Solutions To Food Waste That Save You Money & The Planet

If you’re trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle, one of the most important steps you can take is reducing your own waste. At Organic Restaurants, we have plenty of advice for anyone who wants to know how to reduce their carbon footprint and the amount of food that they waste. If you feel bad throwing out food that has expired, these tips could help you drop bad habits and stop wasting food.

Stop Over Buying

One of the best ways to stop wasting food is to stop buying too much of it in the first place. Stick to your list when you’re shopping and don’t just add random items to your cart. Something that looked good at the time may end up forgotten about on a dusty shelf, but the items on your list are all products that you’re probably more likely to actually use. If you like to buy in bulk for the discounts, think seriously about which products you actually need in bulk. If saving a bit of money results in food waste, it may not be worth it.

Check the Use By Dates

Check those use by dates and think hard about whether you’ll actually use the item by then. Some food products expire quickly, and there’s no reason that you can’t come back and buy a perishable item later when you know that you’ll have time to make use of it.

Make Perishable Foods Right Away

If you get the chance to, use those perishable food items you bought right away. You can cook meat, vegetables, and other items shortly after your trip to the store, and then you can just use them in dishes later. Learn how to use leftovers and make meals like casseroles, stir fry, and soup with foods you’ve already prepared. This can save you time and prevent food waste.

Make a Meal Plan

Making a meal plan and tracking what you have “in stock” can also help you avoid food waste. Preparing food in advance can prevent it from going bad. Knowing what you have on hand can prevent you from buying redundant items at the store, and it can allow you to figure out which recipes to make when you’re ready to eat. Also figure out how often you’ll actually be home to use the food that you bought. If you know you’ll be eating out most of the week, make that trip to the grocery store a light one.

Get “Ugly” Produce

This is actually one thing that can help you deal with the food waste problem on a larger scale. Lots of produce is discarded each year simply because it’s “ugly.” Produce that’s misshapen or slightly off in color is avoided by many consumers, even if it’s perfectly healthy! By choosing the more unique produce at your local store or market, you could help prevent a business from wasting perfectly good fruits and veggies.

Benefits of Reducing Food Waste

When you reduce food waste, you don’t just save money. Your efforts and the efforts of others combine to help lower emissions, conserve energy, and preserve resources. The more people who make efforts to reduce the amount of food waste, the bigger the difference made for the industry as a whole.

If you’re interested in more organic food topics, visit the Organic Restaurants website today!