Food wastage can be the biggest loss financially a family will lose. Many people throw away food without even thinking about the money they have just wasted. But with a few habit changes and being more conscious of what you are doing you can reduce food waste. This could also save you a lot of money in the long run.
Shop smart.
The best way to avoid food waste in the first instance is to try and buy only what you need. The best way of doing this is planning your meals in advance. Another tip would be to use a grocery list when you attend a store. This will encourage you only to buy what you need and, therefore, reduce food waste.
Only buy from the grocery store exactly what you need. So if you only require two onions for all of the cooking and meals that week, don’t buy a whole bag. This will avoid food wastage.
Buy in bulk.
Sometimes it can work out a lot cheaper to buy in bulk. This might be for special offers or a big discount. However, you may not be able to eat it all before the use by date. To avoid wasting this food you could package it up and freeze it. Using a food vacuum sealer can make sure your food is stored correctly, allowing it to be kept for longer or frozen.
First in, first out.
When unloading your grocery shopping make sure you bring any previous produce bought to the front of your cupboard or fridge. This will avoid you missing items or perishable foods that need eating sooner than the groceries you have just bought. Avoiding then being thrown away.
Take stock of your habits.
Over the course of a few weeks monitor the type of food you tend to throw away. For example, if you always throw away bread then maybe it’s time to start freezing some before it goes past it’s best. If you tend to throw away vegetables could they all be cooked up and made into a pasta sauce? If you throw away something quite often could this mean you could do without buying it? Being aware of your food waste habits will allow you to make some changes to avoid further wastage.
Eat leftovers.
Rather than throw away leftover food why not eat it the next day as your lunch. Or if you have made something quite large like a big lasagna, could you portion it up and freeze some for another day? Many people forget to think about their leftovers until it’s too late and they are past theIr best.
Find alternative uses.
Finally, if you have some odd scraps of vegetables, herbs or other things in your fridge can you find another use for them? For example, adding odd vegetables to a tomato based sauce can create a very nutritious pasta dish. Could you add herbs to a butter and freeze? Maybe chop up vegetables and freeze them ready to be dumped in casseroles or other such things. There is lot’s more use to things without just throwing it away.
I hope these tips help you reduce your food wastage.