Are you a food snob? And no, I don’t mean you have to have the crème de la crème. Roughly 1.3 billion pounds of food are wasted every year (that’s nearly one-third of food produced annually!). Meanwhile, 805 million people suffer from daily hunger. In a society characterized by jam-packed social calendars – dining out means there are plenty of untapped refrigerators. Are you, then, being so picky with what’s on your plate that you could be contributing to these numbers?
Before you start beating yourself up, know that we’re all guilty of wasting perfectly good food. But the simple fact is many of our habits are unconsciously setting us up for wastefulness.
So how do you avoid dumping once-perfectly good food in the compost, or even worse the trash? Try these tips and take our nation’s drive for ‘green-ness’ one step further.
Make a shopping list before you hit the grocery store. Planning out your meals or at least thinking about how many meals you’ll be preparing for yourself can help you avoid stocking up on goods that will eventually go unused.
Invest in some storage. Freezer bags, storage containers, or, if you’re feeling super organized, a vacuum sealer can go a long way when it comes to keeping things fresh and consumable.
Get creative. Feeling as though you’ve got the weekly hodge-podge of misc. stock items but no way to tie them together? Use a crockpot. It’s a simple way to combine lots of ingredients that’s quick, easy, and delicious. Check out my pinterest board Slow Cookin’ for ideas.
Don’t dismiss your leftovers. Reheating isn’t so bad. Opt for a toaster oven or frying pan when possible. The insides of a leftover burrito can easily be taken out of its soggy tortilla and made into a taco salad in less than 5 minutes.
Get generous. Remember…sharing is caring. Invite a friend over and don’t concern yourself with serving something extraordinary. Sharing food is an act of kindness, and at the end of the day, that’s what really matters.
R & R. While rest & recovery are vital components of your wellness, I’m refereeing to recycling and reusing here! Most of us are already on the recycle train. But what about all of the food scrapes that are left on the plate? If Fido doesn’t clean up after meals in your house, consider starting a backyard compost that you can later reuse for gardening. At the very least create a separate stash for your weekly green bin pick up.
