Food Waste

I have been reading a lot of interesting articles and blogs about reducing food waste. One statistic that caught my eye was posted in a Delish.com article. According to the American Journal of Agricultural Economics found the average U.S. household wastes nearly over 30% of its food and for most of us that meals throwing away about $1,800 a year.

While wasting food cuts into our budgets, think of all of the water and landfill resources, and greenhouse gases emitted to produce and transport the food that we are wasting. Yikes. So what can we do?

First off is planning. I talk about meal planning a lot because while it seems tedious it is tremendously helpful in reducing waste, saving money, and in helping us make sure that were are eating the meals and snacks that make our bodies feel good instead of reaching for something quick even if we know it is not nourishing to us.

Secondly, we can educate ourselves. One way to cut down on food waste and to get more diverse nutrients from our food is to learn about food and which parts you can eat and which ones you really want to stay away from. After I started doing some research, I realized that I was missing out on some great-tasting, nutrient-dense foods because I didn’t think they were edible. Carrot top pesto and roasted cauliflower greens are some of my favorites.

I have learned a lot from the book, Cooking with Scraps: Turn Your Peels, Cores, Rinds, and Stems, into Delicious Meals by Lindsay-Jean Hard. Check out this new scrap recipe guide from Ikea.

Another key to reducing food waste is to store foods the proper way. Here are two resources I printed out and taped to the inside of my kitchen cabinets (who else uses the inside of their kitchen cabinets as a bulletin board?). Keep Your Produce Fresh and Guide to Shopping and Storing.

For me reducing waste is an ongoing process. What about you? Where you aware of how much we waste at home? I would love to hear what kind of steps you are taking to decrease your food waste.