Today my favorite news source, the BBC Global News, had a section on the current food crisis. The current British prime minister said that he felt too many of his countrymen were wasting food. As a result the news broadcaster interviewed several Brits. He asked, “Do you think you waste food?” and “What are you doing to not waste food?” Most of the interviewees admitted to wasting quite a bit of their food, and several others mentioned that lately they haven’t been buying those 2 for 1 deals, because they simply don’t use it. I think all this talk of food scarcity has really boosted my desire to use everything I buy. Tom and I have started grocery shopping for two weeks- and just stretching it out. We eat less, and by the end of the second week the veggies are looking a bit more limp- but I have risen to the cause and made stir fry and fried rice to make use of the shriveled produce. I have enjoyed the challenge. I love it when I am making muffins and I remember that I froze a pear that was past the point of eating raw- and I can pull it out and put it in. I delight when I think to that plastic bag with half a frozen tomato that I stuffed in the freezer before we left for a trip. It has forced me to document the contents of our refrigerator and pantry in order to timely use everything we buy. Certainly there have been a several things that have been tossed. I couldn’t believe I let that little block of feta go to waste!

    Tom and I have both been entertained by the growth of our little veggie and herb garden. We currently have 5 romas and 5 jalapeño peppers on the way! And three of our other tomato plants have bloomed! They have taken quite a beating today though. We had a wild rain storm (the tornado siren even went off!) that beat them down pretty badly. Hopefully the sun will cheer them up tomorrow.

   

    Today at my beloved grocery store, Aldi, Tom discovered that they were selling their spotted brown bananas for 10 cents a bag! And there are about 6 bananas in each bag. That’s what I love about Aldi. Any other major grocery store would have just chucked those soft old bananas- but why? People are starving. In order to celebrate the find I made two beautiful loaves of banana bread tonight. One with chocolate chips and the other with spice! So how has this global crisis affected you? How have you managed to cut back? (I should throw in, when this subject came up with a dear elderly friend of mine from the ward she said, “I’ve lost 20 pounds just cutting back on my bread!”) Any tips?