Food Waste And How To Reduce It

570 Million Tonnes

That number above is the estimated amount of food wasted by UK households in 2019 according to UNEP. Now this is of course hard to actually visualise but for every pepper left in that packet that's now in the bin that is one extra piece of packaging, one extra pepper which required transporting, and when this is on a 570 million tonne scale, this adds up. It's no secret that food waste is bad but how can we take small steps to help avoid our own wastage.

Meal Planning

A simple way to reduce our waste is to actually be aware of what we are eating. To go shopping on the weekend with a plan of Tuesday is meatball day, pizza Thursdays and of course steak Friday. These are of course examples but to be aware of what you intend to eat not only leads you to be less likely to impulse purchase too much food but it can also lead to a healthier and more rounded diet. But don't just stop there you can also plan in some leftovers if you know you have to make too much spaghetti on Tuesday, what's wrong with a little reheating for Wednesday lunch time?

Photo credit S'well Unsplash

It may be simple but this can help our bodies, our mind, our wallets as well as our planet. 

Be Creative With Leftovers

Half a lime, 200g of mince meat, a banana, a few small potatoes. May seem a random collection of things but if you can channel your inner ready steady cook or Gordon Ramsay there's certainly a use for these somewhere use the lime to zest up a dish. Can you find something to turn that banana in to a delicious smoothie or can you make some chips or crisps to make those potatoes go the difference. Don't forget the kitchen should be fun so get experimenting and reduce what's finding its way out to the bin!

Photo Credit Becca Tapert Unsplash

Make A Shopping List

This sort of goes hand in hand with option one of meal planning, but this is more to highlight the importance of sticking to the plan. It is far too easy to walk around the store and see "oooo this mango puree is half price, I'd better get that!" but this of course leads to us picking up items to simply sit in our pantry until it is no longer of any use and it winds up in the bin.  But if we can stick to our list then guess what we aren't wasting money or food, and follow the golden rule Do not go shopping hungry! Those 5 words can make a real difference in your mind set at the shops.

Photo Credit Torbjørn Helgesen Unsplash

Checkout the reduced Aisle

Guess what your supermarket is going to do with the things in that aisle if nobody buys them? Yep chuck it in the bin, so why not grab yourself a bargain and stick it in your dish for dinner! This will reduce the supermarkets enormous food waste while adding something a little different to your meal. Or perhaps you could use something from this aisle in a substitute while the food is going near its sell by date usually food remains fresh for much longer!

Feature photo credit Simon Peel Unsplash