Ep. 192: Max LaManna - You CAN Cook This! How This Social Media Sensation Turns Wasted Food into Mouth Watering Meals

Every so often, a new brocstar bursts onto the scene and just blows our PLANTSTRONG socks off with their passion, personality, and unique approach to plant-based eating. Today’s guest, Max LaManna, is one of those people.

He has over a million followers on social media and, for one year, Max asked his audience which foods they threw away the most.

Using the tens of thousands of responses, he narrowed down a list of thirty of the most commonly wasted ingredients and those were the inspiration for his new book, You Can Cook This!

We’re talking about peppers, potatoes, onions, beets, grains, carrots, leafy greens, and bananas - all of the things we love most here at PLANTSTRONG.

Max and Rip dig into some of these fun recipes today and talk about how to prepare and store your food to maximize its freshness and extend its shelf life. No more throwing away those perfectly good banana peels or potatoes, let’s put them to use!

Max inspired all of us at PLANTSTRONG and we know he will inspire and transform the way you cook, eat, and save your food.

Episode Highlights

8:20 Growing up in the food industry and thinking his parents were “foodies”

10:35 How he went from zero followers to over a million talking about zero-waste

16:10 Wait. We waste HOW much food each year here in the US?

17:00 How his audience inspired his latest book, You Can Cook This!

19:00 Max shares his story of going vegan twice

26:15 Tips for food storage and avoiding waste for all types of food

• Don’t fill up the fridge too full!

• You can put tomatoes in the fridge to extend their shelf life

• Why do you never want to store potatoes and onions together?

• The trick for using and cleaning bell peppers

• Freezing asparagus, leafy greens, and other veggies are a-ok.

• Take a look at what other veggies are in the freezer section at the grocery

44:45 A Deep Dive into the Recipes of You Can Cook This!

1:25:00 Rapid Fire Questions with Rip

Episode Resources

Watch the Episode on YouTube

Max LaManna's Website with Recipes and Links to all of his Social Channels and Resources

Follow Max on Instagram @maxlamanna

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