No Scrap Left Behind by Teralyn Pilgrim Is Eye Opening - Saving Money On My Food Bill Already

 

No Scrap Left Behind: My Life Without Food Waste

Publisher: HCI Books

Release Date: September 17, 2024

ISBN-10: 0757325165

ISBN-13: 9780757325168

Trade Paperback, 320 pages

As I sat down to read No Scrap Left Behind: My Life Without Food Waste I worried that this was a radical writer who dumpster dived or saved every morsal rather than throw food away but was pleasantly surprised at how rational NOT radical she was. 

While going to the supermarket every week wasn't always something I looked forward to; it has become something I loathe. Honestly I am not sure how everyone is surviving these days. I get loudly angry and my daughter has to sometimes reel me in because I walk around pointing to food items saying how much this USED to be NOT when I was her age but literally 1-2 years ago. My bill went from $220 - $375 weekly and we are NOT even close to getting what we would have in the past. There is no surplus of sale items as there was in the past because nothing is on sale anymore and the "sale" price is what the normal price was in the past. 

Teralyn decided to stop "wasting" food. She was going to make conscious efforts to reuse what her family wasn't eating and only make what they would eat as well as compost, feed her pets and research expiration dates and best buy dates.

Her threshold for holding was "the hungry kid test" if there was a starving child there, would she give it to them?" If so, it was not to be wasted. 

She has solid ideas on what can be toss and what can be reused. She isn't taking food off the plates of others. If someone has contaminated the food, it goes. 

I love the section on expiration dates which I have been ignoring since I was living on my own. I remember my grandparents eating soup well past it's expiration as well as a friend telling me her nurse friends tell her that yogurt is fine to eat past it's expiration date. 

As someone who used the food pantry for a little while I am a firm believer that if the can or bag of food is unopened and it passes my smell test, it is fine!

A friend mentioned that they had cleaned out their pantry last week and threw away two garbage bags full of EXPIRED, unopened food. I wanted to cry and told them to please not toss until they ask if someone wants it. I would have taken all of it. Unopened, unused, only a few days to weeks past the expiration.  It's heartbreaking! 

Teralyn gives Tips and suggestions on how to use food, how to save food and how store food for freshness. 

I highly recommend this book. Not boring, easy to follow and very helpful in this economy. 

Teralyn Pilgrim Interview

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary book for my honest opinion. No monetary compensation was offered. All opinions are my own.