How many times did you have too many of something? To much zucchini for ratatouille, to many carrots for carrot salad, or too many celery sticks for chicken wings? :) I always end up with leftover vegetables. This time there were to many celery sticks, so I made a beautiful crunch salad, that my 2 year old daughter loves.
Did you know that almost a quarter of agricultural water is used to grow food that will not be eaten? Cutting food waste in half globally could reduce our ecological footprint by 16% and ensure a more sustainable future. To reduce my impact on the environment I try everyday to reuse, recycle and reduce. I research and try to buy food from sustainable sources. As one of my small steps toward goodness I get my fresh, eco friendly vegetables and fruit delivered from a company which buys produce that doesn't meet the needs of the supermarkets and goes to waste.
Every year, 40% of food goes to waste in the United States. 20 billion pounds of that is produce that's lost before it ever leaves the farm.*
With that said I try to come up with recipes that help my family reduce our food waste to 0, I have to admit we are not perfect, but we are trying everyday. Once a week, I do a fridge cleaning. I look deep inside my fridge for treasures that we forgot about or simply went missing. For some reason sometimes when I look into my fridge for something that I could swear is there, it is gone; and then it appears by itself. Is that the same with yours?
Enough about fridge, this week I found some leftover celery sticks that I had too many of from making vegetable broth. This salad is delicious, sweet and sour at the same time with a bit of extra crunch coming from walnuts. The apples that are my kids favorite fruit give it a bit of a sweetness and sourness that just play very well with the taste of the mayonnaise and yogurt.
According to food banks in Poland, as many as 1.6 million people may be living in extreme poverty and every year the country wastes around 9 million tonnes of food.*
TIME
Ready in 1-2h
Preparation: 15 - 20 min
Let it sit in the fridge for at least and hour
serves 4- 6 people
INGREDIENTS
Salad:
4 big celery sticks
1/2 of a red apple (sweet)
1/2 of a granny Smith apple (sour)
1/2 of a red onion
1/2 cup of walnuts (chopped)
chives (chopped)
1/2 tsp of salt an pepper
Sauce:
1 tbsp of mayonnaise
2 tbsp of greek yogurt
1 tbsp of red wine vinegar
1 tsp of lemon juice
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp black and white pepper
dash of cayenne pepper (and I mean it a dash)
STEP BY STEP
I usually start by preparing the sauce, so the flavors have time to develop. In a medium bowl mix together the mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, both peppers and a dash of cayenne. Set it aside in the fridge, while starting on the vegetables.
Chop all the vegetables into small pieces (1/4 inch pieces- 0,5 cm).
Mix all the vegetables in a bowl and add the sauce. With a wooden spoon mingle everything, add a pinch of salt and pepper (to your taste).
Cover and put in the fridge for at least an hour. Serve cold.
SMACZNEGO!
TIPS This time I would like to share with you some of the environmental friendly tips:
If you have some leftover vegetables and you do not feel like eating them remember you can freeze them, and eat them later
Always put smaller amount of food on your plate- you can always take second if you will still be hungry
If you only can, try to compost. It is pretty easy and as a simplest rule do not compost processed and cooked food, but if you are interested in details, do NOT compost:
Meat, fish, eggs or poultry scraps (odor problems and pests)
Dairy products (odor problems and pests)
Fats, grease, lard or oils (odor problems and pests)
Coal or charcoal ash (contains substances harmful to plants)
Diseased or insect-ridden plants (diseases or insects might spread)
For some more recipes vegetarian meals you can see my other recipes:
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