Do THIS to reduce food waste 🥬

3 hacks to use up your herbs before they expire

Hey, hey, friends— we’ve got a short and sweet (savory???) one today!

First, let me set the scene:

Say you’re making a delicious and nourishing recipe this week, and for it you need to buy some fresh dill (or cilantro, parsley, basil, rosemary… you get it). You buy one of those expensive lil herby packs at the grocery store, use what you need in your recipe, and thennnnnn

…You’re left with almost an entire pack left that you’re not sure what to do with. 🫠

…And a week later this lil pack of herbs is wilted and in the trash. 🫠🫠

Sound familiar? 

So, today, I’m gonna outline 3 super simple hacks for preserving your fresh herbs to use later so you can not only save money and reduce food waste— but also add an herby pop to your meals!

Enter: the ice cube tray. This is the one I do most often. It’s so easy.

All you have to do here is:

• Finely chop up your leftover herbs

• Sprinkle them into your ice cube tray

• Fill each ice cube compartment with olive oil

• Pop that bad boy into the freezer

If you really want to get fancy you can pre-season & mix in some minced garlic or salt and pepper, but it’s literally that simple.

When the time comes you can just pop one of those frozen cubes out, sauté it up, and then you’ll have your oil and fresh herbs ready to serve as the base of whatever dish you happen to be making. Boom!

Um, why did I think I had to be frickin’ LAURA INGALLS WILDER in order to properly dry herbs out?

Guys. It’s so easy. No covered wagon required apparently.

Simply grab your leftover herbs, tie a string around the stem, hang them upside down for 1-2 weeks (preferably in a warm, dry, dark space), and when the leaves are crisp enough to crumble, you can use & store them. Boom— dried herbs ready to go.

Am I…. a pioneer????

Admittedly, I have only done this like twice, but it turned out both times so I’m rolling with it. Just know this may not be the most #proper technique for an herb-infused butter, but it’s what I’ve done and it worked well enough? Best of luck!

INGREDIENTS:

• ½ cup organic butter (softened to room temperature— THIS IS CRUCIAL)

• 2-3 TBSP herbs, finely chopped! As itty bitty as you can make them.

• 1 tsp olive oil

• Optional: salt, pepper, garlic, lemon zest other flavors you want, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Take softened butter, olive oil, & herbs and put into a small bowl.

• Mix with a fork until evenly distributed. (You could also utilize a food processor if you wanted all the ingredients pureed & combined into a uniform mixture)

• Refrigerate for 5-6 hours so that it solidifies

• When you’re ready for use, bring it back to room temp, and top bread, fish, steak, rice, pasta— the options are limitless!

• (Admittedly, I don’t know how long this recipe stores for because we typically polish it off quite quickly, ha!)

There ya have it! 3 simple ways to use up those herbs before they go bad!

These are such easy ways to add flavor to your dishes, reduce food waste, and save money. Because, at the end of the day, it feels good to use up all the ingredients you have. (And, um, it’s kind of fun to flex your inner pioneer)

Okay, that’s all for today. Say goodbye to sad, wilted, wasted herbs once and for all — enjoy, friends!

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SONG OF THE WEEK: “Lake Missoula” by Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners— one of my favorite songs I’ve found in a while. It’s soothing yet has a unique cadence & beat & harmonies (especially the last third). It’s uploaded & ready for ya in The Reset spotify playlist!

JOURNAL PROMPT OF THE WEEK: “Who inspires me? Why do they inspire me? How can I learn from them?”

^^Also, I have been contemplating adding The Big 3 series to the *top* of my emails moving forward so that all subscribers are able to see them on every post (regardless of if there is a paywall). Would you guys enjoy this? Hit reply or leave a comment to let me know!

Okay, that’s all for this week! As always, if you enjoyed, I’d appreciate if you tapped that “heart” button below, forwarded it to a friend, or left a comment ◡̈ A little engagement goes a long way. Thanks so much, my friend! I am grateful you’re here.