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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
We asked 6 chefs for their secrets to reduce food waste — and we're stealing their tips ASAP
Whether it's stems and skins or past-their-prime protein and produce, you're probably throwing a lot of perfectly good food in the trash. Such waste doesn't come cheap. The average American throws away $728 worth of food per year, which adds up to nearly $3,000 for a family of four, according to a US Environmental Protection Agency report. Food prices jumped more than 23% between 2020 and 2024, per the US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, which is 2% higher than the overall inflation rate during that time. So, it's no wonder we're hoping to maximize every dollar we spend at the supermarket. As it turns out, chefs are masters at the craft. 'Food waste can make or break a kitchen's financial month or year; our margins are always extremely thin and fragile. Many restaurants strive to waste 4% or less of their food cost. Here, we aim for 1% to 2%,' said Tim Mangun, executive chef of Majordomo in Los Angeles. Compare that amount with those of typical home cooks, who waste about 21% of the food they buy. Reducing waste isn't just about saving money — although that's why many individuals and restaurants initially focus on it, said George Formaro, chef partner of Orchestrate Hospitality restaurants in Des Moines, Iowa. Every single thing that ends up in the trash takes time and labor to produce. Plus, the waste will directly affect Mother Nature. Food waste accounts for more than 20% of municipal solid waste, USDA data suggests. 'Uneaten food has enormous environmental, social, and financial impacts,' said Lindsay-Jean Hard, author of 'Cooking With Scraps' and writer for Zingerman's deli, bakery and mail-order food company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 'All of the resources used to grow, raise, transport, and refrigerate that food are wasted right along with it,' Hard added. 'Then, when all of that wasted food ends up in landfills, it lacks the conditions to break down properly and, as a result, releases methane, one of the worst greenhouse gases.' With the economy in flux and grocery prices continuing to climb, CNN asked chefs from coast to coast to share their most creative ways to decrease food waste and save money and the environment all at once. Many of us shop with aspirations — I will eat five fruits and veggies daily! — rather than realistic intentions, said George Duran, a celebrity chef in New York City. When it comes time to put all those carrots and kale to good use, 'life often gets too busy before you discover that everything has wilted,' Duran said. Chefs almost always write their menus before shopping for ingredients, and it's wise to follow suit. Jot down a rough meal plan, then make a list for ingredients, Hard recommended. Not only does a list reduce the risk for impulse purchases, but it also gives you more direction when shopping. Doing so will likely save you time. 'You can still roam around the farmers market and buy whatever catches your eye,' Hard said. 'Just take the extra step of figuring out how you're going to use what you got, and then fill in any gaps.' Ideally, this meal plan will include recipes that flex fresh ingredients in more than one way, so you don't have stragglers hanging around at the end of the week. Many home cooks and professional chefs neglect to plan to cross-utilize ingredients, said Ken Bell, head chef and co-owner of Over Yonder restaurant in Boone, North Carolina. 'Buying versatile ingredients that can be used in multiple different ways for several meals is a must to minimize food waste at home,' Bell noted. 'Had mashed potatoes for dinner, but made too much? Add extra milk, cream, or stock (and any other veggies you like) and blend it into a tasty potato soup, for example.' Or plan to use fresh kale in a soup one night, and in a blender pasta sauce later in the week. Most professional kitchens have a process for inventory to keep tabs on what's in stock and what needs to be refreshed. Mangun has implemented a similar strategy at home: 'My wife and I write what we are low on, or run out of, on a white board, and generate our grocery list using this as a guide.' Before you step foot into a grocery store or head to the farmers market, 'inventory what you have in your pantry, fridge, and freezer,' Mangun said. When you add new items to your refrigerator roster, remember the restaurant trick FIFO, which means 'first in, first out.' In other words, use the rest of last week's strawberries before diving into this week's pint. Duran, a father of two, freezes much more than the average cook. 'My freezer is my food waste superhero,' he said. 'I freeze leftover herbs in olive oil. I even freeze onions and peppers and carrots, all chopped up in a resealable plastic bag for an instant mirepoix,' to start soups, sauces and more. You can also freeze most leftovers for three to four months if you happen to make too much. 'Just remember to take the time to label what you put in so you aren't second-guessing yourself a month from now,' Hard said. One thing many savvy chefs keep in the freezer: odds and ends that are destined for stock. Save onion skins, carrot peels, celery ends, excess herbs as well as bones from chicken, beef, pork or fish to make homemade stock. Even shrimp shells make stellar stocks. 'Homemade stock is always so much better than what you buy at the store, and the finished product also freezes well, so you can keep it for a long time and use it as needed,' Bell said. You can coax out serious flavor and stretch your ingredients much further by simmering them in water for 30 minutes (vegetable stock) to eight hours (beef or pork stock) before straining, Formaro chimed in. Another way to save surplus produce is to get in a pickle: 'Quick pickling is super easy,' Bell said. 'All you need is your favorite vinegar, sugar, salt, and water. You can pickle just about any kind of vegetable,' and the briny produce can hang out in the fridge for at least four weeks. Choose your own flavor adventure with America's Test Kitchen's method: Boil 1 ½ cups vinegar, 1 ½ cups water, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 ½ tablespoons kosher salt and your favorite seasonings in a saucepan, then take this off the heat and allow it to steep for 10 minutes. Pack 1 pound of evenly sliced, sturdy fruits or vegetables into jars, boil the brine once more, then ladle the vinegar mixture into the jars. Allow the jars to cool, add lids, then refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Duran and his wife like to play what they call 'leftover roulette,' which is essentially a remix of the Food Network show 'Chopped.' 'We pull random ingredients from the refrigerator and figure out ways to put them all together for a meal,' Duran said. You can also use artificial intelligence or recipe websites such as SuperCook or SideChef to plug in the ingredients you have and gather recipe recommendations to put those items to good use. Both Hard and the EPA agree that composting is better than tossing food in the trash, 'but it's not a magical fix or the best solution for excess food,' Hard said. 'Before relegating something to the compost bin, think about how you might be able to use it instead. Question some of your habits. Could you save something for stock? Do those carrots really need to be peeled, or could you just rinse and scrub them?' If you do end up composting or even throwing away food, take note, said Aidan O'Neal, chef partner at Le Crocodile and Bar Blondeau inside the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn, New York. 'Take an audit. What are you throwing away — and throwing away regularly? Brainstorm ways to adjust your shopping accordingly,' O'Neal said. Duran doesn't aim for perfection, just progress. If you implement even one of these nine tips, you'll probably trim down on how much you toss out. 'Reducing food waste doesn't mean you have to overhaul your entire life. Start with one habit at a time. Try to get your kids involved. They will understand pretty quickly why you're doing it: for their future,' Duran said. 'Best of all, you'll save money, eat better, and feel like a kitchen superhero. Who doesn't want that?' Karla Walsh is a Des Moines, Iowa-based freelance lifestyle writer with more than 16 years of editorial experience.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Divorced Women Are Sharing The Things Their Partners Didn't Do That Could've Saved The Whole Relationship, And Some Of These Are So Simple
Warning: This post mentions domestic violence. When a relationship ends, it's usually natural to wonder "what if?" What small changes could have made all the difference? So when u/Zesty_Tease asked divorced women to share what their ex-husbands could have done differently to save their marriages, the responses were both heartbreaking and surprisingly simple. Here are 28 brutally honest answers that might make you rethink what really matters in a partnership: 1."It would have been cool if he didn't have a girlfriend. I would have loved that." —u/cashmere_plum 2."Be nice to me." —u/cactusunderwater "Came here to basically say this. Sad to see it's so common. For me, it was this and also, like, see me as fully human." —u/Sauletekis 3."Actually do some activity with me." —u/Several-Awareness-78 4."I'd even say, just spend TIME with me. Just time — not even having to do anything." —u/Volitile_Star330 5."Come home at night." —u/iwaspoopin_daily "Sober, with his wedding ring?" —u/Delicious-Welder3944 6."Hang out with me as much as he did his friends, be as helpful to me as he was his friends — you know, treat me like he actually still liked me." —u/MeLoveCoffee99 "Came here to say this EXACT thing. It was ALL he had to do. He seemed full of contempt most of the time, tbh. Yet when I finally ended it after 24 years, he was DEVASTATED. Begged me to stay for two years before I got away." —u/kindcrow 7."Mine only kept his penis IN his pants. It was an issue for me." —u/Fair-Raspberry649 8."Appreciate the things I did instead of just taking it as a given. Not feel entitled to my cooking and cleaning and caretaking." —u/fiddlemonkey "This one was huge for me. Why am I working full time and still the only one trying to maintain our home and lives? Get off the computer and take the dog out — he's been crying for five minutes. The end for me, I think, was when I asked him to take the trash out to the dumpster, and he STEPPED OVER a full bag of trash in front of the door to go hang out with friends. I learned so much from my first marriage. He wasn't a bad guy, just a bad partner." —u/Strangest_Brew 9."I'm not picky, but I think it's reasonable that I should not be murdered. He disagreed." —u/literacyisamistake 10."Care. He was so utterly apathetic to my needs and emotions for years." —u/eve_is_hopeful "This would have to be my answer as well. When I divorced him, he laughed in my face and told me he didn't have to apologize to me anymore since it didn't make his life easier anymore." —u/Next_Brainpuzzle 11."Taking accountability for anything. Walking the dogs (especially at night), completing basic household tasks, brushing his teeth daily and — just to be petty — manscaping." —u/SunflowerStateFan 12."If he was the man he pretended to be when we first met, we'd still be together." —u/selene_art 13."Not be a liar, not be a narcissist, not get fired from jobs all the time, not expect me to solve every issue, not listen to everything his mom said, not want a ton of kids but not be able to support them or raise them without being mentally absent or physically abusive — I could go on, but you get the idea." —u/Prestigious_Rain_842 14."Housekeeping chores. You know, daily maintenance things. People say dishes, for sure, but let's add wiping the counters, sweeping spots, and maybe putting away shoes and coats. For the year that I was married to him, he also did not work. I guess he thought that he was a househusband (I don't think he even understood what a househusband's job is!). Except we were in no position for him to not be working, so when I found out I was pregnant, I told him he had to leave because I could only afford to support one other person." —u/random321abc 15."Showed me he loved me. I felt invisible." —u/doodaronirigatoni 16."He could have not been a raging, terrifying asshole. Oddly, when we divorced, we became friends and coparents — raised our kids together until they were grown. He still even calls and checks in on me occasionally. We were young. He and I just needed to grow a little, and our divorce was a catalyst for that. I'm happy for him." —u/Secret-Weakness-8262 17."Listen to or support me when I was struggling. I had a pretty devastating miscarriage. He yelled at me for not being over it after a week and not wanting to see our newborn niece for a few days while I learned to cope. Six months later, he told me I should be completely over it by now and that he couldn't be there emotionally for me. He suggested I find someone else to talk to. He's still mad I did." —u/MissCrystal 18."Address his drinking problem. He was a high-functioning addict who was successful, charismatic, good-looking, and surrounded by enablers and hangers-on. I became the lone buzzkill who encouraged him to get help and take some accountability for his life. Eventually, my voice got drowned out by all of the other voices telling him he was amazing as-is, so he ditched me and the party continued." —u/77geminis 19."Communicate with me. When I wanted to talk to him, I'd get ignored or have to figure out by his quietness that he didn't want to talk about certain topics — instead of him just saying, 'Hey, let's not discuss that kind of topic.' If that could have been done, I'd have been fine. I hated feeling like a dummy talking to him only to be ignored or told (eventually) that I talk too much." "Communication is only one thing. There was more, but this was one of the biggest factors." —u/LightWing07 20."Be emotionally intimate with me. He was very emotionally avoidant, didn't like to have or acknowledge feelings, was emotionally closed, and didn't know how to allow me to have emotions." —u/sufficientxsadie1 21."I told my now ex-husband when we separated that I only gave birth to two people that live in this house, yet somehow I'm charged with raising three. He promptly moved out and moved back in with his mother." —u/Grand-Moose8294 22."Given me a single compliment. 'You look nice today' was even too hard for him. 'You should just know I think that.'" —u/amosborn 23."He could have learned to control his temper, and to stop yelling at me and punching holes in walls. I cannot stand being yelled at. I never yell at anyone and expect my partner to have the same respect for me that I have for him. If it had been a rare occurrence over something that was a big deal, I might have gotten over it, but it was frequent and over stuff that sometimes had nothing to do with me. Many years later, he knows what he did was wrong, but I'm pretty sure he still does it with his current wife. She seems OK with it and gives him back the same, I think. That's a miserable way to live for me." —u/honeygrl 24."Get a job. I carried the weight for far too long. Miraculously, two weeks after I told him I filed for divorce, he ended up getting a great job, but by then it was just too late." —u/renee4310 25."Be a father to our son. Once we got the autism diagnosis, my ex wanted nothing to do with him." —u/AngryKeyLimePie 26."He could have chosen his family over becoming a pilot. He left me to single-parent an infant while working full time and going to grad school. After I did that for him, he could have not told me he was the only one who contributed to this family after I switched to part time to better care for the kid. He could have not blamed our child's mental health issues on my 'bad ADHD genetics' when our kid's therapist said he had trauma from his father coming in and out of his life seemingly at random." "He was totally 'blindsided,' though, when I let him know I secured an attorney and was initiating a divorce." —u/butterbell 27."I wanted to get out of town for a week or weekend — nothing fancy, just a little getaway. He refused. A month after we broke up, he took his new girlfriend on a vacation." —u/kootiekween1 28."There's too much to list that I didn't even realize until after I left, but the straw that broke the camel's back was that he didn't believe we could do better. The day I told him I wanted a divorce, we had gone out for the day. I wanted to have a nice time in my favorite part of town and have a glass of wine outside. He had a bad attitude most of the day, but I was still trying to have a positive time. I pointed out some apartment buildings nearby and said, 'Wouldn't it be nice to live here someday?' 'We'll never be able to afford it.' That's when it clicked for me why things were so difficult for us, and why they would ALWAYS be difficult. He didn't believe things could be better, so he would never try — and that was why he always discouraged me from trying. Fast forward a few years, and my new husband and I moved into a townhouse in that favorite part of town of mine." "Once I left my ex, the amount of freedom I felt was incredible. I left my dead-end job, found a new career, started new hobbies (with all my free time I now had, not having to do all the cooking and cleaning for two people by myself while also working a full-time job), started dating, and eventually met my new husband. He has never told me I couldn't do something. He makes me feel like I'm strong enough to do anything I put my mind to. I love my life now." —u/AtomicFeckMagician What do you think are the most important things partners need to do to keep a relationship strong? Have you experienced similar issues, or do you have advice for couples struggling with these challenges? Whether you're married, divorced, or single, share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below — we'd love to hear your perspective. Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity. 29. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger as a result of domestic violence, call 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you can call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or chat with an advocate via the website.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The US State That Grows The Most Peanuts
Peanuts are one of the most versatile ingredients in the world. They taste good by themselves, play a major role in several cuisines, and are used in all kinds of snacks and recipes. Whether it's a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich or regional snacks, such as the South's classic peanuts-in-Coca-Cola, peanuts are a prevalent part of food culture. It's no secret Americans enjoy eating peanuts in various capacities, but not many people know that America is home to quite a lot of peanut production, too. Peanuts are primarily grown in southern states, with Georgia growing the most. In Georgia alone, over 3 billion pounds of peanuts were grown in 2023, according to World Population Review. This might come as a surprise to many since Georgia is typically thought of as the Peach State. In actuality, Georgia isn't the state that produces the most peaches. Instead, Georgia is the king of peanut production, producing about six times the amount of peanuts than North Carolina, the peanut producer runner-up. Read more: 12 Kirkland Products With The Lowest Quality Ingredients Georgia has always been ahead of the pack when it comes to growing peanuts. Previously, the state grew 2.9 billion pounds in 2022, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service, and was responsible for about 50% of the peanut crop in the United States back in 2019. This means wherever you've had peanuts in the United States, whether a handful of free peanuts at Five Guys or at a county fair, chances are they were produced in Georgia. Of course, Georgia isn't the only state to produce peanuts. Other high-producing states include North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and Texas. Per World Population Review's data, all of these states produce roughly 500 million pounds of peanuts -- high, but still a far cry from Georgia's level of production. There are also states considered minor peanut production states, including Mississippi, Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Missouri. However, these states put together only make up about 8% of the overall peanut crop in the United States. Read the original article on Chowhound.
