Nothing is more heartbreaking than finally opening up your package of kale and realizing you got one that expires two days after you bought it. Yikes. What are you supposed to do with an entire bag of kale now? Did you know that the average American wastes about 225-290 pounds of food a year? That’s a lot of food going to waste just from not realizing your food goes rancid sooner than you think.
Except, spoiled food doesn’t always have to be thrown away. Yes, if your bread has mold growing all over it, don’t hesitate to throw it out. But certain foods that are slightly spoiled can still be incorporated into dishes that are perfectly fine. So, next time you open up an avocado, and it’s a little brown, don’t be disheartened quite yet. Here are a few ways you can turn spoiled food into great dishes:
Kale – add it into your smoothies
Adding kale to smoothies is a great way to get in your greens, and slightly limp kale will taste no different when mixed with fruit.
Bananas – freeze them
Freezing extra brown and spotty bananas are perfect for smoothies, nice cream, and other banana-based treats.
Avocado – make into guacamole
Turn your mushy and slightly brown avocados into guacamole. They’re still perfectly fine to eat and taste great when combined with spices and fresh lime.
Tomatoes – make into salsa
Skip the store-bought stuff and make your homemade salsa with limp tomatoes. They might not taste great on a sandwich, but when made into a salsa, you won’t even be able to tell the difference.
Cucumbers – turn into pickles
Pickling foods is the newest trend, and cucumbers to pickles is a classic. Take your limp cucumbers, add it to a mixture of salt and sugar, add vinegar and water once it’s combined and you’ve got yourself homemade pickles.
Berries – make an ice pop
Take berries that are getting soft and turn them into a delicious and refreshing fruit ice pop.
Celery – add it to a smoothie
Adding celery to a smoothie makes it incredibly refreshing and hydrating, and you won’t even be able to tell the difference when you use celery that has gone a little soft.
Bread – make into croutons
Although you don’t want to eat moldy bread, taking bread that you know you’re not going to eat before the expiration date, cutting it into cubes, seasoning and baking it, and turning it into croutons are a perfect way to use old bread.
