Last week's bagels, this week's snacks

I really don't like wasting food. Something about it feels terribly wrong to me. I'm not sure where this outlook came from, but most people who know me know that I'll do anything possible to avoid wasting food. Perhaps this tendency for rescuing rejected food is the same one that has caused me to rescue every homeless animal I've encountered throughout my life (guinea pigs, cats, dogs, even chickens)... Both food and animals can't control whether they're about to get dumped. What a helpless state to be in! I'm always certain that these about-to-be abandoned things, whether a furry mammal or a bowl of pasta leftovers, has more ahead of it than its impending end. 

Sure, sometimes I get made fun of for it, but I have to say that my dislike for wasting food has led me to find many ways to reinvent a variety of food items into something new and appealing rather than relegate it to the garbage. It always ends up well, just like all those animal adoptions.

Take these bagel chips, for example. Last week's surplus of bagels led to this week's crunchy and abundant snacks.

As my bagel chip treats baked away in the oven I couldn't help but feel, as I always do when I use something instead of throwing it out, like I had done my little part to stop just a small bit of the crazy amount of wasting that goes on. Upon first bite there was no memory that these had ever been last week's bagels -- they had been given new life with just a brush of butter and sprinkles of seasoning.

Thinly slice your stale (or fresh!) bagels, then brush them lightly on one side with melted butter and the spices of your choice. In the above pictures, sesame seed bagels got tossed with garlic powder and a dash of salt, and cinnamon raisin bagels were sprinkled with Splenda and a bit of pumpkin pie spice. Preheat the oven to 350 and bake the bagel slices on baking sheets for about 15 minutes until lightly browned and crispy, turning to the other side halfway through and brushing with a bit more butter. 

Eat plain as a snack, or serve the savory chips for dipping with guacamole or hummus, and the sweet chips dipped in Nutella or peanut butter. Being un-wasteful never tasted so yummy... After all, why should the garbage get all the good stuff?