This is what real food looks like! Eat more, waste less.
This #fruitsandveggiesmonday I got thinking about non-perfect fruit & veg and how important it is we post real photos of REAL food, not just insta-perfect, bowled goodness.
Since coming back to the UK in May i've started shopping more at local grocery stores instead of only supermarkets:
1. Because I live in Kent and there is PLENTY of delicious local produce available in the grocery stores for a cheaper price.
and
2. Because I find what I buy, whether it is local or not, just looks a bit more like food and much less like the plastic toy sets I used to play with as a wee girl.
This afternoon I tried my hand at some bean burgers. I decided to top them with avocado and various greens. This was the avocado.
No filter, no less delicious than normal and yes I ate it! Unfortunately I know a few people who would have thrown this away. Would you eat it?
It got me thinking about how important it is that photos like this become more normal, so that we consume more of the food we buy and in turn throw much less of it away.
Black coffee whilst I wait for my bean burgers to bake - and that beautiful, 'unsightly', avocado once again (no filter)
The bean burgers. A little dry and not all that pretty, but full of so much goodness and some serious flavour!
What do you guys think?
Is it time we starting posting more real images of food? Or do you think it's not an important issue?
For me if we can do something about the amount of food waste we have in the UK then we are moving in the right direction!
@amy-goodrich @lenasveganliving @joham would love to hear what you ladies think! Thanks to @lenasveganliving for hosting the #fruitsandveggiesmonday competition!
Maybe we should host a 'real fruit and veg' photo contest? What do you think?
Send me a photo of your mis-shaped, non-insta-friendly fruits and veggies! Let's give them some air time ;-)
Yasmine
Great point Yasmine! I would cut out any of the really bad parts and still eat the rest, or toss it in a smoothie! That's my usual trick for anything that's a little banged up. Either a smoothie or a soup will hide a lot of imperfections. Sometimes you can get those items at a cheaper price, too, so you're saving on two fronts!
So true! Smoothie or smoothie bowl! Bananas are the best for that. Or nice-cream as I learnt from you ;-)
I should have taken a picture of the sad leftover beets and slightly brown sweet potato I put in my smoothie today for you. Greens are one of the ones I always end up throwing in when they get down to the wire and look really wilted. ;)
Yeah i'm with you there! Soggy, smelly spinach is a no go! I'm going to run a contest later this week so save your sad veg pics! ;-)
Love your point of view. I never really thought of it to be honest.
I recently tried out a service called Hungry Harvest here in Miami. They basically deliver produce to you that someone ordered to much of or doesn't fit the perfect image of produce that you're talking about. It's set up to eliminate waste. Do you have anything similar over there?
That sounds awesome, Jasmine! Well you can fid those kinds of fruits and veg in grocery stores, but not supermarkets. There may be a similar initiative too. I'll look into it! Thanks!
As long as it till tastes good and not spoiled, I still eat it. In my opinion, our taste buds have a lot of expertise in what is still eatable and what should be spitted our immediately 😄 Trusting in my body and what it tells me serves me the best 💚 Thanks for the post! It is a shame how much good food is wasted because of taste preferences, convenience of just bad knowledge.
I'm completely with you! I'm a big believer in relying on senses over sell-by-dates!
That’s a delicious looking meal. We are also trying to eat local and waste less. I’m not a vegan so I would typically add a runny egg to this type of burger.
Nice touch! Thanks for the input and great to hear you're wasting less :-)
Just like your @jasminep I do not like to waste food and I tell you not only in United Kingdom they throw a lot here in the USA the waste is impressive.
I give you a tip on how to preserve your avocado after you cut it, store it with a piece of onion and keep it fresh.
And since you ate the avocado, I still eat it even though it is oxidized.
And it's not a bad idea to also put more real photos
Have a beautiful day over the other side of the world
Thanks for the tips!! I'll definitely be trying that one ;-)
Hear hear! I totally agree with you. So much wastage these days. My friends all used to look at me funny when I would eat the bird-pecked apples we had grown at home for my school lunch. With the avocado in your picture, I admit the very brownest parts would be too far gone for me if eating raw. Then again, if they were going to be cooked up in a sauce or something I might give them a go. When Mum used to make banana cakes, we would wait until they were basically entirely black on the skins before we would use them up, as they blended in so much more effectively once they were pure mush on the inside!
Good for you! :-) Yeah, you can always cut around the bits which are too far gone. Thanks for sharing your views and story here!
Great question! I think it is great to share more real food! I eat ugly food as well, but only look for the beauty of it when I take my pictures. I see the pictures on IG more as pieces of art, not reality. So I don't mind.
It is very important to spread the awareness of the amount of food waste that is going on, and trow away as little as possible.
Yeah that's true and I guess I see the IG pictures as art too. But agreed on the minimal waste! :-)
I usually buy avocado green, so I have to wait until they get soft. When they are ready, I store them in a refrigerator and they last nice and green inside long enough for me to eat them all.
However, you have a very good point; food should never be wasted and I am doing my best not to. Also, the key is not to buy more then we can consume and some fruits and vegetables last no more then 5 days, so we need to keep that in mind.
The burger looks delicious Yasmine 🍒 🍌🍑🌿🍍🍓🍇
Yes that's so true! Not over consuming is key. That's why I try and meal plan
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ! A WELL-EARNED AWARD!
Value lesson. Food that looks too perfect usually doesn't have a great background. Yeah for ugly foods. I would def still eat the avocado. I am used getting hem like that in Cambodia hehe!
Yes me too! Knew you'd like this one, thought of you ;-)