On my blog, I mainly write about cooking delicious dishes inspired by Mediterranean cuisine. But when you buy ingredients for the recipes you see online, one thing is certain: some of them will sit in your fridge or pantry until they go bad, and you’ll have to throw them away. Wasting food is one of my biggest pet peeves. I hate throwing out old vegetables or unfinished leftovers just because of poor storage or meal planning. So in this article, I want to share my tips on how to stop food waste and become more mindful of the food you already have at home.
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Five things you can start doing to reduce your food waste
1. Plan your weekly meals to stop buying unnecessary items
I’m a huge fan of planning and organizing, especially when it comes to my shopping list and meals. I usually do the shopping for the entire week, so I plan to cook five meals, and my boyfriend cooks two. I write down the ingredients each meal needs to ensure I don’t need to visit the store mid-week or buy ingredients I know I won’t finish before they go bad. You know, once you go to the store for one thing, you leave with your hands full of products you don’t even need.
When you make a grocery list, also plan your meals based on how quickly the ingredients might go bad.
So for example:
- The first meals on your list should be the ones that contain veggies that spoil quickly. Any dish that has lettuce, arugula, and other greens has to be prepared and consumed first.
- Meat and fish go second. Why not first? If I know it takes longer than two days before I can cook fish or meat, I freeze it. Better yet, if you plan well, you can just buy frozen meat. This way, you not only avoid the risk of your meat going bad, but you also probably get a better price.
- I don’t cook new foods if we have enough leftovers. Usually, my boyfriend and I cook enough food to last us for 4 meals. We eat dinner and then have leftovers the next day for lunch. If we manage to cook enough food to last for 6 meals, I freeze the meat or fish I was planning to cook and eat what we already have. Because once you cook new food, you’re less likely to finish those leftovers, and they’ll probably end up in the trash.
2. Prolong your food’s shelf life by storing it correctly
Just a little disclaimer: Even properly stored foods can go bad before their expiration date. Always use your best judgment to evaluate food before eating. Check the smell and texture to make sure the food is safe to consume.
Tips for storing food products:
- You can store fresh, raw meat and fish for about 2 days in the fridge before it goes bad. If you know you won’t be able to cook and eat it in time, freeze it.
- Veggies like fresh broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, and carrots can last from a few days up to a few weeks in the fridge. The key with hard veggies is to make sure they’re in a dry spot away from the fridge walls so they don’t get frosty.
- Leafy veggies like lettuce, arugula, parsley, cilantro, etc. can’t be stored for too long. When you buy dark leafy vegetables, wash them first and dry them well with a towel. Store them in a dry paper bag in the fridge. Otherwise, moisture will make them rot. With herbs like parsley and cilantro, you can prolong their shelf life by keeping them in freshwater. Pour some tap water into a glass and put it in like flowers. I kid you not, I once bought parsley and it lasted for over two weeks in the fridge without getting yellow or moldy. If you have too many herbs, you can also chop and freeze them. As a Lithuanian, I love dill. Nothing beats the flavor of fresh dill. But here in Spain, it’s rare to find fresh dill. So, when I manage to find it, I buy a lot. Normally, I put fresh dill in water just like I’d do with parsley, but it doesn’t last as long as parsley, so I just chop the rest into the tiniest pieces and freeze it. The frozen dill tastes just as good in salads, soups, fish, or wherever (it goes everywhere).
- Don’t store your veggies and fruits together. Most veggies and fruits can be stored in the fridge, but even then, I’d suggest keeping them in separate bags. Fruits, when ripening release a gas called ethylene. This gas promotes the ripening process, which can lead to other fruits and veggies rotting before you can eat them. Fruits that release the most ethylene are apples, bananas, avocados, nectarines, and basically any other fruit you can leave outside the fridge to ripen.
- Keep products away from onions. Onions have moisture-drawing features that can cause them to mold quickly. So, for example, if you keep your onions in the same cabinet as potatoes, onions can draw moisture from potatoes and start molding and smelling.
- Speaking of potatoes. Potatoes should be stored in a dark and cool environment. Sunlight can cause potatoes to develop green spots, which are toxic. Make sure you check your potatoes well and remove any green spots or sprouts before cooking them.
3. Rearrange your fridge to spot spoilable foods
You know how we usually tend to store sauces, yogurts, milk, deli meats, etc., in the middle and top shelves of the fridge, and vegetables in the lowest and darkest shelves? I feel like it’s a common experience.
But vegetables tend to spoil the fastest, so you should put them where you can easily see them. Sauces, hard cheeses, cured hams, and similar products can last for weeks in the fridge, so they can be stored in the lowest compartments. I know well I won’t forget a nice ham or cheese in my fridge even if I don’t see it.
4. Be resourceful and create new recipes
Got some bell peppers aging on the bottom shelf that are still good? Make stuffed bell peppers. Are your tomatoes getting softer? Make tomato sauce. Try to be creative and plan your meals around the food you already have. I’m not saying you should eat old or spoiled food. You should always be cautious, especially with fresh food. But if it still looks and smells okay, don’t let it go to waste.
5. Switch to buying frozen foods to reduce food waste and save money
I feel like there’s still a misconception that frozen foods are less nutritious than fresh products. But many studies show that frozen foods often contain even more nutrients because of how they’re preserved.
Many fresh veggies lose their beneficial compounds and nutrients just by sitting on your counter or in your fridge, meanwhile, frozen goods are frozen in time (pun intended). Also, frozen food tends to be cheaper than fresh veggies and fruits. Check out this experiment CTVNews.ca did to compare fresh and frozen food prices.
You usually get more food for the price too. For example, I always prefer buying frozen foods like broccoli, cauliflower, peas, etc. because when I don’t use it all at once, I can put it back into the freezer and forget about it until the next time.
Why should you try to limit your food waste?
It might not seem like a big deal to throw out a brown banana or a portion of an old pasta dish. But food waste accumulates and has a huge environmental impact. Around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste alone.
If that doesn’t concern you, think about your wallet. Every time you throw out the food you bought but didn’t eat, you’re basically tossing your money into the trash.
Last words on how to stop food waste
I hope this article helps you find ways how to stop food waste. If not for the environment, do it for your wallet. If you find this article helpful, leave a comment or share it with your friends and family!
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