New Year’s resolution time is the perfect occasion to get rid of recurrent sources of negative energy. And for a lot of families, food waste is a weekly source of guilty feelings.
Emily Parent, the dietitian for trusted local online grocer CobornsDelivers, has great ideas for cutting down on food waste.
1. Purchase rescue veggies and fruits in special bags from cobornsdelivers.com. Rescue veggies are grab bags of vegetables that taste great but won’t win any beauty prizes.
2. Plan your meals ahead and order just what you need - don’t “wish shop” or shop without a list.
3. Purchase food the day before (or even same day), so plan to have it delivered when you meal prep or plan on making a big meal so produce won’t go bad in your fridge.
4. As you’re cooking, collect scraps you might otherwise compost or toss, like onion skins, carrot peels, green onion ends, herb stems, and throw them in a freezer bag. When you have a few cups' worth, make broth for a hearty soup!
5. Use or lose your food. Keep your fridge organized so you know the use-by date of all your food. Again, just buy what you need for a few days, and order more when you need. At CobornsDelivers.com, you can get your food delivered even the same day, easily and conveniently.
Sheet Pan Chicken with Rescue Veggies
Ingredients
• 4 small potatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 sliced zucchini
• 2 (8-oz.) cooked chicken breasts
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 c. shredded Italian five-cheese blend
• 1 pt. grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 c. torn fresh basil leaves
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 475° F. Toss potato wedges, olive oil, rosemary, and Italian seasoning together in a medium bowl. Add potato wedges to a greased baking sheet. Bake potato wedges for 20 minutes. Add zucchini to baking sheet and cook 12 more minutes.
2. Push potatoes to middle of baking sheet and top with chopped chicken and Italian five-cheese blend. Bake until cheese is melted, 3 to 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, toss together grape tomatoes, garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Spoon tomato mixture and basil over potatoes. Serve immediately.
CobornsDelivers is an online grocery ordering and home-delivery service offering convenience to thousands of loyal households and businesses across the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro. It offers free delivery for the first 60 days for new customers.