Earlier this week, we talked about the problems of food
waste and how it affects the environment and our budget. Food waste has greatly
increased over the past several decades; I feel it is time to begin to shrink
our food waste. In this post we will
talk about different ways of how we can reduce our waste, save us money and
make a difference in the environment. A few topics we will be covering are:
Ø
Containers
Ø Meal Size Moderation
Ø
Food Planning
Ø
Composting
CONTAINERS!!
Having the right tool for the job is important. If you need
to refrigerate something for another day, make sure to put it in an air tight
container or wrap it well. Once the food is properly cared for, make sure to
mark the date with a piece of tape. Food can lose freshness and taste quite
quickly if it is just simply tossed in the fridge; being exposed to air will
also allow it to go bad faster as well. Investing in a decent set of Tupperware
containers will not only allow you to have a well organized fridge, but it will
also save you money by keeping food fresher, longer. One thing that I can’t
stand eating is a squished sandwich.
When I was younger, I remember just
throwing out lunch food because it was “soggy”. I broke that habit once I got in high
school, but I still hate soggy sandwiches!! Investing in several sandwich
containers will keep your lunch in good shape and will cut down on sandwich bag
use.
Meals In Moderation
Let me be the first to say, my eyes are bigger than my
stomach. Making to large of a meal for the family, or taking too much to eat on
your plate, will inevitably lead to food waste. It is much more cost effective to
take a little less food and then go for seconds, then it is to pile it on high
and simply toss a 1/3 of it away. Only make what you need. A family can eat
only so much leftovers, knowing your family limits or freezing a portion of the
meal will make everyone happy.
Meal Planning
Planning ahead and shopping accordingly will reduce impulse
buying and to reduce "over buying". Finding creative ways to reincarnate leftovers
into another dish is a great way to use up what was purchased and add variety
to the week. If you plan on making a dish that only takes a half a can of
tomato paste on Monday, try and make something that will use the rest up in a
day or two. Another advantage of meal planning is that you don’t waste time
trying to figure out what’s for dinner. I know I have personally spent a good
20 mins trying to think about what I want to make for dinner, just to end up
eating cereal in the end. Regardless of the subject matter, the outcome is
always better with a plan.
Unidentified Frozen Objects
Can you recall a time when you open up the fridge/freezer,
and pull something that puts you at a loss for words? It has happened to most
of us (probably more than once), a good way to fight this unidentifiable food
epidemic is to label and date things. It only takes a second to scribble a few
words on a sticky note or piece of tape. Another great way of preventing food
waste is to have a small inventory list on the side of the fridge/freezer. A food
list is a great way to be reminded of what needs to eaten or what does not
need to be repurchased. Food can get easily pushed to the back of the fridge,
being lost and forgotten about because it is behind a jug of milk. Having a
list will limit the ingredients that are thrown out because they were out of
sight, out of mind.
COMPOSTING!!
Besides using the food that you purchase accordingly, composting
is a great way of limiting our landfill deposits. You can compost most vegetable
and fruit waste, but make sure not to compost meat, bones, fish, fats, or
dairy. When compost is done properly, it doesn’t smell or attract flies. The simplest
way to compost is to have a small container under the sink, next to the trash
can, or in the fridge (we use an air tight coffee container), and just empty it
every other day. It’s a good idea to not let the scraps sit inside for more
than 3 days because it needs to get out in the air to allow nature to do its
things. Compost not only reduces or landfill waste, but it also produces a
healthy yard and garden.
Having a compost pile for yard and food waste can help keep
a yard clean and produce some great soil. I feel that alot of people
under estimate the power of compost for nutrient for plants. Once the materials
decompose, what is left is a rich soil that is well balanced in organic
matter. I could talk all day though about composting though, so I will get
into more details in another post.
If you want to learn more about how you can reduce your food
waste, or more tips on composting (that is if you can’t wait for when I will
cover it again) here are a few site that might feed your appetite for
knowledge:
Until next time, I wish you all the best of luck on our
progress towards a sustainable future.
-Daniel
"There has never been a statue erected to the memory of
someone who let well enough alone."
Dan,
ReplyDeleteI like the point about labeling food and keeping a food inventory list on the side of your fridge. I am definitely going to invest in some new tupperware and a tear away note pad for the side of my fridge. Thanks for the pointers and keep them coming.
Ben
I've always wanted to try composting, after reading your blog I may do so!
ReplyDeleteDan,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting post. I learned a lot about benefits of composting. A few weeks back, my brother and I were talking about how restaurants serve large portions of food to you. It is almost too much to eat in one sitting. When he goes out to eat, he basically orders off the appetizer menu to keep the portion small and eliminate food waste. Thank you for the advice on storing food.
A lot of restaurants have outrageous food portions. If portions were smaller, they could lower the prices some. People might eat everything that was ordered which would mean there would not only be less food waste, but also less waste from the Styrofoam containers we bring home. Don't get me started on super market waste...
ReplyDelete