WASTED!

THE BUSY MAN’S GUIDE TO NOT SQUANDERING WHAT MATTERS MOST: MONEY, FOOD, ENERGY, YOUR LIFE AND MAYBE EVEN THE PLANET.

- DAVID FERRY

HOW NOT TO WASTE… FOOD

10 MILLION TONNES of food in South Africa is wasted every year, which is a third of the 31 million tonnes produced every year in SA, according to the WWF. It’s estimated that the energy wasted to produce this food that isn’t eaten could power Johannesburg for 16 weeks! These three rules can help you turn that around:

1 BE REALISTIC WITH WHAT YOU’RE BUYING. People are aspirational at the supermarket, says Dana Gunders,

interim executive director of the anti-foodwaste group ReFED. “They hope to cook more and eat better, and then life happens. By Wednesday, they’re ordering pizza and the food is rotting. Beware of overbuying, and plan for lazy nights. We all have them.”

2 SAVE (AND SAVOUR) YOUR SCRAPS. Recipes (and food Instagram accounts) train you to eat the nice-looking parts of foods (broccoli crowns) while ditching the “ugly” parts (broccoli stems). Gunders has another name for those less “liked” parts: delicious.

THE SCRAP

Cauliflower stalks

Carrot or beetroot tops

Potato skins

Slightly expired eggs*

THE TREAT

Cauliflower “rice.” In a food processor, pulse chopped stalks into a rice-like texture. Saute with butter.

Fresh pesto. Combine tops with pine nuts and grated Parmesan. In a food processor, blitz, then puree, drizzling in olive oil until saucelike. Season as you like.

Chips! Heat a pan with a half cm of oil over medium high. When the oil shimmers, add skins and cook till crisp.