Friday, February 8, 2008

#170 - Nice Butt

Eating the "Butt" Ends of the Bread

Well, I've been participating in Crunchy Chicken's NO WASTE Challenge now for a month and.... I've lost four pounds and cut our grocery bill by 20% last month! Booya, baby!

If you don't know about the No Waste Challenge and are too lazy to click the link (hey, believe me, I'm not judging -- I'm the Queen of Sloth) then let me recap: No Waste stands for No Overeating While Attempting to Save the Environment. It combines reducing your personal caloric consumption with reducing your household food waste.

So anywide, I've been working on reducing our food waste for a month now. And I've made several changes in our wasteful habits around here - some big, some small. And this is one of the very small ones.

I never used to eat the "butt" part of the bread. You know the part I'm talking about. It's the half-assed slice on each end of the loaf. It's not as thick as the other slices and not as soft either. I used to give it to the dog, feed it to the ducks, or, more often than not, just let it turn all green and moldy in the bread box. Because I'm a good homemaker like that.

Well thanks to Crunchy's challenge, no longer will I push this previously scorned butt out of the way in search of a softer slice. Nay, I shall happily grab the end piece and enjoy it's unique texture and slim lines. "Carpe Buttem!" that's what I say.

Did I mention this is a very small change?

But every small change is a step in the right direction. And with this change I am greener now than I was yesterday. Big steps or little steps, each step is a little lighter. And that's what it's all about, baby.


Savings:

One loaf of bread per week. Two butt ends per week. That's fifty two sandwiches per year. Not bad. If all the people who read my blog yesterday did that, we'd save about fifty two slices per year.... give or take. ;-)


Difficulty Level:

I cannot tell you the exact moment when I became a bread snob. Must have been some time after the poverty of the early, post-college years when I was just willy-nilly with the money. But it was easy to go back to slummin' Wonderbread style. Give it a try. You too can grab a nice butt, right in the comfort of your own kitchen!

::Sitting here waiting for the inevitible string of comments from my gutter-minded friends. Bring it on, ladies.::

14 comments:

Wendy said...

Like you, I've never been a ... er ... butt eater ;). However, when I started the "eat local" challenge, I stopped buying bread altogether. I make my own bread, and since I've expended such a great deal of energy in getting that damned loaf on the table, I'll be damned if even a slice will be wasted. So, what we don't eat in other ways, goes to make bread crumbs, which go in the freezer until I need them :).

Great post, Erin! I love your steps - small and large ;).

Crunchy Chicken said...

I like big butts and I cannot lie...

Brian said...

he, he...you said "grab a nice butt" he, he...

Anonymous said...

I am "racking" my brain to think of something clever to say about your "nice butt". teehee
We fight over who gets to eat the end pieces. I win, all the time.

Hasn't improved my "bottom line", though.
That heel! He's letting me have the end pieces! Must be his effort to butter me up.
OK. I'll stop now...

Anonymous said...

Gutter-minded? What's gutter-minded about eating bread butts? I don't get it. Please explain.

:-)

JessTrev said...

And they're actually really good for you! Cancer fighting, even, so yay for you!

http://surelyyounest.blogspot.com/2007/11/crustibles.html

JessTrev said...

Hmmm. Trying hard to leave this comment and failing. But crusts are good for you, too! The butt is a cancer fighter....

http://surelyyounest.blogspot.com/2007/11/crustibles.html

Anonymous said...

he, he... you said "crusty" he, he...

Gruppie Girl said...

I'm not a bread butt eater either.

I do turn the butt over and feed them to my kids. Don't tell...

Gruppie Girl said...

I'm not a bread butt eater either.

I do turn the butt over and feed them to my kids. Don't tell...

Green Bean said...

Shhh, I'm like gruppie girl. Turn that puppy over and the kids have no idea.

Green Bean said...

Erin, my dear, come on over for a cup of tea - you've been tagged for another meme at my place.

Amy K. said...

We stockpile 'em in the freezer and make 'em into bread pudding when we have enough.

The texture just isn't my thing for sandwiches.

And no, bread pudding won't help with the waistline, but it keeps me from wasting that last lone hot dog bun, hamburger bun, chunk of baguette, etc.

Burbanmom said...

OK, lots of replies here...

Wendy, you inspired me. Today I spent ALL FLECKING DAY making "artisan country bread". This shit needs to rise like 30 times or something. It had better taste good -- butt and all.

Crunchy,

Now I find myself singing "Crunchy Got Back" everytime I grab the loaf.

Leslie,

Quit your day job and write puns instead. There's gotta be a market somewhere! :-)

Mamabird,

Yeah, stuff that tastes lesser usually is good for you. Exhibit A: grapefruit.

Gruppie & Green Bean,

Totally did the old "flip and switch" on Daphne's grilled cheese this weekend. She never. even. noticed! Great idea ladies!

Amy,

Yeah, I stockpile hotdog and hamburger buns and such and then use them all up at Thanksgiving when I make stuffing. Don't know why I never bothered with bread butts. I'm blonde, though...

Thanks for all the comments, guys! You know, it's always the posts that I think are weak that end up generating the most feedback! :-)