FoodSaver Zero-Waste Challenge

FoodSaver Zero-Waste Challenge. Hello friends, so how are you today? Over the last few weeks, I have been invited to take part in the FoodSaver Zero-Waste Challenge.

#FoodSaverChallenge

#ZeroWasteNovember

This post is a collaboration with FoodSaver.

One of my pet hates is food waste. We always work to a shopping list however by the end of the week there is always some needless food waste. For us, it is usually fruit and or vegetables. You write your shopping list with healthy intentions but the odd takeaway night sometimes puts healthy meals on the back burner.

As a family, we need to eat more fruit and vegetables but the trouble with fresh products is they can go off in a few days before we have had a chance to use them.

FoodSaver Zero-Waste Challenge:

FoodSaver kindly sent me some of their products to help me cut down on food waste. I was sent FoodSaver Black Vacuum Sealing Machine along with FoodSaver Fresh Food Containers and FoodSaver Zipper to take part in the challenge.

I was really interested to read up on the Food Saver product and was looking forward to trying them out. First up our weekly shop. Again my list is full of healthy meal plans, lots of fruit and veg. A normal week a third of it will be in the bin. Let’s see if Food Saver makes a difference?!

First up let us try and keep the strawberries fresh for longer than a day in the Food Saver containers. I love to buy strawberries, but if we don’t eat them within 24 hours they tend to be no good.

FoodSaver, Food Containers:

First up I washed and dried the new Food Saver, food containers. Then a bit of prep work popping some fresh fruit in the containers.

Red and green grapes, blueberries, oranges and strawberries what a lovely selection of fruit!?

Then I connect up to the Food Saver equipment. Power on check. Hose connected to container check, hose connected to main unit check. A quick button press and hey presto a vacuum free container full of fruit. Should last a week in the fridge now according to the manual. I pop that to one side and excitedly prepare some vegetables.

Next up a nice and tasty salad box. Lettuce, red onion, watercress, spring onion tomatoes and cucumber. Yum!

Then I sealed the container shut the same way I did like the fruit.

Nowadays I am always out at work on Sunday so I do not get a chance to prepare many vegetables on the day. These containers will come in handy to prepare my broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage and peas a day or two earlier.

FoodSaver Zero-Waste Challenge:

One thing we have wanted to do for a long time is creating our own stir fries for dinner. This week I have been getting creative in preparing lots of different meal ideas. Once your vegetables are prepared you can easily make up a quick stir-fry by adding a bit of chicken, prepared veggies, noodles and a tasty sauce. The great thing about stir-fry is you can use lots of different vegetables to mix things up. Below is a picture of my stir-fry pack before and after vacuum sealing.

Stir Fry Ideas:

• Mangetout
• Broccoli
• Baby sweetcorn

Or Maybe:

• Red and yellow peppers
• 2 Red onions
• A handful of baby sweetcorn and mangetout
• Spring onions

We are keeping these in the fridge for next week. (What is amazing is what you can vacuum seal. Nuts coffee pasta biscuits bread. The list is endless.)

Simply fry some chicken or turkey in a wok until cooked and add your vegetables in a for around 5 minutes and add a sauce of your choice. Get creative with any leftover vegetables.

How about preparing your fresh pizza topping, making a few batches of coleslaw up or preparing some vegetables up for roasting? So many possibilities.

What to do will leftover vegetables that need using up? Make coleslaw! Great for Christmas parties. The great thing about making coleslaw is that you do not really need set amounts of veggies. Just use what you have in. You can use the same amount of each or mix it up a bit as I did in this recipe.

Homemade Coleslaw:

• 175g Carrots, peeled and grated
• 150g Red onion thinly sliced
• 330g Red cabbage, thinly sliced and rinsed
• A squeeze of lemon juice
• Mayonnaise to taste

How To Make:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl apart from the mayonnaise.
2. Mix well.
3. Pop half of the mixture into a FoodSaver container for later and mix this half with mayonnaise to taste for now. ( I use 3 tablespoons full).
4. Enjoy some fresh today and some more another day.

What I Have Learnt From FoodSaver Zero-Waste Challenge:

1. Meal plan meal plan meal plan. A list of what foods you will need for each meal over the next few days.
2. When buying fresh vegetables prepare them as soon as possible so you can eat them all up whilst they are nice and fresh.
3. If your meal plans go out the window the vacuum sealing saves the day and this weeks stir-fry can be next weeks. So a cheeky take away does not mean throwing things out!! Result…

I am loving using my new FoodSaver kitchen gadgets and I also think the food containers are going to be the most used ideas I own. They are so much help for my new meal planning routine.

About this post: This FoodSaver Zero-Waste Challenge post is a collaboration with FoodSaver but as always, all thoughts are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands I work with.

Did you join us this week for the A Day Out In Lincoln?

FoodSaver Zero-Waste Challenge:

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Thank you so much for stopping by.

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Claire Justine

Hi, I am Claire and I created Claire Justine in 2011. I hope you enjoy reading my posts as much as I love writing them. Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts with us.

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