A lot of recipes call for crushed ingredients like nuts, pretzels, or chips. Most of these will suggest using a plastic bag to help keep these items contained while you break them up. But one cook has found a genius way to crush ingredients without plastic waste.
The folks on r/ZeroWaste are dedicated to reducing their environmental impact. The innovative community has ways to repurpose or reuse everything from watermelon rinds to container lids. Going zero waste is an admirable goal, though it's not attainable for everyone; however, there are plenty of great tips for cutting back.
One home cook shared how they broke up pretzels using just a baking sheet and a rolling pin. Instead of using a single-use bag, they are able to create recipe ingredients with virtually no waste using this method.
The Reddit poster wrote, "Found a way to bypass using a ziploc bag to crush pretzels. Just a sheet pan and rolling pin!" The accompanying photo shows a baking sheet full of broken pretzel bits, proving this is an effective hack.
Environmental blog Tiny Waste wrote that American households use around 500 Ziploc bags a year. A container of 80 Ziploc bags costs around $10, meaning most families are spending hundreds of dollars a year on this item.
Making the swap like the Reddit poster to avoid bags altogether is a great option, but there are plenty of reusable sealable bags out there as well. While there will be an upfront cost, you are likely to save at least $25 each year on sandwich bags.
Home cooks on Reddit were impressed with this idea and shared some of their own.
"Tea towel works, too. Keeps shards from jumping. Much less mess," suggested one person.
Another cautioned, "Just don't use a wooden or bamboo rolling pin for candy canes; I tried and ruined my favorite rolling pin."
Someone else wrote, "These are the kind of simple things that I need but somehow never think about."
Food waste is a huge issue in the United States – nearly 40% of our food gets wasted each year. The USDA wrote, "When food is tossed aside, so too are opportunities for improved food security, economic growth, and environmental prosperity."
Many American families throw out $1,500 worth of food each year. Doing more with your food, like reviving tortilla chips or turning pineapple skin into a drink, can reduce your waste.
In addition to these tips, finding innovative ways to avoid single-use plastic storage options like Ziploc bags is a great way to reduce your impact on the environment.
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