5 Secrets You Won't Find on Food Labels

I may not have come from a rich family but I look back and see how unnecessary financial wealth was at the time. My Grandparents had more groceries on hand or easily available then everyone combined on my apartment floor.

They had a HUGE farm house that was heated with two wood stoves (meaning that heating costs were very minimal), two food gardens, a small strawberry bush, chickens, and pigs.

What does this have do with a label on a can of peas, you ask? ... stay with me...

I had a flash back a few days ago while husking corn and peeling potatoes:

I watched myself...

Pull- pull- pop; then tossed the husk in a bin.

And again.

Suddenly I was no longer in my apt- I was 6 years old sitting on a tattered chair in my grandparents dusty old farm house.

Pull- pull- pop; then tossed the husk into a bin.

This bin wasn't going to an apartment building trash shed, no; it was being saved as food.

Delicious?? 😋 wait wait...

The food scraps weren't for us, they were for the pigs.

As a child, I loved adding to the pig food recipe in the bin. I imagined that I was a chef- a slop chef? Maybe that explains my cooking some days.

No food ever went to waste.

They grew a bunch of food, traded and with neighbors and bought at a local farm store which was considerably cheaper than A&P (now Metro). After having spent very little, the scraps went to the pigs.

Then one day...

the pigs were gone and the huge deep freeze was filled with brown packages.

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I was sad that my friends and slop food restaurant guests had left the Chez Piggy Pen Restaurant.

The point is...

Nothing was wasted.

And what else...

My grandmother made bacon and eggs the day after Chez Piggy Pen closed. First the bacon and then she used the bacon oil to cook the eggs that a neighbor traded them for pig 🐖 .

I don't think I ever saw store bought oil at my grandparents house.

Here are 5 things that modern families mindlessly throw a away.

liquid in cans.
- Sure, throw the liquid out then open a can of soup or add milk to mashed potatoes; logical. Or, you could use the pea can liquid in mashed potatoes and decrease the amount of milk and butter. I like to use can liquids as a soup base- save those nutriants.
liquid in jars.
- use pickle, beet, or jalepeno juices for homemade salad dressings. Making dressing is really as simple as a bit of oil mixed with spices and/or jar juice.

This #1 selling condiment bottle is a perfect option for homemade salad dressings for under $5 https://amzn.to/2Q7onMW Amazon link.

broccoli ends.
- why are you throwing food out? Slice broccoli ends to eat raw or cook. My Daughter loves these.
lemons and limes are undervalued.
- when you're finished squeezing a lemon for that salad, don't throw it out. Put the left over lemon in a bowl (cut side up) and leave it in the fridge, uncovered for a few hours. This will freshen the scent.
- while you finish preparing the rest of dinner, put leftover lemon or lime in the microwave and cook them for a few minutes then give the appliance a wipe.
- I like to chop all leftover bits and mix with vinegar to use as a household cleaner and laundy whitener.
leftover day.
- most leftovers play well with each other; take those peas, broccoli, few potatoes, etc and just toss them all in an oven dish. Your fridge is clean, you aren't wasting food, and it's a quick easy dinner.

This Rachael Ray pan is reasonably priced and a #2 best seller. https://amzn.to/2xtxBg9 Amazon link.

The bottom line is that a LOT of what we throw out is consumable. It's really a shame to think that our ancestors might have been better at life than we are.

We have forgotten how to take care of ourselves in this society of snappy fast conveience.

Who are wasteful habits convenient for?

Microwaving leftover lemon isn't something you need schedule into your life.

The only people that waste helps are those that want your money. 💰 😳

💭 Think, what would my grandmother do? Do that.

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Ana Clark is a disabled writer living in Canada with her disabled little girl who suffers from severe thyroid, learning and growth issues.

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