It was Earth Day yesterday and I celebrated the day by going through my fridge checking for food waste and then picking up garbage along our highway property line.
Let me give you some statistics from February 2023 to hopefully make us more aware of what we are not accomplishing very well in the food department!
The average Canadian household wastes 79 kilograms (174 pounds) to 140 kilograms (308 pounds) of food a year. Food waste does occur at most points in the food cycle, including post-harvest, processing, distribution, retail, food industry and household waste but our household waste is 47 percent which means food waste can be avoided by consumers adopting better shopping and cooking habits.
We talk about how expensive food has become but the annual cost of the total amount of food wasted in Canada is $1,766 per household.
So back to my fridge and what did I find? In the back of the fridge I found two small beets that were soft and looking a bit sad, celery that was limp and some carrots in a bag that were wet. I saved all. The beets I cooked for a chocolate muffin recipe, the celery I chopped up and put it into the freezer for later day soup, and the carrots I washed off, peeled them and also used them in a muffin recipe. You could also cut up the carrots and put them with the celery for soup.
Try the following recipes. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Saving the world and keeping ourselves healthy!
Moist Beetroot Chocolate Muffins
These are pretty healthy muffins which are perfect for breakfast, snack or as a healthier dessert. The best part of this recipe is using the blender.
2 large eggs
1 medium beet or 2 small, cooked and peeled
1/4 cup avocado oil or melted coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/4 cups whole wheat or spelt flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 375°F and line or oil a 12 muffin tin. Set aside.
In the blender, add the cooked and peeled beets, eggs, oil, maple syrup, yogurt and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
In a bowl add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips. Mix together until well blended.
Pour the liquid from the blender into the bowl with the flour mixture and quickly and gently mix until just combined. Don’t over mix.
Fill up the muffin tin and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Don’t over bake. Let cool.
These freeze really well!
Healthy Morning Glory Breakfast Muffins
These muffins have less sugar than the other Morning Glory muffins and are veggie loaded. I omitted and substituted which I have included in the recipe. Your choice but I really try to use what I have in my fridge instead of going out and buying something specific for one recipe and then it sits and goes to waste.
1 1/4 cups whole wheat or spelt flour
1 cup quick-cooking “instant” oats (see note at the end on how to make your own)
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup avocado or olive oil or melted coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
1 tsp orange zest -optional
1/4 cup orange juice or oat, coconut, almond milk—your choice
2 cups grated carrot
1 cup grated apple
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or pumpkin or sunflower seeds (optional)
3 Tbsp ground flax seed (optional)
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line or oil a muffin tin. This recipe makes 14 to 16 muffins .
In a bowl whisk the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt until well combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk the eggs, applesauce, oil, maple syrup or honey, orange zest and orange juice until well combined.
Pour dry ingredients into bowl with wet and stir until just combined.
Fold in the carrot, apple, raisins, pecans and ground flax if using.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
Bake until golden brown 22 to 24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool.
***If you have regular old fashioned rolled oats and you need quick cooking just take the 1 1/4 cups oats and add to your food processor then pulse until the oats are chopped. They should not be fine powder. Once chopped measure out amount needed.
