Food wastage is a huge problem in America and it’s about time everyone did something about it. The most effective way of curbing food waste is prevention. So here’s what you can do to eliminate food waste while cooking:
- Cook ingredients with a shorter shelf life first
Foods don’t have the same shelf life, so the first thing to do is to cook ingredients likely kale and chard that have a short shelf life. You can then leave hardy ingredients like carrots, potatoes and broccoli for later. The idea is to prioritize by perishability.
- Cut with care
Many people are guilty of wasting food by cutting foods like fruits, vegetable and chicken parts that aren’t uniform. What happens as a result is that they end up not using every edible bit of these foods. It’s a good idea to pay attention to foods that require you to cut them so you can get more edible parts.
- Reuse the remains of the ingredients
Found out you have more ingredients than you need for the meal you’re preparing? Simply put everything in a stock bag and store them in your freezer so you can use them when next you want to make a meal.
- Follow the recipe
If you’re following a recipe, it’s a good idea to read the instructions before you start and carefully measure all the ingredients you’d need before you even begin. Then make sure you pay attention to follow every detail in the recipe while you’re cooking.
- Utilize the freezer
How many times have you bought ingredients only to discover you didn’t need all that quantity? Rather than let them waste, you can pop them into the freezer.
- Turn leftovers into new meals
If you’re not into leftovers, you can think of them as the perfect ingredient for lazy cooking. Just get creative with how can repurpose your leftovers to make new and exciting meals.
In all, always cutting down on food waste might seem impossible but you can get started by following the tips above.