Food and Drink, Smarter Living

50 ways to reduce food waste

https://www.pexels.com/photo/top-view-photo-of-food-dessert-1099680/
  1. Plan your meals ahead of time to avoid overbuying.
  2. Shop for groceries with a list and stick to it.
  3. Buy only what you need and will use in the next week.
  4. Learn how to store fruits and vegetables properly to extend their shelf life.
  5. Use a meal delivery service that provides pre-portioned ingredients.
  6. Freeze leftovers for future meals.
  7. Donate unopened, non-perishable items to a food bank.
  8. Make soups and stews to use up leftover vegetables.
  9. Make smoothies with overripe fruit.
  10. Use vegetable scraps to make homemade stock.
  11. Use bread heels and stale bread to make bread crumbs or croutons.
  12. Use vegetable peels and scraps to make vegetable broth.
  13. Turn stale bread into French toast, bread pudding, or stuffing.
  14. Use leftover rice to make fried rice or rice pudding.
  15. Use leftover cooked pasta to make a pasta salad or frittata.
  16. Use leftover cooked meats to make sandwiches or tacos.
  17. Make a meal plan based on what you already have in your pantry and fridge.
  18. Use up fresh herbs before they wilt by making pesto or freezing them in ice cube trays with water or oil.
  19. Make use of your freezer to store extra produce or leftovers.
  20. Cut up and freeze excess fruit to use in smoothies or to make fruit ice cubes.
  21. Use stale chips or crackers as a coating for chicken or fish.
  22. Use wilted lettuce to make a soup or salad dressing.
  23. Make a stir-fry with vegetables that are starting to wilt.
  24. Use stale tortillas to make chips, tostadas, or a tortilla casserole.
  25. Use overripe bananas to make banana bread or muffins.
  26. Use leftover cooked vegetables in a quiche or omelette.
  27. Use wilted herbs to make herb-infused oils or vinegar.
  28. Make a compost bin for food scraps and use the resulting compost to fertilize plants.
  29. Buy foods with a longer shelf life, such as dried beans and grains.
  30. Preserve fruits and vegetables by canning or pickling them.
  31. Use vegetable and fruit scraps to make a homemade face mask or scrub.
  32. Use leftover oatmeal to make oatmeal cookies or muffins.
  33. Use stale cereal to make granola or a cereal bar.
  34. Use sour milk to make pancakes or waffles.
  35. Use up leftover cheese in a quiche or omelette.
  36. Use overripe tomatoes to make a pasta sauce or salsa.
  37. Use up leftover cooked potatoes in a potato salad or mashed potatoes.
  38. Use overripe berries to make a berry sauce for ice cream or pancakes.
  39. Use up extra fresh produce in a green smoothie.
  40. Make a soup or stew with leftover cooked beans.
  41. Use up extra cooked rice or pasta in a soup or stew.
  42. Use leftover cooked fish in a seafood chowder or fish pie.
  43. Use leftover cooked meat in a shepherd’s pie or meat pie.
  44. Use up extra bread in a bread pudding or strata.
  45. Use up extra pasta in a baked pasta dish.
  46. Use up extra canned beans in a bean salad or chili.
  47. Use up extra canned vegetables in a vegetable soup.
  48. Use up extra canned fruit in a fruit salad or compote.
  49. Use up extra canned tuna in a tuna salad or tuna casserole.
  50. Use up extra canned tomatoes in a tomato soup or sauce.