Reducing Household Food Waste
by Julie Johnson, Tastemaker in Residence
A Forbes article indicates the average U.S. household wastes 31.9% of its food (Bandoim, 2020). In dollars, that equates to a shocking $240 million annually or $1,866 per household.
In the past year, it has been my personal mission to reduce our household food waste. It really makes you think about the way you plan, prepare, and eat your food. Planning is the first step in reducing food waste. I do this by planning our family dinners a week at a time. In doing so, it allows me to look for opportunities to purchase foods that can be used for multiple dinners. It also helps me refrain from buying more than what will be used for the week.
For example, I recently made a roasted turkey breast and we always have leftovers. So, I reserved the bones and skin from the turkey breast and simmered homemade broth the following day. The broth was then incorporated into turkey pot pie soup which allowed me to use the remaining leftover turkey. We ate the entire pot of soup and didn’t have to throw out any food!
Preparing is the second step in reducing food waste. This involves understanding your family’s consumption and preparing only the amount you think will be consumed. Even if you come up short, there is always an opportunity to use some fresh cut fruit or a freshly prepared salad as an extra filler. Again, this promotes using up any veggies on the verge of growing some mold or fruit that is beginning to overripen.
Eating your food or portion control is the third step in reducing food waste. Take what you know you can comfortably eat. If you desire more, you can always go back for another helping. Frequently, the food left on your plate gets pushed into the garbage. When you take only what you can eat, it leaves those extras in the pan or serving dish and makes a great leftover lunch the next day.
Planning, preparing, and eating your food are not the only solutions to reducing food waste. Here are some other ideas:
Look at expiration dates on packages when you buy food at the store. Speaking from experience, I have discarded or dumped food items because they expired before my family could completely consume them. It is now part of my routine to check expiration dates or ‘use by’ dates when purchasing perishable products at the store.
If you cook too much protein (i.e. chicken or steak) for dinner. Instead of throwing it out, dice it and save it for a salad at lunch the following day.
Learn to preserve perishable foods. For example, I recently had an overabundance of jalapenos. So, instead of throwing them away or freezing them, I chose to pickle them because my husband loves jalapenos on his sandwiches. The best part…once jalapenos are pickled, they store for up to a few months in the refrigerator.
Embrace a bruise or blemish; especially on fresh fruit. It’s okay if an apple has a bruise, cut the bruise out and slice up the rest for a snack.
Make a smoothie. There is typically a stash of blueberries you find in the back of the fridge. Making a smoothie is a quick, easy, and healthy option to utilize fruits or veggies on the verge of expiring!
Proper storage is key to maximizing the shelf life of food. Key considerations are proper temperature and proper containers or packaging.
While this is not an exhaustive list of options, I hope you find these tips helpful to reduce food waste in your kitchen and save some money!
References:
Bandoim, L. (2020, January 26). The shocking amount of food U.S. households waste every year. Retrieved February 21, 2021 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanabandoim/2020/01/26/the-shocking-amount-of-food-us-households-waste-every-year/?sh=1ecf5aff7dc8
