Our readers care about the environment, but making sustainable choices isn’t always as straightforward as we’d like. Each week, Swap Shop challenges a HuffPoster to take on a new green habit and write about their journey to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. My fridge used to be a parody of thirty-something solo living: a plastic carton of Sainsbury’s soup, a bag of pre-washed salad and punnet of cherry tomatoes (both plastic, obvs), a grubby looking square of parmesan, and an M&S G&T tin. But in the past year, we’ve run so many articles here at HuffPost on food waste that I really am trying to do better – for myself and for the planet.
I can track my journey (yeah, I used the j word) via spinach. Where I used to chuck out packet after pre-washed packet of the stuff because I’d let it turn to spinach soup, I started trying to pick out every last usable leaf before the bag went in the bin. Then I realised that you can buy huge handfuls fresh from the market that taste better and cost less than at Tesco’s.
Told you it was a journey. Still, it’s only spinach. There must be more fun you can have in the fight against food waste? People, I give you banana bread. Seriously, take a slice. I made it last night and it’s smiling at you. Or raising a wry eyebrow at the very least.There’s nothing more unappetising than a rapidly browning banana and yet – this is the magic bit – banana bread recipes actually require bananas that are on the turn (because they’re all the better for mashing up). How do I know this? I found myself googling ‘how to use overripe bananas’ one night as I stared curiously at my festering fruit bowl. Yes, I’ve changed.Related... Why Taking A 'Fridge Shelfie' Might Stop You Wasting So Much Food As someone who belongs to the “can’t cook, won’t cook” tribe, my previous baking efforts were limited to Betty Crocker cake-in-a-box kits, which even then I managed to mess up. Nor do I own much kitchen paraphernalia.
But all you’ll need is a loaf tin – mine cost £1.75 – and a set of scales or failing that an old school tea cup, which is the perfect size for measuring out your ingredients. If you’re anything like me, you’ll also want a recipe that keeps things very simple. This one (adapted from
BBC Good Food) does that.
Measure 140g butter, 140g caster sugar and 140g self-raising flour (that’s one cup’s worth each), plus two eggs (beaten), two bananas (mashed) and a teaspoon of baking powder. Pre-heat the oven to 180° (fan 160°). In a bowl, cream the sugar and butter with your fingers then, using a spoon, fold in the eggs with some of the flour, and the bananas and baking powder with the rest.It’s really that simple. Even I can’t mess it up. Pour the mixture into your loaf tin, bake for 30 mins or until a skewer comes out clean, cool for 10, and then enjoy a slice of your miraculous creation with a cup of tea.
To borrow a line from one of the greatest films ever made: “Honey, you baked!”
I can’t tell you how satisfying I find this whole process; equally mindful after a long day at work or a cosy winter weekend afternoon. Not only that, but you’ve got a means of currying favour with your colleagues the following day or – if you do as I do – a readymade snack for yourself for the rest of the week. No more buying expensive packet cakes or biscuits. And you’ll have enough of the dry ingredients to make another batch of the bread before you need to restock. Related... Three Apps You Need In Your Life If You Care About Food Waste (And Like A Cheap Meal) I realise this is basic cooking common sense to many people, but it’s real behavioural change for me. Food waste can feel like an insurmountable mountain, but we all have to start somewhere. And I’m not the only one.
My colleague found two festering apples in the bottom of her fridge last week that she managed, with a pinch of cinnamon, to turn into a delicious
Christmas crumble that’s “really, really nice with vanilla ice-cream”. And I’ve recently discovered the joys of pappa al pomodoro, a hearty Italian soup that you have to make with stale bread (or not at all). Sorry, birdies. And Sainsbury’s.
So, next time your bananas are looking a bit like this, you know what to do.More Green Swaps I Now Have A Milkman And I'll Never Look Back Handmade Wrapping Paper Is A Cute Idea – But Is It Any Greener? Clothes Swapping With
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