Sarah Lockwood

"To be mindful of what food I have/use and decrease my food waste as part of my journey to a low-waste lifestyle."

Points Total

0 Today
0 This Week
762 Total

Participant Impact

up to

1

advocacy actions

completed
up to

70

pounds of CO2

have been saved
up to

39

pounds

food waste prevented
up to

2

zero-waste meals

consumed

Sarah's Actions

Shopping

Scrutinize Deals

I will resist the suggestion to buy the quantity advertised on sale and only buy what I know I will eat.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Planning

Eat the Leftovers

I will plan an Eat the Leftovers night by creating a tasty “smorgasbord" or using a recipe that repurposes leftovers. I will eat 2 meals using leftovers.

Completed
One-Time Action

Cooking

Save the Peels

When life gives me lemons (or other citrus peels), I will use the rinds to make a nontoxic cleaner.

Completed
One-Time Action

Cooking

Revive Limp Produce

I will rescue limp produce like leafy greens or carrots by soaking them in cold water or using them in recipes where appearance doesn't matter.

COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS

Shopping

Eat Before Shopping

I will resist impulse buys by eating a snack or meal before going grocery shopping.Those who grocery shop on an empty stomach spend 64% more than not-hungry shoppers.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Planning

Track My Wasted Food

I will keep notes on all the food that my household of 2 throws out so I can learn how what we're wasting, how much, and why it goes to waste.

Completed
One-Time Action

Community

Get Social

I will share a Save The Food social media post or other information about food waste and the actions I am taking.

Completed
One-Time Action

Storage

Create an Eat First Area

I will create an "Eat First" area in my fridge to prioritize food that needs to be used right away for my household of 2.

Completed
One-Time Action

Storage

Properly Store Food

I will store food and organize my fridge based on best practices to prevent food from spoiling before it is used.

COMPLETED 28
DAILY ACTIONS

Planning

Create a Weekly Meal Plan

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu of meals and ingredients for my household of 2.

COMPLETED 28
DAILY ACTIONS

Feed

Reflection Question
Community Get Social

How did you share your food-waste-reduction journey? What was the reaction to your posts?

Sarah Lockwood 10/09/2020 6:47 PM

I shared my compost (Organics) bin and the efforts I’m taking to decrease the amount of food waste in the bin. I didn’t have many reactions to the post, as I’ve shared my compost before and I have friends that compost as well.

Read More
Sarah Lockwood 10/05/2020 9:14 AM

I've now started doing a little happy dance every time we finish leftovers before we go bad. The 'eat first' area in our fridge has definitely been helpful in reducing food waste.

Read More
Reflection Question
Cooking Save the Peels

Which citrus do you have the most of and what kind of cleaning product will you make?

Sarah Lockwood 10/02/2020 7:15 AM

I don't have a lot of citrus, but I did have some orange peels left from an orange chicken recipe I made. I made a simple kitchen cleaner using the orange peels, distilled white vinegar, and water. It was easy and made with ingredients that I already had at home.

Read More
Reflection Question
Storage Properly Store Food

Did you find that you were storing food incorrectly? Which items have you changed?

Sarah Lockwood 9/28/2020 11:52 AM

I learned about the different areas of the fridge and how the temperature can vary so you should store your items accordingly. I had always had milk in the door of my fridge and then learned that it is best to put it on the shelf where the temperature will fluctuate less. I've also made sure my produce is stored correctly to keep it fresh as long as possible.

Read More
Reflection Question
Shopping Scrutinize Deals

Are you someone who typically chooses what you buy based on what is on sale? How can you make sure you don't buy more than what you need?

Sarah Lockwood 9/27/2020 5:39 PM

I don’t often buy based on what’s on sale, unless it is meat (which I can freeze extra) or any non-perishables that I use often (pasta, soup, etc.). One item that gets me is bogo berries. They sometimes go to waste if I don’t eat them fast enough or freeze them. To make sure I don’t buy more than I need just because of a sale, I stick to my meal plan shopping list and try to be mindful of what I will actually use compared to how much is on sale.

Read More
Sarah Lockwood 9/23/2020 8:08 AM

10 days in and I am already so much more aware of what food is going to waste and in our organics bin. I am thankful that Hennepin County has organics recycling so that food doesn't go to the landfill where it releases methane gasses and can instead be composted to become healthy soil for the Earth.

Read More
- Sheila Koenig 9/23/2020 5:41 PM
  
  Agree! Thanks for the Imperfect recommendation-I will check it out! :)
  
  Read More
Reflection Question
Shopping Eat Before Shopping

What can you do to make sure you never shop hungry?

Sarah Lockwood 9/21/2020 8:37 AM

Always eat something before going to the store - even if it is a little snack! I am much less impulsive when I do so. I often have gum or mints in my purse and even these help to curb any impulse/hungry shopping. It really makes a difference in the grocery bill.

Read More
Reflection Question
Planning Eat the Leftovers

What kinds of foods do you like to eat as leftovers? If you or your household members don't like eating leftovers, are there any foods you would be more willing to try than others?

Sarah Lockwood 9/21/2020 8:35 AM

Generally, if I have cooked a meal for dinner it is something that I enjoy and will eat as leftovers. If we try a new recipe and it doesn't turn out great then I am more hesitant to eat the leftovers. Luckily both my partner and I enjoy leftovers - mostly because it takes out the responsibility of planning lunch.

Read More
Reflection Question
Planning Track My Wasted Food

What did you learn by tracking your wasted food? Was there anything that surprised you?

Sarah Lockwood 9/21/2020 8:34 AM

I started a list at the beginning of this week to track what all I was 'wasting' and putting into my compost bin. The majority were scraps from cooking, which is to be expected, but I also lost some watermelon in the back of the fridge and had to throw it out *sad face*. We did manage to eat all of our leftovers for the week - which was mostly inspired by the fact that I didn't want to write them on the list. I am interested in finding recipes to use more of certain foods, like broccoli stalk, to reduce my food waste further.

Read More
Reflection Question
Cooking Revive Limp Produce

What successes have you had in reviving limp produce? What can you do so that your produce doesn't go limp in the future?

Sarah Lockwood 9/18/2020 7:38 AM

Herbs used to be a big waster for me. You have to buy a bunch at the grocery store, but the recipe only calls for a fraction of what I have. I've started properly storing herbs and keeping them in water in the fridge, as well as incorporating them into more meals to keep them from becoming waste. Next, I want to try drying them out myself to help save extra herbs. For fruits and veggies, I use Beeswrap to store halves/cuts that are leftover. I've found that the Beeswrap helps to keep them fresh for longer so I can use the produce in another recipe even if it's a few days later. The biggest effort to keep produce from going bad is planning well and only buying what you need.

Read More

load more posts