Abundance of Food

It's that time of year, when fresh fruit and vegetables are plentiful.  Between two grocery stops last week, I had more in the refrigerator than a family of three possibly needs.  I like having options when I go to the kitchen to figure out what's for supper, but I also don't like wasting food.  I try to be creative and use up what I have before it wastes.  I think that is a hold-over from growing up poor.
 
I have childhood memories of fighting over who would get the two white meat pieces of the fried chicken or the two cherry halves in the can of fruit cocktail.  But even if we ate our share of Vienna sausages, potted meat, and mayonnaise sandwiches (Miracle Whip actually), I have no memories of going hungry.

I quickly cut up a ripe fresh pineapple the other day. Although wonderfully sweet, I could tell that it had reached it's peak and instructed my hubby and daughter to eat as much as they could.  The next day, the fruit was brown.  I threw half of the pineapple down the disposal.

Then during my daily ritual of reading the day's news via the internet, I read this story about the return of drought and starvation in Niger.  I tried to imagine a life where nomad people are still trying to meet the first level of what Maslow identified as the hierarchy of needs – food and water.     I thought about the wasted pineapple.

Oh, to be always mindful of what we have and to not consume more than what we need.