Glorious marvellous food
Do you love food and hate wasting it? Read on as your are in the right page. Here are 4 tips to reduce food waste at home.
Food is a human right, a necessity of life and brings joy to our mundane lives. Food we eat nourishes, strengthens and also defines us! What we eat, how we eat and when we eat all vary depending on our culture and upbringing.
Eating a 4 course home cooked Indian meal fills my belly and my heart. I am sure you feel the same way about the food you grew up with or have fond associations with. It is soul nourishing.
So, here’s the conundrum? If it’s so important, why do we waste it?
Where is this waste coming from?
Food waste is generated by supermarkets, restaurants & , catering companies. But, 70% of food waste is generated by households. So what are we wasting? Right from salad to fruits & vegetables and bread, we throw away perfectly edible food because we don’t store them correctly or we have misconceptions about when the food is considered inedible.
What is happening?
According to a market survey, some of the main reasons people throw food away are:
- 74% of people didn’t write a shopping list when they went shopping.
- 35% didn’t plan their meals.
- 24% didn’t know what was in the fridge before they went to the supermarket.
Top 3 impacts from food waste
Eco news: Water consumption
When we waste food, we also waste water. A significant amount of water is required to grow and produce food. Read this well written article on this topic from InSinkerator
4 tips to reduce food waste at home
1
Plan your meals
2
Make a list
3
Store it right
4
Cook & freeze
Plan your meals
- Work out your weekly shopping day. Or maybe it's twice a month. week? In my home, Wednesday is the chosen day.
- Plan your cooking for the same day as your shopping day if possible or cook most things definitely by the next day.
Why does this matter? Having a schedule makes life easier. And cooking when your fruit & veg is still fresh will lock in the nutrients.
Make your list
- Before you go shopping, make a list. Your meal planning will obviously help you to figure out what you need to buy.
- Remember to take your shopping list with you when you go shopping. Have a shopping list app, if the paper list proves difficult.
- Stick to the shopping list when you are in the shop.
Why does this matter? Impulse buying or going shopping when you are hungry makes you buy things you don’t need.
Store it right
- If you have cooked food leftover, wrap it and store it.
- Check instructions on how to store every food item you buy. Not everything goes in the fridge.
- Don't forget the items at the back of the shelf. Keep checking what you have & use them up.
Why does this matter? Foods stored incorrectly can go bad or worse make you ill.
Eco tip: Plastic free food wraps
Wrap your food with beeswax wraps. This naturally anti bacterial wax will help keep your food fresh for longer. This is one excellent ways to reduce food waste
Cook & freeze
- Cook in large batches. The quantity will depend on the size of your freezer, your grocery budget & the size of your family.
- Measure out how much you need for each meal and freeze as portions in separate boxes.
- Unfreeze the portions as needed through the week.
How does this help? It’s definitely cheaper to cook in larger quantities and eating healthy through the week becomes easier. Batch cooking will definitely save you time & money.
So, go and save yourself some cash and make yourself a nutrient packed meal! Yum! Drop a comment below if you are have any further ways to reduce food waste or if you are going to implement some of these ideas.
Some further reading
- Love Food Hate Waste - a great website full of ideas and recipes to help you reduce your waste
- change4life smart recipes - A great meal planning app which also helps you find new recipes. You get cooking instructions & create your shopping list. The shopping list also gives you information on which aisle you will find your items in when you go shopping. Magic!
- OLIO - the food sharing app is a great way to share food you don't need.
- Find your local food bank - Food banks will accept food that within it's use by date & some foodbanks will also take fresh produce.
3 thoughts on “4 Tips to reduce food waste at home”
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I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.
OK. What doubts did you have? What is missing from the article do you think? Will make changes to make it clearer and based on your feedback. Ta.