food storage

10 Common Ways the Average Family Wastes Food

June 25, 2013 By Danielle Warchol 6 Comments

One of the best ways to save money is to reduce the amount of waste within your family. If you are wasting things that still could be used, it’s the same as throwing away money. One area where most families end up wasting far to much is with their food. According to the New York Times, approximately one-third of all the food produced globally is wasted. You probably throw away more than your fair share of food and money along with it, but there are ways to prevent it. Many of us are guilty of buying too much food which we inevitably end up tossing into the garbage as soon as it starts to go bad. Here are some of the most common forms of food waste.

Buying Too Much

One easy way to combat this problem is to only buy what you need. If you know you won’t eat an entire bag of apples, buy a couple instead. If you buy an entire bag of spinach for salad, plan to eat that salad until it’s done instead of throwing it in the trash.

Throwing Out Items Close to Their “Use By” Date

Many food items have either a “use by” or “sell by” date stamped somewhere. A lot of people assume that if the item isn’t used by that exact date, then it needs to be thrown out. The truth is that many items can still be used after the date according to the FDA. The best way to test this is by actually opening up the item (if you intend to use it, that is) and seeing whether it’s discolored or whether it has a weird smell.

Portion Sizes

Have you ever had dinner at a friend’s house and been unable to finish everything on your plate? If so, it’s likely that your friend ended up throwing the leftover food from your plate away since they probably didn’t want to eat from your plate. Many people end up serving large portions when they dish out meals. People are more likely to eat a smaller portion that has been placed before them and then go back for smaller second portions if they’re still hungry. More often than not, large portions mean that people won’t finish the entire plate and the remainder will be thrown away.

Leftovers

Sometimes we’re just not in the mood to eat leftovers. You might have eaten the same dish for an entire week and just want something different. Except, you pass on the leftovers one day and then the next and before you know it, that plate has been pushed to the back of the fridge and it’s started to grow mold. Leftovers are meant to be reheated and eaten. The very purpose of them is to save your food for later but so many people tend to end up throwing away leftovers instead.

Dining Out

While there are a lot of restaurants that give small portions, most of them give large enough portions that you might have something leftover on your plate after you’re finished eating. You can probably recall plenty of times where you’ve gone out to eat and seen people pay for their meal even though half the plate was still full of food. If you ever have leftover food, ask to have it wrapped up to take back home with you. This will prevent you from wasting that food – unless, of course, the food was absolutely terrible.

Storing Food

Sometimes food goes to waste because it’s not stored properly. Garlic or tomatoes will spoil quicker if they’re stored in the refrigerator while apples will grow soft and mushy if they’re left out of a cool space. Knowing the best way to store your food will help you to keep it longer.

Not Using Overripe Produce

Have you ever thrown out a banana just because the peel turned black? Or maybe you had some damaged fruits or vegetables and decided to chuck them into the trash. A lot of overripe produce can be used in various ways such as stews, sauces, smoothies, or desserts. While you won’t be able to use all your overripe produce, there are usually alternatives to throwing it out. Those overripe bananas could turn into delicious banana bread, for instance.

Freezing Food

We already covered the issue of wasting leftovers, but a lot of people tend to forget that if you make a dish that’s too big for you to eat by yourself you can freeze the food instead of throwing it out. You might also be able to freeze certain types of fresh produce if you accidentally bought too many items.

Not Sharing Dishes

Have you ever gone out to eat with a friend, ordered separate entrees, and then realized that you could have split a dish? You might not be able to share a dish with everyone you dine out with, but if the occasion arises you should take advantage of it. Better to share one dish and eat everything than to buy two separate dishes and waste half of each.

Buying Food When You Don’t Need To

Sure, everyone has those days where they want to eat something other than what they have in their cupboards or refrigerator. But if you’re trying to prevent food waste it’s probably a good idea to eat all perishable items before you go out and buy new food items.

(Photo courtesy of jbloom)

11 Ways to Keep Fresh Produce Fresh Longer

February 18, 2013 By Jennifer Derrick 3 Comments

One area that most people try to save money is on food. Many people trying to eat healthy on a budget bemoan the fact that fresh produce doesn’t stay fresh for long. Too much of it goes to waste because it spoils too quickly. However, if you practice smart storage and shopping, you can extend the life of your produce and possibly save yourself a little money in the process. Here are some tips:

Buy some items slightly under-ripe

I’m a big banana lover. I’ve learned, though, that I do best when I buy bananas that are still slightly on the green side. This is especially true if I have one left and won’t start eating the new batch for a couple of days. The slight greenness will ripen by the time I’m ready to eat them, whereas if I buy them at their peak they’ll spoil too quickly. This holds true for many fruits that will continue to ripen after you bring them home. Grapes, tomatoes, and many berries will continue to ripen so buy them a little under-ripe if you’re not ready to use them immediately.

Buy from a farmer’s market

Produce at the grocery store was likely picked weeks ago and is nearing its end by the time it gets to the store. Farmer’s market produce, on the other hand, was likely picked within the last couple of days, meaning it has more freshness left in it.

Skip the damaged items

Unless you can eat or freeze them right away, skip the damaged items. Bruises and dings accelerate the decay process. Many fruits and veggies rely on their skin to keep air and bacteria at bay. If the skin is broken or bruised, it can’t do its job and the produce withers faster.

Avoid heat and sunlight

If you’re leaving produce out on the table or counter for easy reach, make sure it’s not in direct sunlight or near a heat source such as the stove. Too much heat and light accelerates the ripening and decay process.

Use the produce drawer in the fridge

The produce drawer controls humidity and moisture, which are detrimental to many fruits and vegetables.

Don’t wash until ready to eat

Moisture and humidity accelerate spoilage and invite mold. If you do wash prior to eating, make sure everything is completely dry before bagging it or putting it into storage containers.

Don’t store fruits and veggies together

Many fruits produce a gas called ethylene which can harm other fruits and vegetables. Don’t keep everything in one part of the fridge or next to each other on the counter.

Freeze some

If you end up with too much, many fruits and veggies can be frozen to extend their life. Berries are great for this. You can even freeze bananas (the skin will turn black, but the fruit will be fine).

Pick out the “bad apples”

If you notice some apples in the bag starting to go bad, or some grapes in the bunch starting to go soft and wrinkly, throw them away before they can harm the rest of the batch. Decay and mold will spread if you leave the bad in with the good. Anytime you see something starting to rot, be it fruit or a bad lettuce leaf, get it away from the others. Yes, it means some waste, but it’s better to lose a little than to lose the whole batch.

Use the right containers

Many greens should be stored in airtight but roomy bags. Many fruits should be stored in perforated plastic bags or kept in mesh bags. If you want to use storage containers rather than your crisper drawer, get those that are designed for produce storage. They control humidity much like the crisper drawer.

Emulate the grocery store

Look around the grocery store and notice how they store their produce. Things that are kept refrigerated at the store should be refrigerated at home, while things that are at room temperature should be stored that way at home. (Generally speaking. Many stores don’t refrigerate apples or berries, for example, but they can do just fine in the fridge.)

Regardless of how you store your produce, the most effective way to stop wasting money on produce gone bad is simply to buy it in smaller quantities. Don’t buy more than you know you can eat in a few days. Yes, it means more trips to the store, but that costs less than wasting hundreds of dollars worth of food every year.

(Photo courtesy of Jamie in Bytown)

Simple Ways To Reduce Food Waste

August 17, 2010 By David G. Mitchell 5 Comments

In even the most organized of kitchens, there will be waste. Spills, failed recipes and other mishaps will add to food costs. It cannot be helped because accidents do happen. At the same time, a lot of waste can be avoided and a lot of unnecessary costs do not have to be suffered. It just takes a bit of planning and organization and a consistent approach to kitchen management. Here are five things you can do to help limit your kitchen waste.

Know Your Customers: If you are cooking for a family of four and only two of the four actually enjoy a particular food, don’t buy that particular food and assume that all four will eat it. Whether the food is spinach or steak, you cannot hope to change food preferences just by putting the food on the table. Trying to do so will only result in waste.

Organize Your Food Storage Areas: Working in retail when I was *much* younger, I learned to front and face the store shelves every night. When stocking the shelves, older product was moved to the edge of the shelf and new product was placed behind it. You need to do the same in your pantry. Make sure the older products are more accessible than the new products. It is fine to stock up on an item, but if you do not make sure that the oldest product is used first, you will find that the old products just get pushed to the back of the shelf until they are too old to be eaten.

Date Your Frozen Foods and Your Bulk Items Whatever goes into your freezer should be dated and you need to pay attention to the dates. Pick a day of the week to build a meal around the oldest items in your freezer. Make sure that your meats are used before they are mistaken for frozen mammoth emerging from the ice! The same is true with flour, cornmeal and other grains. Keep them dated and use them before they exceed their useful life.

Force Variety on Your Household: There are few things that are essential in a kitchen. Milk, eggs, juice and a few other staples might be needed almost every day but if you have a well stocked kitchen there are usually viable substitutes for most things. Allow your kitchen to run out of a few items before you head to the store. If your kids are looking for orange juice but you know that you have had apple juice and cranberry juice in your pantry for a couple of weeks, bring out the alternate juices and let the kids finish off a bottle or two before you head off to buy more OJ.

Ensure a Good Seal: Potato chips, cereals, meals, flours, sugar and a bunch of other products tend to be packaged in bags that will not seal well, if at all. If you do not seal those products, they will get stale or become bug infested. I buy plastic clothes pins to seal up chip and cereal bags. Flour, sugar and similar products are stored in easy to seal plastic bags. A good seal extends the shelf life and helps to ensure that there are fewer spills to clean up.

How do you avoid waste in the kitchen?