Thanksgiving: it’s that time of year where our eyes somehow magically become much bigger than our stomachs. So much yummy food, so little time. And as much as turkey and stuffing is a part of this feasting tradition, so is food waste. This Thanksgiving, we want to show our appreciation by sharing our teams favorite ways to cut down on food waste. Because when you’ve had a third day of leftovers, and there’s no way you can possibly take another bite of that green bean casserole, know that there are plenty of easy ways to make sure no food goes to waste. It’s Food Gone Good… for the holidays.
1. Make a bone broth using turkey bones
“Save the turkey bones and juices to make broth for future soups. We collect everything that's left over and pop it in the freezer until we're ready to use it. You can also pour the broth into ice cube trays so that you have broth to add to other meals in small amounts as you need it.” - Shaina S, Director - Talent Acquisition
“Freeze the turkey carcass and save it to make turkey stock. I also like to save vegetable peelings, herb stems, etc. to add to the stock and make it even more flavorful.” - Matt A, Sr Director - Major Accounts
2. Try new food combos with your leftovers
“My family gets almost as excited about our leftovers sandwiches as we do for the actual Thanksgiving meal. The sandwich is toasted bread, cranberry sauce, dressing, turkey, and mayo. It helps to cut down the biggest leftover contributors (turkey and dressing) and the thing people aren't likely to eat on its own (cranberry sauce).” - Alena H, Sr. Scientist - Molecular Sciences
“I get very creative with leftovers to make new meals the following days: Sweet potatoes or brussel sprouts with eggs for breakfast are so yummy!.” - Savannah B , Sr. Scientist - Biological Sciences
“I make pizza from the leftovers... because you can basically throw everything on pizza.” - Alena R, Sr. Marketing Designer
“Thanksgiving leftover egg rolls with cranberry dipping sauce! What you will need: turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and egg roll wraps. Place the meat, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy in the center of each egg roll sheet, wrap it up, and place in a skillet with heated olive oil to brown the egg rolls and get them extra crispy. Then, dip in cranberry sauce. Yum!” - Camille H, Sr. Account Manager - Major Accounts Europe
3. Ask everyone coming to Thanksgiving to bring to-go containers with them
“Tell your guests to bring to-go containers to Thanksgiving dinner. That way, everyone can bring some of the feast back home with them!” - Matt A, Sr. Director - Major Accounts
4. Freeze what you can and compost the rest
“Food scraps can be composted or used to make veggie broth, and if there’s a huge surplus of leftovers that I know we won’t be able to eat before it spoils then I freeze it until I’m ready to thaw/reheat it again.” - Sophie N, Product Quality Engineer
“One year, the day after Thanksgiving, we filled up a bunch of plates of leftover food and handed them out to the homeless around Santa Barbara.” - Camille M, Sr. Technical Project Manager
“A good way to reduce food waste after Thanksgiving is to ask if you can support local charities by donating leftovers for people in need.” - Alena R, Sr. Marketing Designer
“I love making dishes that are either delicious enough to eat for several meals, can easily be up-dished into something else, or that keep really well in the freezer. Anything that happens to get cast aside after leftovers then goes into my compost and eventually into my garden.” - Jenn K, Project Manager
Want to learn more ways to end food waste in your home? Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for more tips throughout the holiday season!