Ania’s story: on squeezing the last of the juice, and the best out of life
When she joined the Kaipatiki Project’s 4-week Every Bite programme, Ania was already a convert. She was part of the Different Dinners programme, and has been a food rescue champion for years. Why would Ania join Every Bite then? Because she’s very aware of the fact that “some behaviours are more natural than others; and will take more time to put into practice”.
Ania shares that she was really keen to deepen her understanding of food waste and was looking for new ideas to save food and to save money. And it worked - to the point that 'Eat Me First' items have pretty much disappeared from Ania’s fridge, because she’s become so much better at using these ingredients first.
Ania peeling vegetables for Sałatka Jarzynowa - recipe below!
Ania shares that Every Bite enhanced some of her habits, and created some new ones. For instance, she’s more aware of the nutritious content of vegetables’ skin and no longer throws peelings away, consuming them instead. "I am a friend with food scraps", she declares.
Ania says that she’s learned a lot through the Every Bite community. “I had no idea how expensive it was to produce cheese, in comparison with meat and other foods”, she says.
“I wish it was a lifetime programme.”
She loved the snippets of insight from the regular e-newsletter during the programme. Ania says she is now even more conscious of food waste and the scale of food waste, which she finds “worrying and scary, but motivating at the same time”. This is when being part of a community of like-minded people makes a huge difference - to maintain hope, and to realise the impact of our combined efforts. Ania really enjoyed the in-person time with the other Every Bite participants at Kaipātiki Project, her local Hub. Being part of such a community “makes me reflect on my needs vs wants, think about my lifestyle, and make conscious decisions”.
For Ania, this is about squeezing the last of the juice, and squeezing the best out of life. A life well lived requires us to be brave and build our awareness of the world we live in. “Just being aware, and making conscious decisions” are Ania’s words of wisdom. Reflecting on the importance of lifelong learning and the impact of Every Bite on her own habits, she wraps it up by saying "I wish it was a lifetime programme".
Sałatka jarzynowa z majonezem / Polish veggie salad with mayo
Ingredients
3 medium potatoes
4 medium carrots
2 thinner parsnips
Celeriac or swede - a piece the size of an egg
4 pickled cucumbers
1 small Granny Smith apple
1 can of canned peas (not mint flavoured!)
4 medium eggs
4 tablespoons of good mayonnaise
4 tablespoons natural yogurt
Seasoning: 1 tablespoon of lemon juice; half a flat teaspoon salt, 1/4 flat teaspoon pepper
Method
Hard boil eggs, cool and cut them into small cubes. Leave the peas to drain.
Cook potatoes, carrots, parsnips, celeriac or swede, covered, until tender but still firm (so they don’t fall apart in the salad) - not usually more than 30 minutes. A lot depends on the thickness of the vegetables.
Once cooked, immediately remove the vegetables from the water and set aside to cool slightly. Peel them and cut into more or less the same size small cubes. Save the peels for a veggie patty!
Cube pickles, and peel and cube the apple.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, toss lightly, add mayo and yoghurt and season to your taste.
Serve with bread and butter. Smacznego! Bon appetite! The salad will last up to 4 days in the fridge unless it gets devoured in one go!
Adapted from https://aniagotuje.pl/przepis/salatka-jarzynowa
More on the origins and variations: Polish Food 101: Sałatka Jarzynowa