I visit my usual farmers market at Lilyfield every Saturday. It has become my every Saturday routine that I will buy one week’s supply of fresh produce for my family. When I go to the farmers market, I am always overwhelmed with all the fresh organic produce displayed in the stalls for sale. I often succumb to the temptation of buying more than I need for a week! But the consequence is that I always have some “not so fresh but still good” veggies left in my fridge. Therefore, starting from this year, my new years resolution, is to tell myself that I will not buy as much produce and will find ways to use up the “not so fresh veggies” as soon as I can.
I learnt a couple of strategies through the culinary course I studied: I clear the produce drawer and wash it clean weekly, take out all “not so fresh veggies” and chop them all into different categories (as shown in photos), and place all of them into airtight glass containers for fresh-keeping. My usual plan is to finish using these veggies in all my cooking within two days.
This is one of the meals we had using these veggies recently – Vegetables Fried
Rice.
Ingredients used as below:
Ingredients:
2 cups of chopped up colourful veggies
1 brown onion, chopped cube
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon of ghee
any dried herbs (I use fennel for better digestion)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of cooked buckwheat (optional)
2 pastured eggs
Pasture fed smoked pork sausages
Direction:
Take the pasture fed smoked pork sausages.
Place them into the oven and bake it for 30-45 minutes till fully cooked.
Slice them carefully in order to maintain the sausage round shape for serving, leave aside.
Heat the medium size pan with ghee and brown the onion and garlic
Add in the colourful veggies and cooked buckwheat if using.
Flavour with salt, pepper and herbs. Cook for 5-10 mins. Leave aside.
Take 2 pastured eggs, beat them and cook them in the style of an omelette
Scramble the eggs into pieces. Flavour it with salt and pepper if you like or leave plain
Serving suggestion:
Plate the cooked fried rice, garnish with scrambled eggs, pork sausages and some fermented veggies, what a colourful and nourishing meal to enjoy!
The sky is the limit on how you want to use the ready chopped up veggies in your meal prepping. You will tend to have more intake of vegetables in your meal as you don’t have to spend time washing and cutting them again. It makes your meal prepping time much easier and you will finish cooking in no time!
Give it a try! Cut up your “not so fresh veggies” in advance and reduce our food waste to help save our earth together! Buy what you need, don’t overbuy your food!
In health and love,
Hui, Sydney