The Making of Marshmallows

I wanted to do something homemade for Christmas gifts this year, but also something food related as these last few years have been an intense food journey for me and I wanted to create something celebratory and comforting.  I thought of all the hot drinks and soup we consume during the cold, dark winter months and settled on giving a mug, hot chocolate mix and homemade marshmallows.

Mugs were easy!  Some discounted stacker mugs from Cost Plus World Market; several personalized mugs for those whom I found the perfect design for; hand-stamped and written tags for directions from my scrapbooking supplies; and the first step was completed.

To make the little baggies of hot chocolate drink mix, I used Lake Champlain’s traditional hot chocolate mix. Three tablespoons per baggie and the baggies were purchased at local craft store, Ben Franklin Crafts.

Diving In

“The kind of society that would waste this much food is one that doesn't value the earth or the products it produces. It's in our own personal detriment to continue the process.” -Dr. Timothy Jones

Every year in America we throw away 96 billion pounds of food. 

The meal consisted of pasta with cream sauce, spinach, and chicken and a salad made from lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and green onions. We did not pay a dime for it, the taste was fantastic and the produce was fresh and... It all came from the dumpster.

 

I was first introduced to dumpster diving after watching the documentary Dive! and was horrified with how much food we waste in the United States and Europe. I was shocked by how many people would not go hungry if we reduced our food waste.

The Department of Agriculture estimated in 1996 that recovering just 5 percent of the food that is wasted could feed four million people a day; recovering 25 percent would feed 20 million people. Today we recover less than 2.5 percent.