Reducing Food Waste at Home

It might go without saying that if food is stored correctly, it lasts longer. But it’s not always obvious what the best option is.

Today is World Environment Day, and what better way to help out then by providing our lovely friends with some great tips and links?

Knowing the right way to store food is not just good for your pocket. But using closer to all the food you buy also helps the environment because it reduces waste.

We’ve got food storage tips, poems to help you remember and other suggestions to reduce food waste.

 

Food storage tips

Did you know that it’s a bad idea to put bread in the fridge?

Bread stays fresh the longest in a cool, dark and dry place, like a bread bin or pantry cupboard. Otherwise, there’s always the option to freeze it and have it toasted at a later date!

Fruit and veg, for the most part, should also go in the fridge.

Fruit can last as long as 2 weeks longer in the fridge, and its packaging is designed to keep it fresh longer. Put it in the bag and in the fridge until you want to eat it! (Exceptions are bananas, pineapples, potatoes and onions.)

These super useful tips and more can be found at Love Food Hate Waste. They also have an awesome section that can be filtered down to a specific food you might have trouble with. Such as this tip by Wendy Puddy:

“I always wrap celery in kitchen foil and pop it in the fridge. It will keep for weeks.”

Good to know, since you can usually only buy a huge bunch!

Or this creative one by Lavinia Sinclair to for all that leftover birthday cake:

“Use leftover iced cake to make truffles.

Put cake in a food processor. Add cocoa powder, flavouring (alcohol or essence) and roll into balls and chill. Jam can be added to make them moister if needed.”

 

Poems to help remember

Love Food Hate Waste has also posted some handy little poems that help remind us what to do. Here are a couple:

Bread

Don’t get in a spin
it really is no teaser
clip half your bag in a bread bin
and the other half in the freezer.

Carrots and Apples

Carrots and apples
can happily chillax
at the bottom of the fridge
in their packs.

 

Other points to help reduce waste

Plan meals

Avoid shopping without a list or buying more food than you need.

Understand expiry dates

The Australian Food Standards describe a ‘best-before‘ date as ‘the last date you can expect the food to retain all of its quality attributes’, which means a food that has passed this date may be perfectly fine to eat, but could have somewhat less quality. Foods with a shelf life less than 2 years must have one of these.

A ‘use-by‘ date, on the other hand, is the last date the food can be eaten safely.

Ever wondered about the other marks you see, such as ‘baked on’ dates? You can read more about them on this Queensland Government factsheet.

Use your freezer

Remember that frozen food remains safe indefinitely. Try freezing leftover take-away food if you know you won’t feel like eating it again the next day.

Ask for a smaller serving

Some restaurants will give a smaller portion for a smaller price. If you don’t ask, you won’t know!

Thanks to Think. Eat. Save for these awesome suggestions, and many others. I’ve certainly learnt a lot – I hope some of these tips will help you, too!

(image source)

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