It was an honor to host and judge the first ever Food Waste Prevention Week Cooking Challenge! The challenge, a new addition to FWPW in 2024, invited home cooks across the United States to share stories of improvised meals that made use of what they had on hand.
And wow did you all come through! We received submissions from every corner of the country and in between — Alabama, Rhode Island, Oregon, Florida and beyond. Recipes ran the gamut, from jambalaya to sunflower butter bars. And we were tickled to get a whopping seven entries from Teralyn Pilgrim, whose book, No Scrap Left Behind, will be out soon. Go Teralyn!
I was lucky to co-host the contest with the lovely Alison Mountford who you may know as @endsandstems on Instagram and @itschefalison on TikTok–follow her for great ideas on preventing waste in your kitchen!
I’ll get to the winners below, but first just want to mention some recipes that didn’t win, but stuck with me:
(1) Lindsay Glass of Chelsea, Alabama submitted Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats, for which she used clumpy marshmallows, peanut butter and rice cereal to make a special dessert for Easter. I extra enjoyed this recipe because even though the marshmallows were clumped together, she understood her food well enough to know that that wouldn’t matter once they were heated up and stirred into the dessert. And, she used those stale marshmallows not just any day, but for a festive occasion, because of course they were up to the job!
(2) Next up, I am in love with Christina DaCosta’s Waste Not Waffles. The Poughkeepsie, New York resident accumulates odds and ends in her freezer and then uses them to build a waffle batter. Here’s how she described it:
“Whenever we have dregs of Greek yogurt, I put in some warm water and shake it up. I then freeze it. Throughout the month, I keep adding to it. That’s my liquid “milk” for the waffles. I also save and freeze aquafaba from canned chickpeas to supplement the one egg I tend to use and also use frozen pumpkin puree that I save after opening a can to make a pumpkin dish that only needs a partial can. I thaw all the frozen stuff overnight and then make huge batches. And then do it all again a month later! If we have berries going or bananas, those go on too.”
(3) I want to shout out another entry from Christina. Her Pretty in Pink Deviled Eggs use the brine from her pickled beets to make pink-rimmed deviled eggs. I’m a sucker for recipes using the liquids foods are packed in (find my pickle juice obsession here). These liquids are easy to forget about, but can do magical things, like make your eggs more flavorful and pink!
(4) Finally, I have to mention the group entry from You Li Weiner, Annika Schmid and Zachary Nosanchuk of Washington, D.C. These friends held a “deconstructed potluck,” in which each of them brought an ingredient from home that needed rescuing. The end result was what they dubbed Everything But The Kitchen Sink Tacos. As they wrote in their entry:
“One hunk of frozen pork, a cup of bread flour, a sprouted sweet potato, and some overripe avocados do not make a meal — at least not an exciting or substantial one. It’s likely that these items would not have been meals of their own without each of us going to the grocery store again that week. Bringing them together to make this dish salvaged them from a likely fate: being forgotten in a fridge drawer or on the counter until their untimely demise. And in a pricey city like D.C., this fun recipe helped us avoid yet another grocery trip or a meal out.”
And now for the winners! We judged each entry based on the following criteria:
- Versatility (ability to use up random ingredients, etc.)
- Using parts of the food that are often wasted (peels, stems)
- Creativity
- Appeal
- Power to inspire others to reduce their waste
Judging was hard! And subjective! All of the entries were amazing so we did the best we could. For our fifth winner, we did a random drawing. You can see our live announcement of the winners on Instagram.
And now… in no particular order, the WINNERS of the first ever Food Waste Prevention Week Cooking Challenge!
Grinder Bean Salad
Joelle Ciriacy (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation)
Cookeville, TN
I made an Italian grinder salad last week based off a recipe from Instagram and had some leftover ingredients (e.g., marinated peppers, salami) that I don’t typically use a lot of. I also had some carrots, celery, and a bag of radishes languishing in my fridge for a couple weeks. I didn’t have a lot of time to cook so I decided to put an Italian grinder spin on a classic bean salad then throw in a bunch of diced fresh veggies. I then served this alongside carbonara pasta.
This dish prevented the waste of carrots, celery, radishes, pepperoncini, marinated sweet hot peppers, and salami. These are all things that I do not typically cook with much (and therefore forget to use) or things that I just have a habit of holding onto for a long time (because I aspire to eat plain raw radishes, but I am not always in the mood to eat them). In addition to using up the marinated peppers I bought for another recipe, I used the marinating liquid as some of the acidic base for a vinaigrette to toss with the salad. I’m sure it saved some money, but it’s tough to estimate – I think that if at least half the marinated peppers and half of the salami (the leftover special ingredients from last week) had gone bad, I would have thrown out $7.50?
Savory Pantry Raid Pancakes
Stacey
Vancouver, Washington
Inspired by my time living in Japan as a high school student, one of my favorite meals was Okonomiyaki, a savory pancake made with vegetables, meat, and seafood which became the blueprint for this savory pancake recipe. Over the years, I’ve transformed this dish using whatever leftovers I have on hand, from stir-fry to taco night leftovers. With this basic pancake mix, simply stir in a cup of leftovers that sound appetizing and cook like another other pancake. I then top with salsa, slaw, or a refreshing side salad. These pancakes can also be transformed into “planovers,” by freezing for future meals. When time is tight, a quick reheat in the toaster transforms these leftovers into a meal on the go. Repurposing leftovers into versatile dishes like a savory pancakes maximizes the value of the ingredients you already have. Additionally, freezing the pancakes for future meals is a great way to ensure you always have a convenient option ready to go.
Papri Power Platter
Heidi Carla
Cranston, RI
A favorite afterschool treat at my house is a healthy & lively spin on the classic Indian street food snack papri. This recipe is quick, easy and can be modified to utilize leftover veggies such a potatoes, carrots, peas, cauliflower florets and herbs such as cilantro, parsley, mint or arugula.
Heidi bases her recipe on an Indian restaurant near her home. Papri are fried chips, a little bit like nachos. They’re typically layered with boiled potatoes and chickpeas, as well as chutneys, yogurt, and other ingredients, like onions. Heidi adds or subs crumbled tortilla, whatever herbs or vegetables she has on hand (sometimes worked into chutney; other times used as a garnish), and is flexible on the spices, depending on what she has on hand. As if this didn’t already sound mouthwatering, she sometimes tops with fried chickpeas or chow mein noodles.
Loaded sweet potato toast
Jasmine Ngo
Memphis, TN
One of my college friends introduced me to the idea of “sweet potato toast” in pursuit of fun, healthy-carb meal ideas. Luckily, I remembered this as I stared at my old, sprouted sweet potato, waiting for inspiration to strike. I quickly sliced and air-fryed it, then topped with shredded cheese from my freezer, a deteriorating avocado, leftover rotisserie chicken tossed with taco seasoning, and homemade pickled red onion. It was delightful, nutritious, and nostalgic of my time in college!
All of the ingredients used, I already had on hand. If it had not been for a friend telling me about Food Waste Prevention Week, my sweet potato would have ended up in my compost or garden–both great options but I would have missed out on the yummy meal and creativity.
Raffle winner:
Chocolate Donut Bread Pudding
Teralyn Pilgrim
Beavercreek, OR
I took home a dozen donuts a friend gave me, only to discover they were all stale. I didn’t want to force myself to eat junk food that I didn’t even want, nor did I want to throw the donuts out. Bread pudding is a classic way to use up old bread, so I thought, why not do the same with donuts?
Thanks to everyone who submitted recipes! Hope to see you same place, same time next year. And in the meantime, ANY TIME you make a meal like this, we’d love if you tagged @eatortoss @endsandstems and @foodwastepreventionweek. Stay scrappy out there!
