9 Ways to Cut Down on Food Waste

look after yourself instead of letting the supermarket do it

Read supermarket fliers to work out costs while planning your meals. Look for the best specials and create your menu around them.

Get to know the seasonal variations in fruit and vegetable prices. Eating out of season means your money is going into transport not food.

If the food looks bad (especially fruit, fish and meat) when you get to the supermarket, ask for fresher options and see what alternatives you can get at a good price. Don't settle for perished food. That's not saving.

Bake your own bread. Eliminate the filler ingredients and sweeteners that your body doesn't need, and increase the flavor with sourdough yeasts, whole grains, and additions like a cheese sprinkle, onions or herbs.

Ferment your own yogurt. Costs the same as milk. Drain it overnight for Greek yogurt. Costs a third what you pay for the factory to do it.

Milk and yogurt that have just expired can be used for cooking. Stale bread makes breadcrumbs. Stale cake and cereal make truffles and dessert bars.

Stale vegetables can make soup or stock. So can the bones left over from meat and poultry. That way you have a use for the bits left over when you buy whole chickens instead of just the expensive tenders.

Run your home like your grandmother ran her home, it saves you a lot of money if you're willing to do a little bit of work instead of sitting on your ass watching tv all day.

Rose of CT @ Aug 28, 2009 18:06:56 PM

Reduce/ Stop refrigerator (frig) Use

1.Stop continual making/saving unused ice. Make only as needed.

2.Evaluate radiant sunlight and/or heater vent exposure of frig.

3.From personal experience, lessen/ stop frig use by finding cooler shelves/ basements/ closets to store items such as cabbage, cheese, potatoes, apples, oranges, eggs [Yes,Eggs!--they survive in sheltered nests], breads,syrups, colas, ades, beer...Enjoy experimenting.

4.Get efficient ice chest(s)for storage area (Cf #2) to save froz dinner(s), froz veg's(??), froz meat/seafood for 24-72 hrs.

5.Fill any "cold air" space (frig or chest) w/ unused parkas/ pillows...to reduce electricity for recooling air or to prevent warm air from approaching frozen's

6.Best Scenario: get rid of refrigerator w/ its temptation(s) to "save food-4-later" which is bull-dozed to back + forgotten.

7.2nd best:get smaller, truly efficient freezer + frig for(a) pharmiceuticals, eg insulin;(b)truly important long term seafood/ meat storage (eg tornado season; impress-boss-for promotion dinner: Thanksgiving dinner..); (c)...

10.Buy/ demand frigs w/multi-level doors to preserve "cold air".

8.Display fruit around home (a) for beauty (b) for all-ages-snacking B4 rushing for milk'n Cap'tn Krunch (c)for reducing milk/ ice cream/ sour cream to immediate usage

9.I endorse the idea, "Use it or leave it in store."

10.Choose cabbage, asparagas,etc for nutrition and in order to leave water-intensive, transport-heavy, quick-spoil, zero-nutrition, lettuce on super-market's electric/ trucking bills.

John Ford of CA @ May 23, 2009 09:05:25 AM

about hickam Air fore base food service waste food in hawaii

i complain the peple take to much food and never trouch the food from all time to throw away the food in landfill from miltary

Chun Yu Ng of HI @ Mar 06, 2009 20:22:41 PM

about hickam Air fore base food service waste food in hawaii

i complain the peple take to much food and never trouch the food from all time to throw away the food in landfill from miltary

Chun Yu Ng of HI @ Mar 06, 2009 20:21:50 PM

nice advice

I think the organized fridge may be the most useful way to reduce waste. I would like to add that rather than planning to a list a better way may be to cook what needs using. Be flexible, eat today what will may not be good tomorrow. I have worked as a chef on boats so may find this easier than others. Also shop more frequently and buy less, if you can find the time.

http://reusedchipfat.blogspot.com/

Ben of NY @ Feb 17, 2009 18:28:46 PM

re: onion tip

I can't wait to try that onion tip on the grill!

We freeze alot of food so it does not go to waste. I freeze tomatoes, green peppers, green beans, etc so they don't go to waste. I know they are not going to thaw and be like they were before freezing.

I was told if you freeze tomatoes, their skin comes off easier for cooking aauce.

Anna www.green-talk.com

Anna of @ Oct 16, 2008 22:04:03 PM

stop trying to tell people what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stop telling people how to live and concentrate on those that are starving............ Why does our waste have to do with the people in china............. It's simply not going to help them... There goverment should be concern....... Not the people who waste there food. It's true people do waste alot of things in life. ............... That's there problem.......Why dont you find a way to stop telling people how to live instead focusing on the true matter.. Starving people in china...........Or around the world.. Maura judkas

Lu of NY @ Sep 20, 2008 09:52:46 AM

Cut Down on Food Waste

I now live alone it is hard to make just meals for one. I now make it for two one goes up in the freezer for another time when I done fell like cooking. I then pull out one of those meals I froze made maybe a month or so ago place it in the microwave to thaw or heat it up. I also recycle containers and bags the food comes in. In a bottles and jars to make my own sauces or dressing or maybe to shake my pancake batter mix. If I fine I am not eating something fast enough before it expires most of the time I try to freeze it. By doing it this way I have found I have less going to the landfills. I would love to compost but when you live in an apartment where do you put the compost after it's made or even the food scrape.

vlb of MI @ Sep 17, 2008 02:55:46 AM