Breaking: Americans are eating their leftovers

huge if true >>

They say AI will take our jobs, but when I searched for “half eaten meal” AI produced what I am pretty sure is an illustration of Vincent Van Gogh eating a bowl of muffin tops on ice while smoking a kazoo.

Groceries are expensive. Joe Biden’s America, blah, blah, blah, you know the script.

A recent piece from Bloomberg suggests that some believe Americans are combatting these skyrocketing supermarket bills by… eating their food?

I receive this news joyfully (though a bit skeptically). If true, however, it means inflation has forced consumers to break up with certain habits that we accept as second nature. That main habit? Overconsumption.

From Bloomberg:

Kellanova [maker of Pop-Tarts + Pringles] Chief Executive Officer Steve Cahillane isn’t seeing “volume destruction,” in which Americans would actually eat significantly less, he said in a call with investors Thursday. Rather, they’re incorporating new behaviors, such as “making sure leftovers are really used.” He called that a “consumer behavior that will remain.”

Y’all probably don’t need me to remind you that food waste is a tremendous problem, but here I am. Some 40% of food in the U.S. goes unsold or uneaten. Beyond the disturbing paradox that so much goes to waste while so many go hungry, all that uneaten grub has a disastrous effect on the climate and health of the planet. Rotting foods in landfills emit methane*, a green house gas that contributes to warming temperatures. There’s also all the energy (human labor as well as supply chain shit, packaging, production, etc. etc.) that’s expended into the world for… naught. The waste of food waste is exponential.

*So hard to believe but: Food waste in landfills is contributing to more methane emissions than any other landfilled materials, per the EPA.

While I hate that a party size bag of tortilla chips rings up at Stop & Shop for $7, I literally love leftovers. And so, I’m happy to hear that Americans are taking advantage of all the wonders a second-day meal has to offer (though, it’s all-too-likely that many are scraping by and struggling to feed their families, so Mr. Cahillane might be a little off).

Nevertheless, back to the beauty of leftovers. They’re just great. Some reasons:

1. Some things taste better when they are left over. A carrot lentil soup soaks up the flavors with an extra day in the fridge. Same story with a coconut curry or a baked ziti.

2. You ever make pesto with the greens in your crisper that are so close to death? Allow me to recommend this. (Happy to share a “recipe” if you need, just @ me.)

3. When a nub of a steamed sweet potato goes uneaten, do not toss her! Refrigerate and then, tomorrow, mash what remains into a paste to spread across a tortilla. Add cheese, too.

4. When your children scream for “NANAS!!!!” in the morning incessantly but refuse to finish the final third, don’t give up. Pop that bad boy in your freezer and it’ll be ready for you when you want to blend up a smoothie or make this really gorgeous Greek yogurt popsicle recipe I’ve been thinking about (who said they had to be the full phallic nana to be enjoyed? I’m gonna make little bites, methinks).

5. A hard boiled egg today is still a hard boiled egg tomorrow. Go America!

That’s all for today. May your weekend be filled with food you’re excited to eat tomorrow and the day after that, too.