3 ways to reduce food waste

Are you wondering how you can help reduce our negative impact on the environment?  One way is to reduce food waste.  In some countries, food waste is as high as 30-40% of the available food supply!  Not only does food waste stress our environmental resources, but it is also hard on our wallets, too.

Reducing food waste can help minimize your carbon footprint.  You may feel like making small changes won’t make a difference to the environment; however, small steps can lead to bigger changes.

Here are some great ways to help reduce your food waste and support the environment.

Stick to your grocery shopping list

When you’re walking around the grocery store, adding lots of different items into your basket is tempting when you feel hungry.  Impulse purchases are one contributor to food waste.

If you’re not mindful about what you add to your shopping basket, you could end up buying a lot more food than you need. To avoid purchasing excess food, write a shopping list before you go to the grocery store and stick to it.

Love your leftovers

Did you cook a little too much?  Don’t throw it out!  You now have a meal for tomorrow.  In fact, save yourself time and energy by finding recipes that you can create multiple portions of in one go.   For example, you may want to make several portions of soup, chili, or pasta in one cooking session so that you can freeze a few portions for the week ahead. This will reduce the risk of spoiling fresh food before you have time to cook it.

Smart food storage

Keep food fresher longer and use up what you have by being a food storage pro.  Store leftovers within two hours of cooking in clear containers so that you can easily see what you have available.  Also, remember the first in, first out rule and use up older food before reaching for newer items.  Worried that you won’t be able to use up your fresh fruit in time?  Peel it, chop it up and freeze it for a later date.