Ep. 126 | Get More for Your Plant-Based Shopping Dollars (& Cut Food Waste) With This Vegetable

Sometimes we wish we have more money to spend on groceries so we can buy more fresh fruits and vegetables to enjoy better health. Is that you? I’ve certainly felt this way at times. 

But what if I told you that you’ll be able to enjoy MORE fruits and vegetables, by first learning how to stretch your shopping dollars – in the store and at home? This way, you can get more with each dollar that you do spend! 

Because here’s the reality…there’s a LOT of food waste going around, and most households are losing significant amounts of produce AND money EVERY week…simply from not knowing how to store produce or how to BEST to use what they do buy and bring back home…

I don’t want that to be your household, so let’s change that. I want to help you maximize your shopping dollars and enjoy more of the fruits and veggies you bring home. Let’s see how to do that with one specific vegetable, often used in home cooked meals. And that’s cauliflower. Let me share with you what recently happened. 

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Over the summer, we had a family day out and went exploring a new suburban shopping mall. As we strolled through the mall, we came across a store selling local fresh produce. It was like a farmers market, but indoors. And since it was the summer, there were many bins filled with freshly harvested produce at incredible prices. I saw items like zucchini selling for 99 cents a pound, tomatoes on the vine, and a huge display bin with fresh looking heads of cauliflower going for just $3.99 each. 

Naturally, I couldn't resist getting some fresh produce, even though I hadn't brought any reusable shopping bags with me. So I got some zucchini, a Daikin white radish, some pluots, and a head of cauliflower. Then my daughter and I lined up to pay at the checkout counter.

Now, these heads of cauliflower were each naturally wrapped in large green, fresh cauliflower leaves. So, here's what happened. When the lady in the line ahead of me paid for her produce, she then started to peel off all the large green leaves around the cauliflower head she just bought and hand them over to the cashier. The cashier then gathered these green leaves and began tossing them into the trash bin next to her.

I couldn't resist it. I said to the cashier, "If you are going to toss those leaves, I will take them. I can use them." Both the customer and the cashier looked at me in surprise. Then the cashier started handing me the leaves instead. I was happy to get them. The cashier even asked, "You can use them?" And I said, "Yes, I can sauté them."

That afternoon after we got home, I weighed the head of cauliflower I bought. It turned out that the whole cauliflower head with all the leaves weighed 3.8 pounds or 1.7 kilograms. And the leafy greens portion? Those leaves, and the thick stem under the cauliflower weighed about one and a half pounds or 680 grams. So this portion made up about 40% of all the cauliflower head and leaves portion I have brought home. Imagine just throwing all of this away in the trash!

So, what did I do? I ended up making a vegetable dish with these cauliflower leaves and stem. It ended up making nine cups' worth of sauteed leafy greens as a side dish, and I haven't even cooked the head of cauliflower itself yet! 

Curious to know more? Join me inside this episode and get more tips and meal ideas to help you make full use of the cauliflower you next buy and bring home!


Listen Here 

Episode Highlights & Key Timestamps:

• [2:14] My past (unhappy) experiences with food wastage
• [3:02] A different but common cause of food waste
• [3:34] What I witnessed at a check out counter 
• [5:57] What I did with this vegetable after getting home
• [7:13] Pro-tips for using cauliflower leaves
• [7:53] The best way to sauté them
• [8:53] Other great ways to enjoy this vegetable segment
• [9:53] An action step you can take
• [10:07] How the PPLT Course can help you move quickly into a plant-powered lifestyle

Next Steps:

Join -> Plant-Powered Life Transformation Course: www.plantnourished.com/ppltcourse 

Contact -> [email protected] 

Learn -> www.plantnourished.com 

Connect with Community -> www.facebook.com/groups/beginnerplantbaseddietsuccess 

Get Free 15-Minute Strategy Call -> www.plantnourished.com/strategycall 

Free Resource -> Quick Start Grocery Guide for Plant-Based Essentials: www.plantnourished.com/groceryguide 


Read Transcript Here 

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