar. This is so much cheaper than buying ACV!

 

♥ Pineapple Skins

You can make a yummy fermented pineapple drink with the skins or boil them up with coconut sugar to make cordial.

 

♥ Watermelon Rinds

You can make these into fermented pickles. Love it.

 

♥ Carrot Tops

My friend Mich makes an amazing pesto with the green carrot tops! How cool. Get the recipe here.

 

♥ Cracker Crumbs

I make homemade seed crackers and there is usually some crumbs left at the bottom of the jar. They are so good sprinkled on salads or soup!

 

♥ Repurpose Cooking Fails

Let’s face it, this happens at times and it’s heartbreaking to waste all those expensive ingredients (not to mention your time and energy!) Get creative about how to turn them into something else. Some ideas:

  • turn failed cake into trifle, cake balls, pudding or just add a heap of icing to cover!
  • turn failed bread into breadcrumbs in a food processor
  • if you have made something too salty, throw in a raw potato to mop up the excess
  • split mayo can be rescued by remaking and using the split mixture instead of oil
  • overbeaten egg whites can be fixed by adding an extra egg white for every two
  • add overcooked rice or pasta to meatballs or meatloaf

 

I would love to hear your tips on what you use food scraps for – inspire us!

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Natural New Age Mum 💟 Sonia (@natnewagemum)

 

 

Filed In: FOOD, HOME / Tagged: eco-friendly, food scraps, food wastage, reduce food wastage, reuse, war on waste, wastage

Pantry Clean-Out Muesli (plus recipes to make with it)

September 21, 2015 · 5 Comments

Pantry Clean-Out Muesli (plus recipes to make with it)

 

Every time I clean out my pantry, I make a batch of what I affectionately call my “Pantry Clean-Out Muesli!”

Pretty much, it’s a way of using up all those half-opened packets of nuts, seeds and dried fruit. It tastes different each time!  It also means I am using up food before it goes off, reducing my food wastage.

Muesli is the only breakast cereal we eat now (even the NNADad gave up his 35 year Weetbix habit!)

Because it’s a pantry clean-out muesli, I don’t have an exact recipe for you! As it’s not cooked, it doesn’t really matter what you put in it or the quantities you use, so go crazy with whatever is in your pantry – it will still taste good. Here is a basic list of what you might want to use:

  • Rolled Oats (I always have a big stash of organic ones) as your base
  • Nuts (I don’t even worry about chopping them, it’s good for you to chew!)
  • Dried Fruits (go for those without sulphites and organic if you can, chop in the food processor if using large)
  • Shredded Coconut (adds a great flavour and nutrients)
  • Seeds (I use everything from sesame seeds to chia, pepitas and sunflower seeds)
  • Cinnamon (as well as being great for controlling blood sugar, it adds a nice sweetness)
  • Anything else you want!

Now you can just eat it in a bowl with some milk, yoghurt and fresh fruit or you can use it in some recipe ideas. Here is some inspiration for you.

Muesli Biccies

♥ Muesli Biccies

Whip up 2 egg whites and add to 2 cups of muesli (I pulse it in the food processor a bit to get smaller chunks) and the 2 egg yolks. Roll into small balls and bake in a 160ºc oven for 15 minutes. You can add some honey if you like but I find them sweet enough with the dried fruit (plus I can eat them for brekky and not feel like I am having too much sugar first up!)

 

Muesli Bliss Balls

♥ Muesli Bliss Balls

In a food processor, whizz together 2 cups of muesli with 1/4 cup of honey and 1/4 cup of peanut or nut butter until just combined (don’t go too long or it will just turn to mush!) Roll into balls and refrigerate to firm up.

 

♥ Bircher Muesli

To 1 cup of muesli, add 1 cup of milk of your choice and 1/2 cup yoghurt of your choice (stick with plain to avoid sugar and additives) and leave in the fridge, covered, overnight or for a few hours. The next day, you can add more milk or yoghurt to get it to the consistency you like. Add fresh fruit and nuts on top.

Hot Tip: I only make bircher muesli this way if I don’t have nuts in the muesli as soaking with nuts can make the bircher go bitter.

 

♥ Muesli Bars

Combine 4 cups of muesli with 1/2 -1 cup honey (depending on how sweet you like it) and 1/2 cup melted coconut oil or butter. Mix thoroughly and press into a paper-lined baking tray. Set in the fridge and then cut into bars to eat!

 

♥ Muesli Crumble

Pulse in the food processor 1 cup of muesli, 50g butter or coconut oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 cup coconut sugar and 1/4 cup spelt flour (optional). Spread over stewed apples (or you favourite crumble combo) and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 180°c.

 

♥ Muesli Pancakes

Add half to one cup of muesli into your next pancake batter!

 

♥ Muesli Parfait

Layer your muesli (toast it if you like) in a cute jar or glass with yoghurt and stewed or fresh fruits.

 

♥ Muesli Muffins

Mix 1 1/2 cups muesli (you might want to pulse it to get smaller chunks) with 1 3/4 cups of spelt SR flour and 1/2 cup rapadura or coconut sugar in a bowl. In another bowl whisk 1 egg, 1/2 cup full fat plain yoghurt, 1/4 cup melted coconut oil and 1/4 cup milk of your choice. Gently combine the two mixes and spoon into muffin cases. Bake 20 minutes at 180°c.

♥ Granola

Mix four cups of muesli with 1/4 cup melted coconut oil and 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Bake on a lined baking tray at 180°c for about 40 minutes, stirring regularly.

 

What else can you use muesli for? Got a recipe? Link us up!

Want some more wholefood brekky ideas? Check out my Bumper Breakfast List.

 

 

Filed In: FOOD / Tagged: breakfast, food wastage, granola, how to make muesli, muesli, muesli recipes, reduce food wastage, toasted muesli

Search

I’M A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

PEOPLE I RECOMMEND

Categories

  • FAMILY
  • FOOD
  • HEALTH
  • HOME
  • RECIPES
  • SELF

PRAISE

Archives

Copyright © Natural New Age Mum | Branding + Site by Robyn Birkin