Food waste is a global problem. It’s estimated that 30-50% of all food produced globally ends up in the trash. That’s 1.5 billion tons annually, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Food waste isn’t just an environmental issue—it’s also a social justice issue. In developing countries, food waste has led to hunger and poverty due to a lack of resources, infrastructure, and government support. Food waste is a global problem, but there are many things you can do to reduce your own household’s food waste. Let’s check what and how.
Having the Correct Tools is Literally Half the Battle
Measuring tools like cups and spoons are essential for everything from baking to cooking meatballs. A scale is especially helpful if you want to keep track of portion sizes or measure out ingredients by weight instead of volume (which can be inaccurate).
When you’re cooking, it’s important to use tools that make measuring food easier. A good kitchen scale is a must-have for any kitchen. It will help you measure ingredients by weight, so you can easily add in the right amount of flour, cheese, or whatever else you’re using.
Some cooking tools can also be used as measuring cups or spoons. For example, a regular spoon works well for measuring out liquids like milk or broth. You can also use measuring cups to measure out dry ingredients like sugar and flour.
You should always use these tools when following recipes from cookbooks or online—even if they don’t tell you to do so! This will help ensure that your food turns out exactly how the recipe intended it to taste.
Store Foods Correctly
When it comes to storing fruits, veggies, and other fresh foods, you want to make sure that they’re protected from air. If the air can get to them, they’ll start to go bad faster than they should—and that means you’ll have less time to use them before they can’t be eaten anymore.
So, make sure to store fruits and vegetables in sealed containers or bags with a paper towel inside of them so that their surface doesn’t touch anything else (like the inside of a refrigerator). The paper towel will absorb any moisture that builds up on the surface of your product over time, which will help keep it fresher longer than if it were sitting on an open surface where moisture could collect around its edges or bottom as well as throughout its interior.
Plan Your Meals
Planning your meals ahead of time is one of the major ways to avoid food waste in your kitchen. It’s easy to underestimate how much food you need or forget that you have ingredients that could be used elsewhere, so it’s important to set aside time to plan out what you’re going to cook for the week and when. You can even make this part of your grocery shopping routine by writing down a list of what you need before you head out!
Make a Shopping List
Writing down a shopping list before you head out for groceries is another great way to reduce food waste in your kitchen. When you come home with more than what was on your list, you’ll have wasted money on unnecessary items and contributed to food waste in landfills all around the world!
Purchase The Right Ingredients At The Right Time
The best way to avoid wasting food is to purchase only what you need. When you buy too much, it’s likely that you will end up with a lot of leftovers or even spoiled food. To avoid this, buy only what you need for the next few days and then replenish your inventory. This will help ensure that you don’t buy too much of an ingredient and end up throwing away what’s left over after using it all up.
Devise a Standard Food Preparation Method
You can reduce food waste by devising a standard food preparation method. The most common mistake people make is preparing too much food at once. For example, you may prepare an entire pan of lasagna and then decide you don’t want it after all. Instead of wasting the whole pan, plan to only make as much as you need for one meal at a time.
You can use the same method for preparing ingredients for all recipes, so you know exactly how much to buy each time you shop. For example, if you want to make pasta with tomato sauce and garlic bread, prepare them, in the same way, each time. That way, you won’t have to guess how much pasta or tomato sauce to buy. This tip also works if you’re trying out new meals: once you get used to it, it’ll become second nature!
Freeze & Preserve Food Properly
Don’t throw away leftovers! Freeze them right away and then use them later in soups, stews, casseroles, or other dishes. You can also preserve fresh herbs by freezing them in olive oil or vinegar, or drying them for long-term storage in airtight containers (make sure they’re completely dry first). It’s also possible to keep strawberries fresh for up to three days if you wash them before storing them in an airtight container or storage bags filled with water and sugar (one part water to two parts sugar).
Make Fewer Trips to the Grocery Store (or Less Often)
The more trips that you make to the grocery store, the more likely it is that you’ll buy things impulsively or end up with extra food in your cart when all is said and done. If possible, try making one big trip each month instead of multiple small ones throughout the week; this will help cut down on impulse buys and keep your refrigerator stocked.
Concluding Thoughts
There are many reasons why people throw away perfectly good food, from over-ordering at restaurants to letting fruits and vegetables wilt before they’re used. But when it comes to food waste, we’re all in this together.
We often think of food waste as something that happens at the grocery store, but it’s actually much more common in our own kitchens. And while you may be tempted to throw out anything that’s past its expiration date, there are many things you can do to prevent food waste in the kitchen.
To help you save money and reduce your environmental footprint, make sure to follow the above-mentioned tips that will help you avoid throwing away food.
