5 Ways to Reduce Food Waste
Whether you're hoping to save money, time, or the environment, a few simple tweaks to your lifestyle can seriously reduce the amount of food you waste. Consider the following:
Meal plan. This may seem obvious, but few individuals actually plan their meals before hitting the store. By planning carefully, you can purchase only what you need, and avoid tossing rotted produce at the week's end. If you find you aren't eating produce before it expires, try making more trips to the store but buying less each time.
Prep ASAP. As soon as you return from the store, set aside half an hour to prep some of the items you bought.
Chopping and washing lettuce will make salads easier during the week, marinating proteins leads to tastier meals tomorrow, and dicing veggies will make that stir-fry simpler when you're tired after work and feel tempted to order takeout.
Keep a stock bag. Place a gallon-sized plastic bag in your freezer and fill it with food bits that can be used for soup stock, such as onion peels, herb stems, carrot nubs and other savory scraps. When the bag is full, place your scraps in a large pot, fill with water, add some salt, bring it to a boil and then let simmer for an hour. Voila, a tasty soup stock.
Eat your leftovers. Leaving leftovers to expire in the fridge is a top area of food waste for many. Talk to your family about the importance of taking leftovers to school or work for lunch, and make one night of the week "leftover night" where you pull out odds and ends from the week and serve them up.
Clean your fridge every week. Yes, every. Single. Week. A clear, decluttered fridge makes it easy for you to spot that bag of apples that need to be eaten or that half a casserole that should be frozen or packed up for lunch.
Meal plan. This may seem obvious, but few individuals actually plan their meals before hitting the store. By planning carefully, you can purchase only what you need, and avoid tossing rotted produce at the week's end. If you find you aren't eating produce before it expires, try making more trips to the store but buying less each time.
Prep ASAP. As soon as you return from the store, set aside half an hour to prep some of the items you bought.
Chopping and washing lettuce will make salads easier during the week, marinating proteins leads to tastier meals tomorrow, and dicing veggies will make that stir-fry simpler when you're tired after work and feel tempted to order takeout.
Keep a stock bag. Place a gallon-sized plastic bag in your freezer and fill it with food bits that can be used for soup stock, such as onion peels, herb stems, carrot nubs and other savory scraps. When the bag is full, place your scraps in a large pot, fill with water, add some salt, bring it to a boil and then let simmer for an hour. Voila, a tasty soup stock.
Eat your leftovers. Leaving leftovers to expire in the fridge is a top area of food waste for many. Talk to your family about the importance of taking leftovers to school or work for lunch, and make one night of the week "leftover night" where you pull out odds and ends from the week and serve them up.
Clean your fridge every week. Yes, every. Single. Week. A clear, decluttered fridge makes it easy for you to spot that bag of apples that need to be eaten or that half a casserole that should be frozen or packed up for lunch.