5 Ways To Cut Down On Your Food Waste

We all want to be more conscientious of what we are throwing away, especially as wasted food can really add up to a lot of wasted money. So I’ve put together some top tips on how you can cut down on your food waste.

Plan Ahead
Write a weekly meal planner and then from this write a shopping list, taking into account what you already have in your fridge, freezer and cupboards. If you know what you need to buy and when you are going to cook it, you’ll only buy in what you need and be less likely to throw food away you didn’t actually have a plan for eating.

Use The Freezer
It’s a common misconception that you must freeze food on the day you buy it. You don’t! You should freeze it before it goes out of date, but if you planned on using it for tonight’s dinner and you go out instead, pop it in the freezer and it’ll be good for another day. It goes without saying to check the item can be frozen and also never re-freeze items that have already been defrosted. Check the packet for freezing and defrosting details and you’ll cut down on your food waste in no time.

Use The Freezer Some More
If you often throw away fruit, vegetables or herbs, why not think about buying the frozen variety and using just as you need them. Frozen fruit is great for smoothies, frozen garlic and onions can easily be cooked straight from the freezer. Everyone keeps frozen peas, why not look into what else you can buy in the supermarket and just use as you need it from the freezer? Often frozen veg cuts down prep time and is a lot more cost effective too.

Store Leftovers In Clear Containers
There’s no reason why you shouldn’t batch cook so you can save yourself time another night. But if you are keeping leftovers, store them in see-through containers, on an eye-level shelf. That way you are more likely to see them when you go into the fridge to look what’s for dinner. How many times have you opened a dark coloured plastic box tucked away in the back of the fridge only to find it was last week’s mouldy leftovers?

Best Before vs Use By
Did you know it’s perfectly acceptable to eat food which is past its best before date? Best before is exactly that, it will be at the best level for eating before this date, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t eat it past this date. Use by dates are very different. You’ll find these on fresh food like meat, yoghurt and other dairy items. You shouldn’t eat food which is past its use by date. But again. Plan ahead and many of these items can be frozen before they pass this date, so you can defrost them at a later date to use up.

What other tips would you add cut down on your food waste? Add yours in the comments below.