It’s just four days away from America’s biggest food holiday — and what is that I smell coming from the kitchen? No, it isn’t freshly baked cornbread or warm turkey dressing. Rather, it is the ghost of Thanksgiving foods yet to come, already starting to sour.
According to a 2016 New York Post story, on Thanksgiving Day Americans are expected to toss into the trash 200 million pounds of turkey, in addition to other provisions, resulting in a total of $277 million worth of wasted food.
Don’t be a dinner Scrooge this holiday. Here are a few easy tips to help you waste not, want not.
- Check your kitchen before you grocery shop to avoid buying duplicate ingredients.
- Stop peeling your potatoes. Not only will this save on waste, but those skins pack a ton of nutrients.
- Freeze meat and veggie scraps. You may be sick of T-day flavors today, but tomorrow they will make an excellent soup stock.
- Wrap up what your guests don’t eat and send it home with them.
- Be creative with your own leftovers. You don’t have to commit to turkey sandwiches for a month. Recipes for dishes such as frittatas, casseroles and potpies let you mix and mash any number of ingredients.