Due to our busy schedules, it is not rare to have food that sometimes goes stale in your kitchen. The easiest thing to do would be to throw it away. However, there are some foods that you can reuse to reduce on the waste. Here are some tips on how you can go about doing that.
Bread
Bread is described as stale when it is dry to the touch and tasteless when you eat it. You can also recognise stale bread from the smell. The staleness happens when the bread is exposed to air or heat which causes chemical reactions that lead to all the changes mentioned above. Please note that if your bread already has mould and fungi growing on it, you should just toss it out. However if it has just merely lost its freshness here are some things you can use it for.
1. Breadcrumbs
If you have an oven just place the slices on a pan and turn on the high heat. The bread after a while should be hard enough to crush into crumbs. Store them in a jar to use later for cooking different meals.
2. French Toast
You can make French toast by dipping the bread in a mixture of egg wash milk and sugar. Fry it in oil and serve while hot with tea.
3. Croutons
Have you ever been at a restaurant and had soup with chunks of toasted bread? Well they are called croutons. Croutons will actually turn out the best with stale bread. If you have unsliced bread this would be best. Tear the bread into sizeable chunks and place them in the oven under moderate heat and wait until they are toasted and crunchy. Dip the croutons in your soup and just like that you have a filling meal.
4. Bread Pudding
This is a wonderful snack that you can have as dessert or as a snack.To make this sumptuous meal you need the following ingredients: stale bread, milk, eggs, butter or margarine,raisins cinnamon and vanilla essence.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Break bread into small pieces into a baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.
Teabags
Many of us ussually throw out our teabags after one use. However, did you know that there are multiple uses of used teabags? Here are a few things you can do before tossing them in the trash.
1. Feed your garden
When you are done with your teabags open them up and pour the tea leaves around your plants.It will help enhance the growth of your plants.
2. Deter household pests
Mice don’t particularly like the smell of tea. Tuck used tea bags into cupboards, pantries, and in any areas where these pests may enter your home to make them think twice about coming inside. For added protection, try saturating the bags with peppermint essential oil. Not only will this further deter pesky rodents, it will also repel a variety of other household pests like spiders and ants, while at the same time making your home smell minty fresh.
3. Soak your feet
Add used tea bags to warm water and soak your feet to neutralize foot odors, soften calluses, and nourish your skin.
4. Eliminate bad breath
Use twice-brewed tea to make an all-natural breath-freshening mouthwash. Simply brew up some weak tea using your used tea bags. Rinse your mouth and there you have it, no need to buy expensive mouthwash. (While this will work with many kinds of tea, peppermint and green teas tend to work best.)
Lemons
Lemons are not only good when you are having a bad cold or flu or to squeeze over your samosas or fish to add that tangy flavour. There is so much more that you can do with your lemons even after you have squeezed out the juices.
1. Microwave cleaner
Add lemon rinds to a microwave-safe bowl filled halfway with water. Cook on high for five minutes, allowing the water to boil and the steam to condense inside. Carefully remove the hot bowl and wipe away the mess with a damp towel.
2. Lemon Sugar Scrub
Mix 1/2 cup sugar with finely chopped lemon peel and enough olive oil to make a paste. Wet your body in the shower, turn off the water and massage sugar mix all over your skin, rinse. Your skin will feel soft and supple afterwards.
3. Lemon Zest
Zest is simply grated peel, and it can be used fresh, dried, or frozen. Use the smallest size of a box grater to grate the peel. To dry zest, spread it on a towel and leave out until dried, then store in a jar. To freeze, use a freezer-safe container. Use zest in salads, marinades, baked goods and even grain dishes.
4. Use lemon as a cleaning and deodorizing agent
Lemon wedges can be used to make sure that your fridge does not smell. Just place them at different points of your fridge to neutralize the various smells that will come from it. If there is a particularly strong smell you need to check and toss out whatever food is producing it. You can also use it in your bin . After rinsing it, you can toss in the used lemon pieces to keep it smelling fresh and also disinfect it before using it again.