I always seem to have a lot of trouble with food waste. I tend to buy things in bulk which does not help either. Typically what would happen to me, I buy these large family packages of chicken breast or big bags of veggies or fruit and then at least half of it gets tossed. I didn’t use to like cooking often, so I would do the standard meal prep thing where you cook and have meals for the whole week. This was a trap for me because I like to mix it up but when you have 5 lbs of chicken breast already cooked and ready to eat, it seems kind of like you have no choice… I was not diligent enough to actually make sure to eat what was in my fridge and not waste anything. If I meal prepped Sunday or Monday night, by Wednesday I would be eating out or finding something else to munch on besides the broccoli and chicken already prepared in the fridge. I would have a full fridge of which half would go bad in less than a week and It would end up in the trash. Such a waste of food and money! Recognizing this was a pattern I had fallen into I went about trying to identify ways to improve my wasteful habits and be a bit more cost-effective when purchasing and preparing food. I had found a great list from the site Mashable which provided me with some helpful tips for bet management. Not all of the tips worked for me, but some of the best ones I found and ones that I apply to my life now are;
- Shop smart and realistically – For me this meant to actually buy for the short term vs always thinking about buying large quantities which ended up being wasted. I eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies so I end up shopping weekly at least for those. I also try to plan ahead for what I need which cuts down on excessive trips to the store with the intention to get a single item and then spending $30-$40 on other stuff I happen to decide to purchase.
- Actually eat leftovers… – This has always been tough for me as leftovers lose flavor or just generally seem unappetizing. Making sure to plan to have certain meal times not only has decreased waste but also has helped me cut down on impulse snack purchases being thoughtful and knowing there is food waiting for me in the fridge. Another piece to this was trying to cook more meals that I am excited to eat by adding some tasty sauce or spice.
- Keeping track of what I throw away – Before I started doing this, I would just feel sad emptying my fridge into the garbage. That feeling was fleeting though because as the garbage closed and the food waste disappeared from my sight, it also disappeared from my mind. Now I write down what I throw away and then use that information on my future shopping trips to figure out the right amount of food to buy.
These were the tips that helped me the most along with having great and encouraging friends who always support my healthy eating and being less wasteful goals. If you are a food waster, try to find some ways to conserve a bit more. Keep in mind less food waste leads to increased usable resources as well as less destruction to our environment caused in the process of food production!
Author: Cole Schenck
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