Pete Fowler from Invercargill NZ said:
I've had to work at some boring jobs to pay for my food. Give scraps to animals, grow vegetables, don't order too... More
Some foods, that you might have earmarked for the bin, can be revived and given a new lease of life. Read on and please tell us your ideas too.
Adding a few grains of rice to your salt shaker will stop it from getting damp.
Blend over-ripe avocado flesh down with milk, yogurt and a touch of maple or sugar for a lovely green smooth tasting smooothie.
If you have leftover salad, cover with a damp piece of kitchen paper before covering with cling film or putting in a sealed container. This REALLY prolongs the life of the salad leaves. This also works well with salad bags, which when left in the bag tend sweat and go limp/brown very quickly.
Instead of putting your coriander in the veg crisper drawer, half fill an old coffee jar with cold water, put in the coriander and cover with a (recycled!) plastic bag held with an elastic band. Keep in the door of your fridge, change the water every few days and it will keep well.
Thinly slice leftover boiled potatoes and add to omlettes.
For bread that is a little stale, place it in the microwave on full power for about 10 seconds (depending on the power of the microwave), and it will soften up nicely. Not quite fresh but the next best thing.
If you’re making a fruitcake and the your dried fruit looks a little dry, pour boiling water over it in a bowl and leave for 30 minutes. You can add a tea bag for flavour.
If your lettuce is looking rather too limp to serve, just place the leaves in a bowl of cold water with a peeled, sliced potato and 'hey presto' it's as good as new! Just rinse, dry and serve that same day.
Cut ANY left over bread into cubes, toss in olive oil and a little garlic, herbs and chilli powder, freeze on a tray and transfer into bags/boxes when frozen. You have an instant crouton mix, wonderful shallow fried in oil straight from the freezer or for the more health conscious, baked in the oven...add to any soup or salad ...naughty but nice!
Save leftover pineapple(fresh or tinned)in the freezer, use defrosted in fruit salads, or... the best use I've found is to chop into small pieces before freezing and add frozen to other fruit and liquidise for a great smoothie! My kids also like it as ice cubes in their squash drinks.