Reducing Food Waste in Your Home
We’ve all been there, you’re looking for something specific in the fridge and you stumble across an unidentifiable container of leftovers. How long has it been in there? More importantly, what is it exactly?! If you cook at home, food waste is going to happen. But there is so much we can do to prevent food waste in our homes and in our current climate, finding ways to reduce your food waste will benefit the planet, reduce trash in landfills, and save you money. Today we’re sharing our favorite tips to help you utilize and enjoy the food you purchase and reduce the amount that ends up in the trash.
Plan
Take stock before you shop! Before you make a grocery list, go through your fridge and pantry and see what you have. Rotate oldest items to the front. Jot down items that need to be used and if possible plan your meals around what needs to be used first.
Clean out your fridge once a week. Remove items and wipe down shelves. We love using clear bins to organize items. You can organize by item type. You can also organize by meal (place all items you will need for a recipe in a bin and label it with the meal name). We also love to keep a “Use First” bin in the fridge. We put leftovers and any items that need to be eaten right away in here.
Know your labels! A “Best if Used By/Before” label indicates when a food will be at its best quality. A “Sell By” date indicates how long a store should display a product for sale. Food can be eaten safely after the date printed on the label as long as the food doesn’t show signs of spoilage.
Think about what you’re actually going to cook in a given week. How does your week look? What nights will work for you to cook a meal? From there you can work on planning your meals for the week. Do not plan for more meals than you will actually prepare.
Shop
Head to the store after you’ve eaten (never shop when you’re hungry!) and with a list of what you need. Try to stick to your list without adding lots of impulse buys.
If possible, shop more frequently. If you shop once every 3-4 weeks, you might end up with more food waste. Shopping once a week and only buying what you need will help you keep track of what you have.
Don’t buy items in bulk that aren’t your favorite, especially if they have limited shelf life.
Prep
When unpacking groceries, all perishable items should be refrigerated within two hours.
Take some time to store your fruit and vegetables properly. We like to combine 3 cups of water with 1 cup of distilled vinegar in a large bowl to wash our berries and fruit. Give the fruit a swish in the vinegar water and then lay the fruit out on a towel lined tray to dry completely. Once dry, everything can be stored in the fridge and will be ready to use.
Wash your herbs and place them in jars with cold water.
Clean and slice vegetables for snacking and store in clear containers.
Utilize
As you cook through the week, store leftovers in clear containers. Label them with painter’s tape. Don’t forget to eat your leftovers!
Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking.
Utilize your freezer! As you chop vegetables each day, put the scrap pieces in a ziplock bag you store in the freezer. When the bag is full, dump in a large pot and top with fresh herbs and filtered water. Simmer all day and strain to make vegetable stock.
If cooking a whole chicken or eating a rotisserie chicken, save the scraps to make chicken stock.
If fruit is fading, cook it in a saucepan with a little maple syrup and splash of water to make a compote you can eat on top of yogurt, oatmeal, and waffles.
If you are able, consider composting your food scraps. There are great systems for composting. Some communities offer municipal compost pick up (similar to trash and recycling). Alternatively you can purchase a composting bin for your yard.
Reducing food waste will save you money, help limit carbon emissions in the environment, and will keep garbage out of our landfills. It feels good to use what you have and not to throw away excessive amounts of food. Even small steps like these make an impact. We’d love to hear from you in the comments! How do you reduce food waste in your home?