09/10/2024
✨7 Easy Ways to Reduce Food Waste at Home✨
Do you struggle with using up food before it goes bad? Here are 7 easy ways to reduce food waste at home.
Food impacts our health and wellness. It is a part of family traditions and cultural celebrations. Food brings people together. But, more and more we are throwing out food at an alarming rate.
But, the good news is that reducing food waste at home can have a big impact on the environment. By adopting a few daily habits, you can play a huge role in reducing the amount of food sent to landfills.
Not to mention, you will save money in the process.
➡Why Eliminate Food Waste
Mindless food consumption wastes more than just the food being thrown out. That’s because food is an end result of many processes utilizing a variety of resources.
In order to change our habits, we must look at what really happens when we throw a little food away here and there that eventually creates a huge problem.
🗑Landfill Overflow
Our scraps, spoiled food, and leftovers don’t just disappear. They collect in a landfill where they sit and rot. An estimated 133 billion pounds of food waste collects in landfills in the US every year.
🗑Wasted Resources
The food you eat is grown or created using resources like land and water. When food is thrown away resources that went into creating that food are also wasted.
🗑Decreases Biodiversity
As more food is purchased, the demand for food increases. This means more land and resources are needed to create that food – even though a portion of what’s already been created is thrown away.
The more land we take for growing food, the less there is for natural ecosystems to thrive.
🗑Money Down the Drain
Not only is food waste bad for the environment, but it is also impacts your finances.
This report from the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) estimates that the average American family throws away $2,200 worth of food every year. (I can think of several things I’d rather spend $2,000 on!)
This all seems grim, but there are ways you can practice mindfully consuming food to reduce food waste at home.
With a little extra attention, you can make a huge impact on the amount of food wasted – and in the process save money for your family.
📢7 Ways to Reduce Food Waste at Home
The key to reducing food waste at home is to practice mindful living day-in and day-out. Don’t strive for perfection. Instead, develop these daily habits that will make food waste a rare occurrence in your home.
➡Make Lists and Meal Plans
When hitting the grocery store, be prepared. Having a well-thought out list will not only help you stay within your budget, but also prevent you from buying more than what you need.
Make a simple meal plan for the week, and put specific measurements on your grocery list. This will prevent you from having to guess how much you really need for each recipe.
I like to write out my meals in a planner so I can see what other things I’m doing that day. If it is a busy night, I know I need something simple to make or I will end up skipping the homemade meal for take out.
If meal planning sounds too daunting, you can find a variety of online meal planning services that will provide you with a grocery list and meal planning calendar without much work on your part.
➡Wash and Prep for Easy Eating
As soon as you get home from the store, plan to wash, chop, and prepare fresh fruits and vegetables, rather than throwing them straight in the fridge.
It will be easier to reach for an apple or strawberries as a snack later if you clean them beforehand.
This is also a great way to save time on meal preparation during the week. Chop and measure out ingredients on the weekends or nights when you have more time in the evenings.
This makes cooking healthy after a long day of work much more attainable.
➡Use the Scraps
Did you know you can turn seeds, stems, and even rinds into delicious recipes? Creating a habit of using all edible parts is a rewarding way to create less waste.
Start with a cookbook like Lindsey Jean-Hard’s Cooking with Scraps for inspiration. Soon, you’ll discover new ways to add scraps to your family meals – another great money saver!
Or if you don't want to deal with the scraps, send them to the chickens or other animals you have! Our chickens and pigs eat any scraps we have that I can't repurpose.
