1. Smart way to Shop
Most people tend to buy more food than they need.
Though buying in lots may be convenient, research has shown that this shopping method leads to more food waste.
To avoid buying more food than you need, make frequent trips to the grocery store every few days than doing a bulk shopping trip once a week.
Make a point to use up all the food you purchased during the last trip to the market before buying more groceries.
If, try making a list of items that you need to buy and stick to that list. This will help you reduce impulse buying and reduce food waste as well
2. Store Food wisely
Improper storage leads to a massive amount of food waste.
According to the Natural Resource Defense Council, about two-thirds of household waste in the UK is due to food spoiling
Many people are unsure how to store fruits and vegetables, which can lead to premature ripening and, eventually, rotten produce.
For instance, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers and onions should never be refrigerated. These items should be kept at room temperature.
Separating foods that creact more ethylene gas from those that don’t is another great way to reduce food spoiling. Ethylene promotes ripening in foods and could lead to spoilage.
Avocados
Bananas
Tomatoes
Cantaloupes
Pears
Green onions
Keep these foods away from ethylene-sensitive produce like potatoes, apples, leafy greens, berries and peppers to avoid premature spoilage.
3. Way to Preservation
While you might think pickling are new fads, food preservation techniques like these have been used for thousands of years.
Pickling, a type of preservation method using brine or vinegar, may have been used as far back as 2400 BC.
Pickling, drying, canning, fermenting, freezing and curing are all methods you can use to make food last longer, thus reducing waste.
Not only will these methods shrink your carbon footprint, they will save you money as well. What’s more, most preservation techniques are simple and can be fun.
4. Don’t Be a Perfection
Did you know that rummaging through a bin of apples until you find the most perfect-looking one contributes to food waste?
Though identical in taste and nutrition, so-called “ugly” fruits and vegetables get passed up for produce that is more pleasing to the eye.
The consumer demand for flawless fruits and vegetables has led major grocery chains to buy only picture-perfect produce from farmers. This leads to tons of perfectly good food going to waste.
It’s such a big issue that major grocery chains like Walmart and Whole Foods have started offering “ugly” fruits and vegetables at a discount in an attempt to reduce waste.
Do your part by choosing slightly imperfect produce at the grocery store, or better yet, directly from the farmer.
5.Fridge Clutter-Free
While having a well-stocked fridge can be a good thing, an overly filled fridge can be bad when it comes to food waste.
Help avoid food spoiling by keeping your fridge organized so you can clearly see foods and know when they were purchased.
A good way to stock your fridge is by using the FIFO method, which stands for “first in, first out.”
6. Save Leftovers
Although many people save excess food from large meals, it is often forgotten in the fridge, then tossed when it goes bad.
Storing leftovers in a clear glass container, rather than in an opaque container, helps ensure you don’t forget the food.
If you happen to cook a lot and you regularly have leftovers, designate a day to use up any that have accumulated in the fridge. It’s a great way to avoid throwing away food.
What’s more, it saves you time and money.
7. Eat the Skin
People remove the skins of fruits, veggies and chicken when preparing meals.
This is a shame, because so many nutrients are located in the outer layer of produce and in poultry skin. For example, apple skins contain a large amount of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
on researchers have identified a group of compounds present in apple peels called triterpenoids. They act as potent antioxidants in the body and may have cancer-fighting abilities.
Chicken skin is packed with nutrients as well, including vitamin A, B vitamins, protein and healthy fats.
What’s more, chicken skin is an amazing source of the antioxidant selenium, which helps combat inflammation in the body .
These benefits are not limited to chicken and apple skin. The outer layers of potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, mangoes, kiwis and eggplants are also edible and nutritious.
Not only is eating the skin delicious, it’s economical and reduces your food waste impact.
8.Taste the Yolk
Although most people are moving away from the once-popular low-fat dieting trend, many still avoid egg yolks, opting for egg-white omelets and scrambled egg whites instead.
Avoiding egg yolks mostly stems from the fear that they increase cholesterol levels. Many people assume that eating foods high in cholesterol, like eggs, has a major impact on cholesterol levels.
In studies have shown that in most people, dietary cholesterol only has a small effect on cholesterol levels.
Your liver actually makes the majority of the cholesterol you need and your body closely regulates levels in the blood. When you eat foods that contain a high amount of cholesterol, your liver simply compensates by producing less.
more, egg yolks are packed with nutrients, including protein, vitamin A, iron, selenium and B vitamins.
If you simply don’t like the taste or texture of egg yolks, you can add them to other recipes to mask the flavor. You can even use yolks as an ultra-moisturizing hair mask.
9. A Seed Saver
While carving pumpkins can be fun for the whole family, there are ways to reduce the waste that comes along with this activity.
Aside from using the tasty flesh of your pumpkins in recipes and baking, a great way to cut waste is to save the seeds. In fact, pumpkin seeds are tasty and packed with nutrients.
They are very high in magnesium, a mineral that is important for heart and blood health and helps control blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
To save pumpkin seeds, simply wash and dry the seeds, then toss them with a little olive oil and salt and toast them in the oven.
Acorn and butternut squash seeds can be prepared in the same way.
10. Blend It Up
Blending up a nutrient-packed smooth can be a delicious way to reduce food waste.
While the stems, ends and peels of produce may not be appetizing in their whole form, adding them to a smoothie is a way to reap their many benefits.
The stems of greens like kale and chard are packed with fiber and nutrients, making them a great addition to smoothies. The tops of beets, strawberries and carrots also make great add-ins.
Other items that would otherwise be discarded can also be thrown into a nutritious blend, including fruit and vegetable peels, wilted herbs, overripe bananas and chopped broccoli stalks.
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