Eating my leftovers and composting food scraps has been second nature to me for a long time now, but I realised that trying to reduce food waste at home isn’t something everyone thinks about or knows how to do!
In this post I’ll talk about why I think it’s important to reduce food waste and share some ways that you can start doing it yourself right now!
Why you need to reduce food waste
Did you know that in 2018 people in the U.K. threw away around 4.5 million tonnes of edible food? To put that into context, Wembley Stadium can seat 90,000 people and 4.5 million tonnes of food waste could fill the stadium eight times.
Moreover (and possibly more alarmingly), did you know that your food waste habits could be costing you £210 each year?
The sad thing is that a lot of this food waste is avoidable. Of course, some food waste is made up of bones, egg shells and other inedible parts. But a lot is made up of food that is or was perfectly edible.
If we managed ourselves better and thought about how to eat or use up food in other ways, we wouldn’t be chucking so much of it into the bin.
9 simple eco-swaps for your kitchen
On that note, where does your food waste actually go?
The food waste that you throw in the bin may be trucked off and dumped into a landfill. Here, over time it mixes with other non-biodegradeable products and releases toxins into the groundwater and gases into the air, which contribute to global warming and climate change. The positive environmental effects of stopping potentially avoidable food waste could be huge, and has been compared to the removal of one in four cars from U.K. roads.
In some parts of the U.K. food waste is collected and recycled by a process called anaerobic digestion. This process produces a biogas which is used to generate electricity. It also creates a nutrient-rich fertiliser for agriculture and in land regeneration. Alternatively, some areas mix food waste with garden waste via a process called in-vessel composting, which ultimately creates soil conditioner.
The best action you can take (wherever you are in the world) is to start reducing your own personal food waste at home using some of these tips below!
By being conscious of your eating habits and more aware of your food buying choices, you could not only save yourself some cash but also have a positive impact on the environment.
How to reduce food waste at home
Plan your meals
Meal planning has been a gamechanger for me on so many levels!
I find that meal planning makes my life much simpler and helps to save time and money, as well as reduce food waste at home.
By knowing what I’m going to eat in the upcoming week, I only buy what I need and use everything that I’ve bought.
I try to plan meals with ingredients that have a shorter shelf-life for earlier in the week (e.g. dairy, leafy greens). I also choose meals that have similar ingredients to make sure that everything is used up by the end of the week.
Here’s a full post where I describe all the benefits of meal planning and you’ll find a weekly meal planner template that’s totally free to download!
Cook with leftovers
Cooked food normally keeps in the fridge for at least a couple of days, if not longer. So, rather than scrape any uneaten food from your plate into the bin at the end of your meal, put leftovers into a container or bowl, cover them and place them in the fridge.
You can use these leftovers later in the week to prepare a quick and easy meal, meaning that there’s at least one night that you won’t have to cook entirely from scratch! Either combine what you have left and simply re-heat it or create a new dish!
The Love Food Hate Waste website has a collection of recipes to inspire your next meal made from leftovers.
I often fry up leftovers at the end of the week with olive oil, perhaps mix them with eggs into an omelette or cook a little extra rice to make a simple fried rice with vegetables dish.
Use your fruit and vegetable scraps
There are a surprising number of clever things you can do with your fruit and vegetable scraps! All of them will help you reduce food waste immediately:
- juice offcuts from things like brocolli stems, beetroot leaves and and herb stems (coriander, parsley and mint).
- add the peel from citrus fruits and cucumbers to a water jug to make infusions.
- make your own vegetable broth and freeze it for soups and sauces.
- throw food scraps into a compost bin to be collected; many U.K. councils provide one caddy per household for free.
- make your own garden compost.
- here are some other clever uses for food scraps that you can try!
Food waste recipe: Potato peel fries
Store your food properly
A lot of food spoils in the fridge or gets forgotten about in the depths of our cupboards and ends up being thrown out.
By understanding how to store food properly and how to read food labels, you can significantly reduce food waste in your household.
Here are some simple tricks that will help you store food better.
Food labels
- Use-by date: this indicates the date that a food can go off. It’s recommended to eat food prior to this date or it could be bad for your health.
- TIP: Keep foods with earlier use-by dates at the front of your fridge or cupboards so you’re more likely to remember to use them.
- Best before date: this indicates the date until which the food will be at its best. Foods with a best-before date normally have a longer shelf life and can be eaten after the date on the label, but the quality may not be as good.
Food in the fridge
- Roll leafy greens and fresh herbs in a damp tea towel to prevent them from wilting and losing their crunch
- Most vegetables are best kept in the crisp drawer of the fridge. Try to keep them away from ethylene-producing fruits (apples, stone fruits, mangoes, passion fruit, pears, and kiwis) to prevent them from decomposing sooner.
- Store fruit in the crisp drawer of the fridge, separately from your vegetables.
- Invest in natural beeswax wraps to keep any cut fruit and vegetables fresh until you need them next time. They’re especially useful for avocados and citrus fruits!
- Keep cheese in a porous material to prevent it from sweating and forming mould.
- Meat and fish is best kept in the fridge and should be eaten within 2-3 days of purchase. Otherwise it’s best to store them in the freezer and defrost overnight in the fridge before cooking.
Food in the freezer
- Generally speaking, most things can be frozen and thawed safely at a later date.
- Freeze meat and fish before it’s use-by date.
- Never re-freeze thawed meat or fish.
- It’s safe to freeze meat and fish, thaw and cook it and then then freeze the cooked meat or fish again.
- Eat thawed food within 24 hours of it being defrosted.
- Ground coffee is apparently best stored in the freezer since they keep longer and maintain their taste!
In the cupboards
- Unopened dry goods will keep in their packaging for several months.
- Once opened re-seal the packaging well with a peg or an elastic band, or move it to an airtight container.
- Ground spices and dried herbs are best stored in airtight jars and consumed within 6 months. Whole spices can last a couple of years.
On the counter
- Potatoes, garlic, onions, tomatoes and squash are best stored in a cool, dry place and can last a couple of weeks.
- Bananas, melons and citrus fruits are best stored on the counter in a basket. However, once cut they should be kept in the fridge to prevent them from drying out.
- Bread can be kept at room temperature wrapped in beeswax wraps or in a ziplock bag. I normally have a loaf of sliced bread in the freezer for easy to reach toast!
- Cakes can be wrapped in plastic or beeswax wraps for a couple of days on the counter. After that they’re best kept in the fridge, especially if they’re already cut.
Resources
- https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-store-food-and-leftovers/
- https://lifehacker.com/food-storage-101-where-and-how-long-to-keep-your-favor-498597803
I hope you enjoyed these tips on how to reduce food waste at home! Do you do anything differently? I’d love to know in the comments!
You might also like:
- Must-watch food documentaries that will change the way you eat
- Simple kitchen swaps for a more eco-friendly home
- How to create a low-waste bathroom
Pin me for later!
0 comments