State of the Plate: A Meal Study for Better Nutrition and Less Waste

At The Nashville Food Project, we talk a lot about reducing food waste particularly in our food recovery program, which kept about 205,000 pounds of food from the landfill in 2020. We also talk about food waste in the kitchen, as we work hard to make good use of every part of the plant or to steward every gift and resource to its highest best use.

But what about food waste after it leaves our kitchens and lands on the plate? What parts of our meals end up in the trash?

Thanks to a grant by the Joe C. Davis Foundation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers studied our meals for children over the summer of 2020 to help us learn more about how meals are consumed—and to help us maximize economically sustainable nutrition for better child health. While we always try to include as many fresh vegetables from our gardens and local farms as possible, researchers formally measured the nutritional value of our meals. Then they looked at the parts of the meals children wanted to eat and which parts were left on the plate. 

The results have been fascinating, encouraging and inspiring. VUMC concluded that as compared to meals provided by other vendors in the project, TNFP meals were lower in calories, carbohydrates, added sugars, saturated fat and total fat, and therefore much more nutritious than alternative options, and far exceeding federal nutrition guidelines.

Today we share a favorite dish among research participants in hopes that you will enjoy it too.  

Chimichurri Roasted Chicken Drummies

1 cup parsley 

1/2 cup basil 

1/2 cup green onions 

3 garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar 

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound chicken drummies or wings

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a sheet pan.

2) Make the chimichurri sauce by combining and blending all ingredients except chicken in a food processor or blender. Then marinate the chicken in 2/3 of chimichurri sauce.

3) Bake chicken for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

4) Toss baked wings in additional sauce. Serve with roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes!

Thank you to researchers—Dr. Shari Barkin, LauraBeth Adams, Alexandrea Manis—for helping us think about the meals we share in new ways!

Wasted Food = Wasted Nutrition

We’ve all been there before - the broccoli stems left over after a dinner party, strawberries that you meant to eat but didn’t get to, the apple peels left behind due to a picky toddler, browned bananas that are a little too sweet to eat - all tossed into the trash and wasted. 40-percent of all food produced is wasted while at the same time 1 in 7 children are struggling with hunger according to Feeding America.

Believe it or not, there are some staggering nutritional benefits to lowering your food waste. Every item of fresh produce that gets tossed is a lost opportunity to get vitamins and minerals from the foods we eat. A study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that food thrown away each day could provide 1,217 calories to each person in the United States each day, and the equivalent to 19% of fiber, 43% of vitamin C, 48% of iron, 29% of calcium, and 18% of potassium recommended for daily nutrition. 

Here at The Nashville Food Project, we work every day to reduce the amount of edible food being wasted in Nashville and increase the nutrition available to our community.  Already this year, TNFP has prevented over 42,000 pounds of food from going into the landfill. We’re always striving to be good stewards of all the food that comes through our doors, using every edible component of each item however we can. This means we have to get creative in the kitchen! Below are some fun tips and recipes to keep food and nutrients on our plates instead of in the trash.

• The majority of the nutrients are lost by throwing away the peels on fruit and vegetables. The peel of an apple contains half of the apple’s fiber and four times more vitamin K than the flesh. Recipe: Baked Apple Peel Chips

• Citrus peels contain twice as much vitamin C than what is inside. Citrus shavings can be grated to add natural flavor to salads, used to make salad dressings and cooked in soups and sauces. Recipe: Orange Vinaigrette Using Peel

• Save the stock from your cooked meats and vegetables! Using stock instead of water to cook things like rice and pasta gives the food more flavor, and offers a variety of vitamins and minerals. For even more incredible flavor, throw in your Parmesan rind. Recipe: Vegetable Stock

• Before you throw away those stems… broccoli stems contain more calcium, iron and vitamin C than the florets. Recipe: Broccoli Stem Noodles with Sesame Ginger-Dressing

For more insight, recipes, and tips on reducing food waste in your home, check out savethefood.com.