More on Reducing Food Waste

Slate Magazine has recently featured a number of articles on food waste, citing a recent peer reviewed paper that estimates that Americans waste approximately 40% of food produced, an alarming number.  We’ve previously discussed reducing food waste with tips on how to re-purpose leftovers, label freezer bags, and make creative catch-all dishes that are intended to use up leftovers.  Here are some additional hints, and as always, I’m eager to hear from you:

–Buy only what you need — often meaning buying the smaller amount. This is the opposite of what most frugal shoppers try to do and buy in bulk or in large amounts.  However, unless you have a big family AND plan well, most people find that very large value packs of food and giant jars of condiments result in large amounts being thrown out or growing mold in the corners of the fridge.  Rather than aiming for the cheapest cost per ounce or pound, try creating a shopping plan based on creating the least waste.

–Be mindful of the summer produce — I find it easy to overbuy the wonderful looking summer fruit at the farmer’ market, temporarily forgetting that fresh fruit ripens and spoils rather quickly. If you have a productive garden, plan ahead of time what to do with the bumper crops as they come in.  Dehydrating and making pickles are two great options.

–Try new products before buying a large amount — I was at a friends house the other day and she wanted to know if I liked a certain brand of cake mix.  Since I cook gluten-free, obviously I couldn’t use them as she indicated that she had bought 5 boxes because they were on sale only to discover her family didn’t like that flavor and brand.

–If you are not going to use something, take it to be donated right away — one of the enemies of food waste is the expiration date, and many people intend to donate extra boxes of things, but never get around to it.  These days, many major grocery stores have donation boxes right outside, and many organizations will come around several times a year to pick up donations.

–Make leftovers fun– is there a special dish that you like that captures a lot of leftovers? perhaps pizza, or make your own omelet night.  Mine is Mongolian barbecue, or chopped leftover meat, vegetables, and other things with a garlicky ginger stir fry sauce.  Make leftover night more fun by exploring recipes that suit themselves to leftovers.

shared at Works for Me Wednesday, Food Renegade, and Frugal Friday