4 Simple Strategies to Save Food, Money and Our Planet!

With over 60% of the food that ends up in landfills originating from us—the consumers—the home kitchen is the first place to tackle the problem of food waste. Anyone of us can be a hero in the kitchen and help our families, our pocket and our planet by following three simple strategies.

Plan Your Menu

Start by looking at what is left in the fridge and pantry, then make a meal plan incorporating what needs to be used up first. If, initially, it seems too difficult to create a complete meal plan, start by planning the dinners only and progress from there. Don’t forget to factor in days you will be eating out or when you will be ordering take away.

Plan Your Purchase

After checking through what you have at home, you can decide what you need to go out and buy. Avoid doubling up on ingredients and resist overbuying. Make a shopping list and stick to it.

Preserve and Store Ingredients Correctly

Once home from grocery shopping, freeze meat, poultry and fish, if you are not going to use them over the next few days. Freezing them in meal portions helps to avoid waste next time you decide to cook, as you won’t need to defrost large amounts, which could potentially lead to food waste. You can also learn how to store different ingredients properly.

Use Your Leftovers!

Often, we forget and leave leftover food/ingredients, which leads to common instances of food spoiling and ingredients being thrown out. We can minimize food waste by checking and arranging the fridge regularly. Complementing this with simple Asian inspired recipes is a great way to alleviate food/ingredient wastage. If each of us made an effort and committed to consistently do the right thing, our concerted efforts would definitely reduce the amount of food waste going in our kitchen bins and landfills.