Sustainability

How to Be More Sustainable at Every Level

April 20, 2021 by Misfits Market 4 Comments

From reducing excess food waste to learning how to make more earth-friendly choices, it’s easy to lead a more sustainable lifestyle at home and beyond with these tips.

1. Minimize food waste.

One Person: Follow FIFO (first in, first out) and use perishables that you’ve had the longest first. An easy way to do this is by organizing your fridge and stocking oldest in the front, newest in the back.

Two People: Perform monthly or quarterly pantry checks of expiration dates and use items set to expire soon. Only stock up on items you’re running low on so you don’t let them linger past expiration.

Household: Plan your weekly meals in advance and stick to a shopping list. This will help you avoid buying impulse items that are hard to work into meals and might eventually go to waste—plus help save you money.

Friends/Work Groups: For small outdoor gatherings, plan ahead for exactly how much food you need to bring or cook to avoid having excess leftovers that might go to waste (we love The GUEST-IMATOR Tool from SaveTheFood.com).

2. Extend food by preserving it.

One Person: Freeze food to extend its life. It’s especially helpful if you’re stocking up on sale items or have extra food approaching its expiration date.

Two People: Find new ways to preserve food like dehydrating, pickling, fermenting, or canning. Check out The Good Trade’s digital guide to learn the basics of preserving food and reducing waste.

Household: Don’t toss those scraps. Veggie peels and end pieces can be used for homemade stocks and sauces, and leftover lemons or herbs can be used for homemade cleaning products.

Friends/Work Groups: Organize a canning swap. Pick your favorite veggie, preserve it, and swap with a friend. It’s a great way to sample veggies in a new and exciting way.

3. Repurpose and reduce waste.

One Person: Learn how to revive foods to extend their life. Try popping stale bread, crackers, and chips in the oven. You can even freshen up wilted greens with a quick ice bath.

Two People: If food seems a little past its peak, get creative. Think browned bananas for baking, stale bread for croutons, soft fruit for jam, or adding less-than-perfect greens into soup or a smoothie.

Household: Make more of over-the-hill produce, coffee grounds, and other organic items by composting or dropping them off at a local composting facility so they can be used to enrich soil.

Friends/Work Groups: Organize a community garden or compost bin. You can also do a seed swap and exchange various produce seeds to plant in your garden.

4. Live more eco-friendly.

One Person: Make sure your refrigerator is running as efficiently as possible. Check the temperature so it’s just right and check for any leaks or loosening seals to help conserve energy.

Two People: Try avoiding takeout and transition from single-use storage containers to reusable ones with air-tight lids to help extend the shelf life of leftovers, produce, and pantry staples.

Household: Cut back on water consumption by using an energy-efficient dishwasher to clean large amounts of dishes. If you don’t have one, use your sink or a basin to soak and scrub with one batch of water and only leave the faucet running to rinse so you save extra H₂O.

Friends/Work Groups: Next time you’re having a picnic with a small group of friends, ask them to bring their own reusable utensils and a glass or ceramic food container to reduce single-use flatware and plate waste.

How FIFO Can Help You Get The Most Out of Your Groceries

April 14, 2021 by Misfits Market 4 Comments

Are you a FIFO convert yet? The first in, first out rule takes only a few minutes to master but can save you from forgetting about all sorts of foods before they go bad, not to mention a ton of cash in the long run. Read on to learn how to start using FIFO in your kitchen, and let us know in the comments some of your favorite tried-and-true storage tips to reduce waste.

What is FIFO?

It stands for First In, First Out. Use foods in the order that they were purchased (first in), using the oldest items sooner (first out) and the newer items later (last in, last out). Following FIFO can help eliminate food waste and even save money.

Take stock of things

Before your next Misfits Market delivery, take inventory of your fridge and pantry. Toss expired foods and repackage leftovers. Rearrange the oldest food in your fridge/pantry to be more accessible.

Get organized

We follow a grouping method to keep things separate according to category. Cereals and grains are stored together, baking items go together, canned beans are kept separately. Figure out a system that works for you—make just enough space for what you need ahead of your next Misfits Market delivery.

Follow use-by dates

Organize by each item’s use-by date, placing short-dated (the first to expire) purchases in the front and those with longer shelf lives in the back.

Learn more about short-dated items here.

Invest in a label maker

Organized kitchens are full of labels, labels, and more labels. They’re ideal for keeping track of when food was cooked, opened, or repackaged. Then, create your own system. For example: Almond Milk, opened May 10. Masking tape and a marker works, too.

Make labels visible

Unload your shopping bags, slap on your newly-made labels, and store foods with the labels facing forward. It will help you easily see what you have, encouraging you to eat it first.

And make storage containers invisible

Once you open something, whether it’s a bag of rice or a can of tomatoes, put any unused portion in clear reusable containers so you can easily see what’s inside. Then, use your new labeling system to date when it was opened so you know when to use it by.

Open like foods one at a time

Variety is the spice of life, but often having too many similar foods open at once can lead to unnecessary waste. If you have two similar items, like shredded sharp cheddar and shredded mild cheddar, open one first and use it completely before opening the other.

This one-food rule will depend on your household size (or if you eat cheese often, open as many packages as you want!), but can help keep things fresher, longer—and even help you meal plan so you’re not opening too many similar items at once.

Abigail Koffler is a native New Yorker and freelance writer based in Brooklyn. She writes This Needs Hot Sauce, a weekly food newsletter.

Fruit and Veggie Pulp Crackers

August 24, 2020 by Misfits Market

We don’t like food waste anywhere. Not on the farm–and not in our kitchen, either. If you make juice at home, these crackers made from the leftover (and fiber-rich) pulp of any kind of juiced fruits and veggies are a clever way to use up every bit of your produce. We mix in garlic and onion powder, caraway seeds, and a pinch of cayenne for extra flavor. They’re tasty enough on their own, but you can have them with cheese, hummus, or fresh fruit, too.

Fruit and Veggie Pulp Crackers

Author: Misfits Market

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup leftover juice pulp, lightly packed (ny mix of fruits and veggies will work—just remove any larger or inedible bits and stems)
1 cup chickpea flour
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Black sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
1/4 cup (plus 1 teaspoon) coconut oil
1/4 cup water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Use hands to combine wet and dry ingredients.
Spread the mixture onto greased parchment paper until thin, about 1/8-inch thickness. Use a knife to create a serrated square pattern. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
Once cool, serve with your favorite hard cheese, fresh fruit, and dips. Enjoy!

12 Ways to Get Creative—and Save Money—with Food Scraps

August 14, 2019 by Misfits Market

If you’re a Misfits fan, you’re already doing your part to prevent perfectly delicious food from ending up in the landfill. (High five!) But even if you’re cooking with misfit produce at most meals, chances are you could be getting even more out of the peels, stems, and leafy tops that most people discard. In fact, by rescuing those bits and pieces from the compost bin, you could actually be saving serious cash too. Here are a few of our favorite easy ways to use up scraps from whole fruits and veggies.

Make a homemade vegetable stock

Leftover onions, celery, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, and more can all make for a great veggie stock or the base of a chicken stock. (About the only veggie scraps that don’t work well are broccoli and cauliflower, which impart a musty flavor.) Our favorite method: In a large pot, melt a tablespoon of butter. Add scraps like leeks and onions to the butter and cook on low for 15-20 minutes. Then, add leftover herbs like thyme and parsley, the rest of your veggies, whole peppercorns, and eight cups of water. (Less water will make for a more flavorful, concentrated stock.) Simmer for an hour, drain the stock into an airtight container, and store in the fridge for up to a week or the freezer for three months. Learn more about making homemade stocks from The Kitchn here.

Add flavor to your H2O

Extra bits of citrus (think: lemon, orange, grapefruit, lime, and the rinds) and other leftover fruit can deliver a delicious hint of flavor to water, both still and sparkling. Other than the obvious citrus fruits, blueberries, mango, and cucumber are also great additions. Some of our favorite combos include:

Strawberry and Cucumber
Lemon and Cucumber
Lemon and Lime
Blueberry and Orange
Pineapple and Orange
Apricot and Lemon
Mango and Blueberry

Or, infuse liquor

Add the same fruit and veggie combos to a bottle of vodka or gin to make fruit- and veggie-infused liquors. What’s more, you can use the entire fruit or veggie (like those oft-discarded strawberry tops) to add even more flavor to your favorite liquor. Learn how.

Fry up potato peels for chips

If you aren’t a fan of cooking potatoes with peels, save the scraps to make homemade potato chips later. The skins get extra crispy and are a delicious homemade snack when you’re craving salt. Framed Cooks has an easy-to-follow recipe for crunchy, salty potato peel chips.

Make candy

Don’t toss those citrus peels! Cover them with water and sugar to make homemade candied peels that you’ll want to give as gifts… or keep to enjoy for yourself. Learn how to make your own candied citrus peels with lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits.

No citrus but a lot of ginger? Try to make candied ginger at home instead!

Dye your clothes

Did you know that foods like beets, red cabbage, and onions can be added to water to create a safe, all-natural dye? Beets will turn clothes red, yellow onions will create an orange dye, and avocado peels will even turn clothes pink! What will you dye?

Make stalk soup

Don’t toss your broccoli or leek stems! They make for a pretty tasty soup when combined with fragrant onions, garlic, and starchy potatoes. Get the recipe from Pamela Salzman and cozy up with a cup in cold weather. In the summer, we love shredding the stalks for a slaw. Toss with a mustardy vinaigrette, a bit of mayo, and julienned apples for a crunchy side dish that’s ideal for parties.

Create a homemade tomato sauce

No slicing or dicing necessary, really! Use the entire tomato — skins, cores, seeds and all — to make a sweet tomato sauce perfect for dipping, pastas, and more. We’re fans of this no-chop marinara sauce recipe from Cookie + Kate.

Cook up a sweet jam using any fruit

And we seriously mean any fruit. You can use cores, pits, and flesh from apples, stone fruit, blueberries, mangoes and more to make big batches of thick, sweet jam. All jams can start the same way—add chopped fruit to a sauce pan with lemon juice and sugar—and continuously cook and stir until the fruits break down and you have a thick, sugary syrup. Store jams in mason jars to spread on bread or add to yogurt and more.

Clean up

Make a simple cleaning solution at home using just three ingredients: vinegar, water, and lemon peels. Simply add peels to a jar of vinegar and let sit for a few weeks. Remove and discard peels and dilute the vinegar with water. Pour solution into a spray bottle and use it as a fragrant, nontoxic way to clean your home.

Whip up a pesto

If you’ve received a bunch of carrots, you may think to immediately toss the leafy tops. Think again! Carrot tops—and the green tops from veggies like radishes and beets—can be made into a tasty pesto. Simply pulse fresh garlic, whatever nut or seed you have on hand like pine nuts or sunflower seeds, with olive oil, parmesan cheese, basil, and green tops until you have a fresh pesto. Bon Appetit has our go-to recipe.

Freeze your herbs

Did you buy fresh herbs but they’re starting to dry out or wilting before you can eat them? Finely chop fresh herbs or give them a whirl on the food processor. Then, fill an ice cube tray with chopped herbs and top them with olive oil. The next time you need oil and herbs as a recipe starter, just plop a frozen oil-and-herb cube into your pan and get cooking!

Click here to learn more about freezing your Misfits Market produce.

How do you use your food scraps? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll update this post as we learn new hacks together.

6 Simple Ways to Reduce Food Waste

April 22, 2019 by Misfits Market

You’ve heard it before: Think globally, act locally. But given the overwhelming issues our planet is facing, it’s hard to know where to even begin taking action. The good news is that food waste is one of the easiest places to make an impact.

By using perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste, you’re helping divert it from landfills. That’s important because food that decomposes in landfills releases the greenhouse gas methane, which is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In honor of Earth Week, we’re sharing simple ways you can help reduce food waste while saving the environment and money.

1. Only buy what you need

Buying in bulk can be a great money-saving option, but often it leads to greater food waste if you don’t pay attention to expiration dates. Sidestep this issue by purchasing smaller quantities of items you may eat less often. Also, always use a grocery list when you shop so you don’t impulse-buy items that will ultimately go uneaten.

2. Use the First In, First Out method

The first in first out method (FIFO) is a food storage method that organizes food by expiration or use-by date. In your fridge, store the oldest food toward the front so it’s top of mind and will be used first, then place the newer items toward the back. Rotate the newer items forward when you use the old, and store the same types of food together so you can easily see how many you have of each kind.

3. Preserve your food

Just because your produce is super-fresh, that doesn’t mean you have to eat it ASAP. There are plenty of preservation methods that allow you to enjoy food later, like canning (with or without pickling), dehydrating, or fermenting food. Perhaps the easiest method, though, is freezing. Cook soups and stews in bulk then pop them in the freezer, or freeze individual portions of fruit for use in smoothies down the road.

4. Use the whole fruit or vegetable

There are endless ways to use an entire fruit or vegetable. Carrots, for example, are easy to eat from root to tip when you employ the peels for veggie stock and the green tops for a pesto. And did you know that you can save the peels of citrus fruits to make a nontoxic all=purpose cleaning solution? Another trick is to save the seeds of squash, wash and dry them, then toss them with a little olive oil and salt and roast for a delicious snack.

5. Pack your own meals

We love a takeout salad as much as the next person, but you could go broke buying one every day! Prepping your lunches ahead of time for the week is the simplest way to use up all the food you have at home—and save up to $1500 annually! Browse Pinterest to plan your recipes for the week, then bring them in an insulated bag with an ice pack so they don’t spoil in transit.

6. Buy misfit produce

Last but not least, one of the simplest ways to reduce food waste is choosing to eat food that otherwise would go to waste. At Misfits, we work directly with growers to rescue the produce that would typically be thrown away due to unconventional size or shape, cosmetic blemishes, or excess inventory. Because we deliver right to your door, it’s easy to save money on organic produce and make an impact in one shot.

On the rare occasion you dohave to shop the grocery store, try to purchase single items that may not look as perfect as the others. The lone banana that’s separated from the bunch and the funky-shaped apple are more likely to get overlooked by shoppers looking for “perfect” items and go to waste.

Got any tips for cooking or consuming food while reducing waste? Share in the comments below and they could be included in future posts on becoming a more conscious consumer!

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