Revive Food, Avoid Food Waste

Food Waste is a Big Problem. Revive Food Instead of Throwing It Away

Food waste at home happens for all sorts of reasons:

• You might not eat what you had planned when you did your grocery shopping.
• You might have bought too much.
• I enjoy lettuce but I’m the only one at home who eats it, and I never seem to get through a whole head of lettuce before it wilts.
• Bread can go stale quicker than we think…….

But you can avoid some food waste if you revive food items such as wilted greens and even stale bread.

Hopefully if you do have food waste it goes onto the compost heap rather than into the trash, but even so, it took water and energy to make that food, so wasting it is not green or eco-friendly.

Here’s how to revive wilted greens and also stale bread. When you revive food, you avoid food waste, and that’s good for the environment.

And it’s easier than you think!

Revive Wilted Greens

Any type of green leaves such as lettuce, Swiss chard, kale and so on, can be brought back to life by this method.

Note: this is only for greens that have wilted. If they’ve gone slimy or rotten, it’s too late.

Here’s how:

1. Take a bowl big enough to hold all your wilted greens.
2. Fill it almost to the  top with cold water. Add ice for even better results. Optional –  add some lemon slices or lemon juice to the water if you wish.
3. Cut off the stem ends of your greens (this will allow them to take up more water).
4. Submerge the greens  in the cold water.
5. Leave them in for at least 30 minutes. The more wilted they are, the longer they will take to revive. You may want to cover the bowl (e.g. with a plate) to make sure nothing falls in.
6. When you are happy with your greens, drain them and give them a quick rinse.
7. Dry them with a tea towel, or dry small batches  in a salad spinner.

Your greens are crisp and fresh again, and ready to enjoy!

Revive Stale Bread

Bread always seems to go stale faster than I expect.

But (as long as it’s just stale, not mouldy), you can easily revive it and avoid food waste.

Revive stale bread by re-heating it.

You can do this in the oven or in the microwave.

Oven Method

The oven should be at around 300 F (150 C).

Just place the bread in the oven for 5 – 15 minutes (a small amount of bread should only take about 5 minutes – allow longer for larger amounts.

Allow to cool. Once it’s cool enough to touch, eat and enjoy!

Microwave Method

Run tap water over a tea towel, then squeeze out the excess water so that you have a  damp tea towel.

Wrap the stale bread completely in the damp towel.

Microwave for 10 seconds.

Remove from the machine, remove the towel, and eat and enjoy!

Bag of Stale Sliced Bread

Of course, both the oven and microwave methods work well for loaves, but can you do anything with a bag of sliced bread that’s gone stale?

Absolutely!

(It just takes a little longer).

Simply place a stick  of celery into the bag and close / seal the bag.

Place in the refrigerator overnight.

Your sliced bread will be fresh again in the morning!

Too Far Gone to Revive

If your bread is just too stale to revive, use it to make bread pudding, breadcrumbs, toast, croutons, or feed the birds.

In Summary

These are all easy ways to avoid food waste at home.

Don’t throw out wilted greens, root vegetables or stale bread again!

Warm regards,

P. S. Please share these great tips – quick share buttons below and right – thank you!