According to the National Resources Defense Council, the average American family of four wastes approximately $1,600 worth of food every year. That’s a lot of money—and a lot of food!
Wasting food is hard on anyone, whether you are on a budget or you just don’t like seeing food being thrown away. Imagine all of the people in the world who don’t have enough to eat. It’s estimated that one in seven people worldwide are food insecure, meaning they don’t have reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.
If you’re interested in reducing your food waste and saving some money in the process, here are a few tips.
Have a Plan for Everything You Buy
Now is the time to stop with the impulse buys and grab ingredients you think you might use but don’t have an actual plan for. The problem is that if you don’t have a very specific plan for what meal to use it for, it is often unnecessary and might not even be used up before it expires.
Part of having a plan for your ingredients includes storing them properly. If you don’t have space in your fridge or freezer, then it doesn’t make sense to buy perishables that need to be stored in those places. Planning ahead will help you save both time and money in the long run.
Know How to Store Your Produce
Produce is one of the most common types of foods to go bad and end up being thrown away. There are a few things you can do to prevent this, beginning with understanding how and where to store your produce.
Did you know that some produce releases ethylene and others are sensitive to it? If you store ethylene-producing food with ethylene-sensitive food, it’s going to go bad faster. For example, don’t store your potatoes with your avocados. Potatoes are sensitive to as, and avocados release a lot of the ethylene gas. When in doubt, consult this list of common ethylene-producing and ethylene-sensitive produce to make sure you are storing your fruits and vegetables properly.
Always Have a Meal Plan and a List
If you want to avoid wasting food, aside from having a plan for what you buy, you should have a detailed meal plan and grocery list before you step foot in the store. As always, start with a food you already have, then create meals based on that. Make a list of ingredients you need for all the meals and snacks for the week or however long your food budget is for.
Weekly meal planning will help you avoid those quick trips to the grocery store for one or two items that always end up costing way more than you anticipated.
Cook Once, Eat Twice
This tip is a great time-saver if you’re cooking for one or two people. When you make dinner, cook enough for leftovers so you can have lunch the next day or even dinner again the following night. You can also cook larger portions and freeze individual servings for quick and easy meals later on.
Batch cooking can be a lifesaver on busy weeknights when you don’t have time to cook from scratch. It’s also a great way to save money because you can buy ingredients in bulk and make several meals out of them.
Find Creative Ways to Use Leftovers
When it comes to leftovers, people often make the mistake of leaving the meal as it was originally served. While this does help sometimes, it can quickly become unexciting, which increases the chances of it just sitting in the fridge until it goes bad.
Instead, think about other ways you can use those meals or side dishes in other meals. For example, leftover roasted chicken can be used for so many different meals. Put it in a casserole, make chicken quesadillas or enchiladas, or shred it up for chicken salad.
The same goes for side dishes. If you have some rice and beans, you can make burritos, tacos, or even just a simple rice and bean bowl. The possibilities are endless when it comes to leftovers, so get creative!
Make Use of Your Freezer
Your freezer is your best friend when it comes to preventing food waste. If you have food that is about to go bad, cook it and freeze it for later. This works well with fruits and vegetables that are starting to wilt or meat that is about to expire.
A lot more foods than you might think can do well in the freezer. Did you know you can freeze cheese? It freezes really well, so if you buy bags in bulk, put half of it in another freezer bag, label it, and keep it frozen until you’re ready to use it.
The freezer is also a great place to store leftovers. Once you’ve made a big batch of soup, chili, or another dish, portion it out into individual servings and freeze them for quick and easy meals later on.
Compost
If you’re really committed to reducing your food waste, then composting is a great way to do it. Not only will you be keeping food out of the landfill, but you’ll also be creating nutrient-rich soil for your garden. Composting is really easy to do, and there are many different ways to do it. You can compost food scraps in your backyard or even indoors if you have a small space.
There are also many different types of compost bins you can buy, or you can even make your own. If you’re not sure how to get started, there are plenty of resources and tutorials online that can help you out.
Conclusion
Wasting food is a big problem, but it’s one that we can all help to solve. By following these tips, you can make a big difference in the amount of food you waste. Every little bit helps, so do your part and start reducing your food waste today!
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