With inflation hitting grocery stores so hard this year, now is not the time to be wasteful with food. Yet, I found myself throwing away a bunch of food when cleaning out the fridge Saturday simply because I failed to use it up.

A serving of green beans here, half an onion there, an entire container of cottage cheese that I took a spoonful out of before it hid from me in the back of the bottom shelf. Not that much if you’re talking about one thing but shameful when you see it all together. 

Americans waste a ginormous amount of food every year so I try to be mindful that I don’t want to fit in with that crowd. But as life ebbs and flows, there are times when using up what I have is easy and times when it’s not. 

So I cleaned out the fridge and then realized I had an entire bunch of overripe bananas staring at me from the kitchen counter. You see, there are two sides of me. There’s the side that can’t get enough bananas and the side that pretends they don’t exist. 

I don’t care for banana flavored things but have a basic recipe for chocolate chocolate chip banana muffins that can be dressed up. I had enough for a double batch so I mixed up the batter and started adding to it. First, there was a handful of random chocolate chips that needed used up. Then I discovered a jar of peanut butter that produced a fair serving when scraped with a silicone spatula. Then I added some blueberries that were languishing in the freezer. The recipe calls for sour cream or plain yogurt which I didn’t have so I subbed with some low sugar vanilla yogurt that was begging for attention. 

In the end, the batter was thick and heavy and produced three dozen of some pretty good muffins. Not bad for some pantry basics with odds and ends of leftover stuff! 

My grandmothers knew how to cook a chicken, produce broth from the carcass and preserve it for another day. They knew how to use up those odds and ends and how to make a meal delicious with the magic of bacon grease and a little flour. They knew how to use what they had to make a good meal. Today, I know someone who will throw away an entire roast because their spouse doesn’t like leftovers and they don’t think you can do anything else with meat that was cooked once. 

Oh, both of my grandmothers would have a hissy fit. 

I don’t eat meat but I do know how to transform the bits and pieces of my leftovers into something great when I set my mind to it.  It’s a life skill we all should possess. 

I was able to give away some muffins and still have several for the freezer so we’re ready to go on a cold winter day when we want a muffin but have been actually eating the bananas instead of ignoring them for five straight days! My future self will thank me!