Tips for Reducing Food Waste
Hello there!
Everyone is trying to reduce how much food is wasted since it is affecting vital resources from our planet and a waste of money for many people. It can be difficult to know how to stop this but these five tips can help anyone get into the habit of reducing food waste. Enjoy!
Tips for Reducing Food Waste
1. Plan meals
One of the easiest ways to reduce food waste in a household is by planning the meals you're going to make during the week. If you know exactly what you need to buy you'll be less swayed by offers and items in the supermarket you don't really need and might not consume. I always try and plan recipes so that all the ingredients are used up. For example, if I buy a big bag of spinach I will use some in a curry and then use the rest in a pasta dish or risotto later on in the week so none is thrown away.
2. Portion control
You can reduce food waste just by controlling how much you cook to begin with. Many people overcook meals so food is thrown away. An easy way to solve this problem is by weighing out ingredients, such as pasta or rice, so your portions are more exact. If you have leftovers of a meal that is suitable for freezing you can always freeze any extra to have another day rather than throwing it away. Aside from reducing food waste, it will help you save money and control your diet.
3. Make smoothies or soups
About 1.3 billion tonnes of food is waste worldwide every year, of which fruit and vegetables have the highest wastage rates*. This is because they are too "ugly"
to be sold in the supermarket or not used before they have gone past their best. An ideal solution is to use them in smoothies or soups. For example, strawberries can go very soft and not pleasant to eat on their own but you wouldn't know the difference once blended up with other delicious fruits. We need to start using "wonky fruit and veg", especially when their nutritional content is absolutely fine so perfect for soups and smoothies.
Ideas of soups and smoothies can be found in the links below:
Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup
Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup
New Year Fruit Smoothies
4. Bulk cooking meals for the freezer
Bulk making meals can be perfect for using up those vegetables that are starting to go past their best. I like to make stews, curries and other vegetable-based meals that I can portion and freeze. It will stop you throwing vegetables away since they last much longer and bulk-cooking can help save money, especially if you're a student!
5. Sometimes frozen or tinned is fine
If you're struggling to use up all your food by the end of the week, specifically fruits, veg or beans, it is fine to use tinned or frozen alternatives. Canned vegetables can have just as much nutritional value as fresh vegetables and last longer. For example, I would always buy frozen or tinned sweetcorn as I would end up throwing fresh sweetcorn away as I only have it occasionally. This also applies to tinned or frozen fruit as well. Frozen berries are perfect for smoothies or having in porridge, just make sure you are buying tinned fruit in juice not syrup if you don't want added sugar.
Hopefully these tips will help you to make some simple changes to how you buy and cook food so you waste less!
*Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/ugly-vegetable-food-waste-fruit-vegetable-a8825311.html
Everyone is trying to reduce how much food is wasted since it is affecting vital resources from our planet and a waste of money for many people. It can be difficult to know how to stop this but these five tips can help anyone get into the habit of reducing food waste. Enjoy!
Tips for Reducing Food Waste
1. Plan meals
One of the easiest ways to reduce food waste in a household is by planning the meals you're going to make during the week. If you know exactly what you need to buy you'll be less swayed by offers and items in the supermarket you don't really need and might not consume. I always try and plan recipes so that all the ingredients are used up. For example, if I buy a big bag of spinach I will use some in a curry and then use the rest in a pasta dish or risotto later on in the week so none is thrown away.2. Portion control
You can reduce food waste just by controlling how much you cook to begin with. Many people overcook meals so food is thrown away. An easy way to solve this problem is by weighing out ingredients, such as pasta or rice, so your portions are more exact. If you have leftovers of a meal that is suitable for freezing you can always freeze any extra to have another day rather than throwing it away. Aside from reducing food waste, it will help you save money and control your diet.
3. Make smoothies or soups
About 1.3 billion tonnes of food is waste worldwide every year, of which fruit and vegetables have the highest wastage rates*. This is because they are too "ugly" to be sold in the supermarket or not used before they have gone past their best. An ideal solution is to use them in smoothies or soups. For example, strawberries can go very soft and not pleasant to eat on their own but you wouldn't know the difference once blended up with other delicious fruits. We need to start using "wonky fruit and veg", especially when their nutritional content is absolutely fine so perfect for soups and smoothies.
Ideas of soups and smoothies can be found in the links below:
Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup
Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup
New Year Fruit Smoothies
4. Bulk cooking meals for the freezer
Bulk making meals can be perfect for using up those vegetables that are starting to go past their best. I like to make stews, curries and other vegetable-based meals that I can portion and freeze. It will stop you throwing vegetables away since they last much longer and bulk-cooking can help save money, especially if you're a student!5. Sometimes frozen or tinned is fine
If you're struggling to use up all your food by the end of the week, specifically fruits, veg or beans, it is fine to use tinned or frozen alternatives. Canned vegetables can have just as much nutritional value as fresh vegetables and last longer. For example, I would always buy frozen or tinned sweetcorn as I would end up throwing fresh sweetcorn away as I only have it occasionally. This also applies to tinned or frozen fruit as well. Frozen berries are perfect for smoothies or having in porridge, just make sure you are buying tinned fruit in juice not syrup if you don't want added sugar.
Hopefully these tips will help you to make some simple changes to how you buy and cook food so you waste less!
*Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/ugly-vegetable-food-waste-fruit-vegetable-a8825311.html
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