Scraps And Such With Food Celebrity Molly Yeh

As we move into April and all things Earth Day (April 25) related, we might be inclined to think a few extra seconds about what we can do, especially in the kitchen, to cut down on waste. For food celebrity, Molly Yeh, the “recycle and repurpose” messaging we play on repeat in our heads, is for Yeh, on overdrive of late. Not only does the Girl Meets Farm Food Network star have a growing family, actually live on a farm, and run a restaurant, Yeh’s everyday is confronted with scrap-portunities.

From her kitchen table and restaurant booth to the barn outside her window in Minnesota, Yeh has a lot to work with and makes every effort to keep waste to a minimum. So, when she was called by Ziploc to coordinate on a project that helps others in the crusade against food waste, it was a no-brainer.

According to Feeding America an estimated 145 billion meals are wasted each year, costing the average family of four about $1,500 annually. With each fridge cleanout, families may feel like they are wasting food while losing money in the process.

Reuse Recycle Repurpose

When asking Yeh about the Ziploc partnership and the fortuitous call, she said, “The world works in mysterious ways; it was meant to be. I use the Ziplocs every single day and have a whole system with them that I’m very proud of.” With bags in her hands while packing her daughter Bernie’s lunch, what was once a daily practice as a mom, suddenly became a national campaign.

In February, Ziploc and Yeh joined forces to launch the World’s First Frozen Cookbook by Ziploc®. The cookbook included three exclusive recipes [below] that showcase Yeh’s creative ways of reusing food scraps. The innovative design resembled a large binder that included pages specifically made to hold up to three filled Ziploc® Freezer Gallon Bags. These were meant to help families store ingredients before they go bad and repurpose them for meals directly using the cookbook.

Although the Frozen Cookbook was a limited edition and was sold then sold out on Amazon last month, the Ziploc bonus packs (now with 10% more) and Yeh’s recipes and tips are still available on and each of their sites.

“I feel like it’s been kind of a long time coming because my daughter just started kindergarten this year and I just love making her lunches every single day,” she said. “I get the most creative satisfaction doing it, but, at the same time it has brought about a food scrap situation.”

Get Scrappy

Sandwich crusts, anyone? Multiply that by a sandwich several times a week and that’s a lot of crust that would otherwise go to waste. [Cue Mom Yeh and her Food Scrap Superhero cape].

From crusts to parts of veggies, the extra not eaten by her children added up. “I love making these big elaborate lunches, but after I’m done, I literally have a mountain of scraps. So I got into this system earlier this year of having Ziploc freezer bags– one for bread scraps, one for vegetable scraps–then I keep various other scraps in my fridge–like chicken bones and chicken carcasses for making chicken soup or fruit scraps, and even cookie and cake and muffin scraps from recipe testing.

Many of us have grown up with parents or grandparents who cut the edges off toothpaste to get a few more days out of a tube, or scrape the mold off otherwise just-fine cheese, or even rinse out Ziplocs just used once or twice. Yeh wants families to have fun creating a system with scraps for repurposing. Not only are you saving food that quickly adds up and turning them into new meals or parts of them, you are saving on grocery bills, hopefully alleviating some stress. “It is also incredibly easy to do. You just have to incorporate the habit and the system into your life.”

One of the featured recipes is a Salami, Kale, Parmesan Crumble that Yeh makes with bread crusts and is meant to be put on top of soups or stews or salads. “It’s basically just like a loaded crouton that is healthy and cheesy and kaley and has a little bite from the salami. It’s a little dangerous for me to have around.”

We don’t need Earth Day to have a conversation about scraps, of course, but the visual component of Yeh’s book and recipes and the messaging therein may help compel families to add new routines that are fun, cost-effective, and delicious.

Recipe Notes & Links

Ginger Scallion Veggie Fried Rice: The veggie drawer doesn’t have to be where fresh food goes to die. We’ve all tossed the last bell pepper, the loose onions, the stalk of celery, but this hack will change everything. From now on, start freezing those veggies to have on hand for a quick fried rice. Bonus: Freeze cooked rice so you always have the perfect base.

Crunch Parmesan, Salami & Kale Crumble: Not eating crusts must be a rite of passage for kids, but that’s no reason to let them go to waste. Challenge yourself to toss uneaten crusts — or any type of bread scrap that is about to go bad —into freezer bags to keep them fresh and transform them into a savory crumble that is the perfect soup topper.

Rose Berry Cookie Salad: Cookie salad might sound like an oxymoron, but Yeh says, in the Midwest it’s a classic, and a great way to save those beautiful fruits and baked goods.