5 Ways to Reduce Food Waste at Home
April 1, 2021Looking for ways to reduce food waste in your home? We’re sharing 6 easy steps we can all add to our weekly routine that can make a big impact.
No one likes to waste food, but food waste is still a serious problem in Canada and around the world! While changes need to be made at all levels of the supply chain, there is a lot we can do in our very own homes to reduce food waste. With just a few simple tips we can add to our weekly kitchen routines, we can avoid unwanted food waste.
Keep Track of Expiry Dates
We all know the feeling. You know the one where you clean out your fridge to find a bunch of produce or jars well past their prime? Well there’s a way to avoid this! Once a week, go through your fridge and make note of any foods that expire within the next 7 days. Keep this list right beside on on your fridge door, so you see it every time you go to make dinner or grab a snack. By keeping track of close-to-expired foods, we can help adjust our weekly meal plans to use up those delicious ingredients before they go bad.
Donate What You Don’t Use
Look we get it. Sometimes we buy things, that we think we’ll use, but it just ends up sitting in our pantry or fridge until it goes bad. There’s nothing wrong with this, but we can change our habits to help reduce the food we’re throwing away. Be honest with yourself, is there food in your home that you just wont eat? Instead of throwing it away offer it to a friend who might enjoy it – or better yet donate any food you can to community fridges or food banks.
Keep the Skin On
No you don’t need to peel your potatoes or cucumbers or apples if you don’t want to. Yes, reducing food waste can be as simple as keeping the skin on your produce. Making some potato wedges? Keep the peels on for extra crunch and less food waste. We call that a win-win. Making mashed potatoes and still want to peel them? No problem – keep the peels and fry or bake them with a little oil for a delicious crunchy topping.
#FreshTip: If you still like to peel your produce, check out these 6 Ways to Reduce Your Food Waste, including making stock with your kitchen scraps!
The Freezer is Your Friend
Become one with your freezer and don’t be afraid to use it to avoid wasting food when needed. Have an extra batch of soup that won’t get eaten before it goes bad? Freeze it! Have some overripe bananas? Freeze them! Can’t get through a loaf of bread before it molds? Freeze it! The freezer is a great tool to reduce your food waste. Just be sure to label anything you put in the freezer with the date you freeze it so you can keep track of what needs to be used up.
Choose Imperfect Produce
Carrots taste the same whether they look picture perfect or a little funky, but the reality is most people tend to go for the picture perfect ones. It can be hard to go against our instincts when picking out the perfect produce, but once you realize the perfect produce is about the flavour – not what it looks like – it will be so much easier! By opting for the less-than-perfect produce you can help save some food from hitting the landfill before it even gets to your home.
Looking for ways to lower your carbon footprint and reduce your food waste? We’ve got your back! We’re proud to help Canadians reduce household food waste by up to 36% compared to meals made with store-bought ingredients. You choose your meals and everything is delivered straight to your door in the exact portions you need. Learn more about our flexible delivery service here.