We’re all trying to eat a healthy diet, and sometimes this can lead to more food waste since some fresh fruits and veggies have a fairly short “life”. Here are some ways to avoid food waste, which can also really help stretch your food budget.
Play “Clean out the refrigerator!” Growing up, we had at least one night a week when we ate up the little bits of leftovers from the past few days. Now I have also learned about “planned-overs,” and I cook a big meal with the intention of freezing half of it for another time. This also helps my family avoid getting too tired of the meal– by the time you eat the rest of the dish, everyone is excited to eat it again!
Use the “FIFO” method– First in, First Out. Before you even go shopping, take an inventory of your cabinets and your refrigerator and freezer. Make a list and post it inside the cabinet or on the fridge. Then you won’t buy what you already have. When you buy new food, make sure to store it behind the older food, so you always have what needs to be used up first out front. We’ve all let good food go to waste because we didn’t see it in our fridge!
Always make sure your refrigerator is working at 40 degrees F or below. Get a refrigerator thermometer to hang in the door (the warmest part of the fridge) to check the temperature. Your food will stay fresh longer if it’s kept at the correct temp. Foods frozen at 0 degrees or colder will remain safe as long as they are frozen, but the quality does start to deteriorate over time. Check out the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service publication “Safe Home Food Storage” (http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/store/texas_storage.pdf) for storage times for all of your favorite foods.Check dates on product labels. Especially if you live in a small town and shop in a neighborhood grocery store, it’s always helpful to make sure your food isn’t old before you even purchase it! Make sure you know if you’re seeing the “use by” date or the “sell by” date. Often you have a week to still use the product after the “sell by” date- the quality declines but it is still safe to eat.
Compost it! According to Sam Blankenship, former Smith County Master Gardener with AgriLife Extension it is easy! Save and dice your scraps. Choose a sunny bare spot in your garden. Till the scraps in with dried leaves, newspaper or coffee grounds. Check the interior for 160° F temperature with a compost thermometer. Toss it around and water it. When the ingredients are no longer recognizable, you have FREE compost. Happy gardening!
Serve small portions and have your family go back for seconds if they are still hungry instead of serving them big portions first, which might get thrown away. This will help our waistlines too– if you have to make the effort to get seconds you might decide you’re really full enough anyway! We often clean our plates mindlessly and don’t really listen to our bodies.
Share a Meal– what if you are eating out and not able to take leftovers home? See if your dining partner is open to splitting a plate. You can get an extra plate and often still have tons of food. Then if you are still hungry, you might have room to share a dessert!
Don’t shop hungry so you don’t buy unnecessary food just because you’re starving.
