Do you ever feel bad about the amount of food you waste? I’m sure we’ve all pulled a sad, forgotten carrot out of the crisper and tossed it away. It seems like a small thing, but it really does add up over time. All those sad, forgotten carrots rotting away…it’s enough to break your heart.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 36 million tonnes of food waste ends up in US landfills! Yikes.
One of the great, unexpected benefits of Vitamix ownership is the reduction of food waste. When you have a power blender, you can hide those sad carrots in a smoothie or soup.
Since the majority of my readers are interested in helping preserve the environment and preserve their hard earned dollars; I thought it would be a good idea to share some ides on how to reduce waste.
10 Tips for Reducing Food Waste
1. Organize your fridge to you can keep an eye on your inventory. Put perishable things where you can see them. Check the crisper every other day for produce that is wilting.
2. In your pantry, organize food by expiry date. Use the older stuff first.
3. One day a week, make a stir-fry, omelette or other mixed up meal that uses up a lot of produce. Use the stuff that is on the edge of going bad.
4. Buy only what you can use. Don’t be lured in to a bulk buy if you can’t realistically get through it all. If the price is really good, split it with a friend or donate some to the food bank. Many grocery stores have a food bank bin, drop a few things off before you leave.
5. Plan your meals before you shop and have a plan for the leftovers and trimmings! A lot of trimmings and leftovers can be used to make stocks and soups.
6. Use airtight containers to avoid stale foods or pest contamination.
7. Make smoothie packs buy chopping up your favorite fruits and portioning them out in freezer bags. Be sure to wash and re-use the bags!
8. Learn to make jams, pickles and canned produce.
9. Learn to love leftovers. I will admit, they are not my favorite but I eat them.
10. Dehydrate fruits, veggies and herbs with your oven or invest in a dehydrator. These dried goodies pack a flavor punch!
Do you have any other food saving tips to share? Leave them in the comments!
