Old Bread? Yes please!

Today is a day of new posts. I have had so much time today (unlike the past couple of days, which have been filled to the minute...) and have been letting my creative juices flow in the kitchen!

Ever since I was little, I have hated bread crust much to my mother's frustration (apparently this habit can be credited to my Mema). Though my hate for bread crusts has nearly vanished, I am still not a fan of the butts of the bread. A thin crust around a slice of bread is one thing, but an entire layer of crust is just too much! No thank you.

However, I also hate the wasting of food. In fact, it is one of my biggest pet-peeves when people throw away food. According to an article about food waste, "each American throws away 1.3 pounds of food a day, which amounts to 474.5 pounds per year per person." Often times, this is completely unnecessary. For instance, your apple cores and scrap produce? This can all be composted! Compost is great, because it results in especially fertile soil, which can be used to grow especially nutritious produce. Moldy cheese? The mold can be cut off, and the rest of the cheese is perfectly fine (there are some exceptions to this... you can use your own discretion). And now, what about bread butts (and stale bread)? If you don't like eating them, just as much as me, don't worry! They don't need to be thrown away. Instead, make them into bread crumbs! Bread crumbs can be used in many ways: fry your zucchini with bread crumb crust, make bean burgers, get creative. Bottom line, don't toss your bread butts or stale bread; repurpose it!

How to make bread crumbs:
Let your bread sit on the counter, uncovered for several days, or until dried out. Then, when throughly dried, use a cheese grater to crumble the bread into crumbs. Bread crumbs can be stored for a long time, in a jar or a plastic bag. They can also be stored for a longer period of time, in the freezer.

So next time you are considering tossing your food, take a moment and think of another way to repurpose it.