Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy Iced Tea… or Iced Coffee? {Food Waste Friday 7/27/12}

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Iced Tea… or Iced Coffee? {Food Waste Friday 7/27/12}

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 06:40 PM PDT

One of my biggest pet peeves is throwing away food. I could kick myself every time I dump food down the drain or in the trash: it’s just a complete and total waste! And I hate waste. Which is why I am so thrilled to link up to The Frugal Girl on her weekly feature where she posts a picture of all the food she had to throw away for the week, and invites other bloggers to do the same. The idea is to feel some accountability – who wants to admit they threw away all that money to the whole world? – to help you avoid throwing away food in the future.

So in the picture above, you see what I threw away this week:

half a pitcher of iced tea

That’s it! I was such a good girl this week (patting myself on the back as I type, which, by the way, is quite the feat!). I am quite proud of my food inventory management, and hope to build on this success! (I was particularly pleased with how long I managed to keep some fresh herbs alive!)

As for the iced tea… *sigh*. I am afraid it is indicative of a failing of mine, a weakness, and my Achilles heel.

Coffee. In particular, iced coffee.

See, here’s the deal. In past summers, I would go through a pitcher of my Sweet Peppermint Iced Tea probably every couple days (Yes, just by myself. I’m the only one around here who drinks it!). I wasn’t too worried about it, because it was mostly tea and peppermint, and it had very little sugar (and sometimes honey). It was a habit I enjoyed guilt-free.

But this year, I hang my head in shame. I cannot seem to break my addiction to iced coffee. (Well. To be honest. I haven’t really tried.)It offers a delicious creaminess that iced tea can never afford, so alas, my poor pitcher of tea sat forlorn and neglected in the back of the fridge for far too long.

I console myself that my iced coffee is sweetened with liquid stevia and not sugar, because that makes me feel a little bit better. Just a little bit.

And hey, some people say coffee is good for you, right? Right?!

Which is your favorite, coffee or tea? Or neither?

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The Best Short-Term AND Long-Term Storage for Fresh Herbs

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 06:37 PM PDT

Honestly, the best way to keep herbs fresh for the longest period of time is to keep their roots firmly planted in the soil, where they will be nourished and happy for several months at least.

But if you, like me, cannot keep a dill plant alive to save your life, then you might benefit from these tips. (Oh, don’t worry; I will persevere in my yearly attempt to ~~kill~~ grow dill, but so far, I haven’t managed to keep it growing for longer than a couple weeks. Yeah, that was probably the record.) And, thankfully, these tips will also apply to a large number of other herbs, if you are also very good at killing those (Or if you just don’t have room for potted herbs. Or if it’s the winter and herbs would die anyway.)

I offer you my two favorite solutions for fresh herb storage (aside from the so-fresh-its-still-alive variety) that I have just hit upon this summer (all hail the mighty Pinterest!).

Short-Term Refrigerator Storage

OK, so this tip has been around a while, and I may have even tried it once or twice back in the day, but then I guess I forgot about it. The past few times I have purchased a bunch of fresh herbs, I tried the method where you stick it in a jar of water and either leave it on the counter at room temperature or put it in the fridge.

Maybe I did something wrong, but that didn’t work for me. Leaving it on the counter was a total disaster: the bunch of cilantro I was trying to keep fresh wilted the first day, and completely withered away the second day. Sadness. Good thing I only wasted $0.69!

I’ve tried the half-full glass of water in the fridge on multiple occasions, but you know what always happens? I bet you do know, because I bet the same thing happens to you (especially if you have those wired shelves, like me, instead of flat plastic or glass shelving) – inevitably, the glass tips over and spills the water everywhere. Annoying.

Plus, I find that even if I do manage to keep the jar or glass upright, the herbs don’t stay fresh for much longer than a few days. How am I supposed to use up a huge bunch of cilantro in that amount of time? Well, I guess I probably could if I put my mind to it. But I usually don’t.

Enter my now-favorite tip that I have (re)discovered:

Wrap a damp paper towel around the fresh herbs and place in a zippered plastic bag.

Press out all the air and seal it shut. Refrigerate.

It’s like magic! The dill in that picture is a week old and is still fresh and yummy. I used some for dinner tonight, and have enough for a few more dinners. A couple of the fronds at the end froze just a bit in the fridge, but for the most part, it’s still in fabulous condition. I am now going to store all my fresh herbs in this manner! From hereon and henceforth.

But… I probably won’t actually get around to using all that dill in the next week. So, I need a long-term storage solution.

Long-Term Freezer Storage

I’m no stranger to freezing herbs; I have done it on many occasion. I’ve tried just sticking the herbs straight up into little freezer baggies. I’ve tried freezing them in a little water in ice cube trays. I’ve tried pureeing them and freezing them in ice cube trays. All of those methods will work to one extent or another.

But now… I’ve taken the ice cube tray to a whole new level and added oil! Many thanks to The Gardener’s Eden for this fabulous idea! So far, this is my very favorite way to freeze herbs for later use. It won’t work for every use, but you can try freezing them in water or broth instead if you prefer. In any case, this is a delicious and super simple way to freeze herbs.

How do you store your fresh herbs?

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Friday, 27 July 2012