4 Easy Ways to Reduce Food Waste at Home

Food waste has become an epidemic in recent times. You must be responsible enough to take charge of reducing food waste right from your home. Have you ever went to a grocery store and returned with a bag of arugula, only to find another bag in the fridge? Or have you completely forgotten that just 2 days back, you stored the refrigerator with green leafy veggies and bought more? Does your kid hate leafy veggies and you have to finish it all to avoid food wastage? Do the situations sound similar to yours? Check out some easy ways to reduce food waste at home.

Buy only what you need to reduce food waste at home

When you buy veggies and fruits, do you tend to buy more to avoid visits to the market frequently? When it comes to fresh food, always buy as much your family and you need for a week maybe and not everything that you see. On the other hand, stocking up toilet paper rolls on sale is definitely a good buy.

But, when you stock up perishables, you may not get a chance to finish them all and you have to throw it. In order to reduce food waste at home, it is always better to buy fruits and vegetables in a lesser quantity. In case you overbuy, store them in reusable zip-top bags used to store perishables.

Keep a note of the ingredients in your refrigerator

The look of the floppy sad veggies turns you off instantly and you tend to throw them away. Start to reduce food waste at home by keeping a check on your fridge regularly or cleaning it once a week. You may also check an article on cleaning guidelines to keep your fridge sparkling clean on our blog. Right before your wilting veggies go bad, you may cut them into small pieces, sauté, and cover them all with an egg or two. You may try to add some cheese too for a heavy brunch.

In case you cannot tolerate the stinky smell of the egg, try to roast the wilting veggies. It will give a week’s shelf life to the “about to be wasted food”. Some ground pepper, pink sea salt, and avocado or olive oil can magically turn the sagging veggies when you roast them all in the large baking sheet for 30 to 40 minutes. Store it in the glass containers to reheat and add to the salad bowls and if it turns bad, quickly blend it to make pasta sauce.

Portion out your food to reduce food waste at home

When you prepare food, freeze, reheat all the leftover food, and again freeze the remains, your food has the tendency to spoil quickly. Attention all the meal preppers – you all know than lasagnas, chilli, stews, casseroles, shepherd’s pie are all daring dishes and can serve many. For a week, it can easily take care of your family and you can relax for 6 days provided you store it properly. When you keep heating and freezing, again and again, the food not only loses its taste and value but also has the chances to go sour. A little planning can save your food from turning bad.

Always try to portion out your meal after cooking. Increase the storage space and after eating your meal divide the remaining food in two or three containers according to your family size and intake of each person. When you freeze the food in separate containers, it is easier to freeze as well as reheat individually. It saves you heating time as well as reduces food waste at home.

Make a list of the recipes you are planning to cook this week

Drafting a grocery list is quite easy and stuffing the fridge with the necessities is even easier. But, if you want to reduce food waste at home, you need to be more careful and act cleverly. Plan your recipes for the week ahead of drafting your grocery list. Apart from adding the weekly staples like bread, egg, organic milk in your grocery list, jot down the ingredients for the recipes you have planned for the week. Eating out once or twice a week is always counted so planning 3 or 4 recipes for the week can be good enough. It is an effective approach that can avoid a lot of food wastage.

Conclusion

Adapt the healthy ways of living and reduce food waste at home. Take time to learn through these foods waste control tips starting from your home. When you throw away the food without eating it, your money is what you waste. Keep the money as well as the food waste in control with the help of the above tips.

Moupriya Das

Acknowledgement:

• ''Featured picture'': for source click here.

• "Picture no. 1'': for source click here.

• "Picture no. 2": for source click here.

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This article was originally published in 2019 on SPIC AND SPAN. Home & Office Cleaning blog.