10 Easy Ways to Stop Wasting Food
Save money and help save the planet with these thrifty tips.
IDEAS FOR REDUCING FOOD WASTE
- MAKE CHEESE Do you have milk that is slightly sour or is just past the sell by date? Make ricotta! Simply heat milk to 200 degrees F and add lemon juice until it separates (about ¼ cup lemon juice per quart of milk). Strain curds and salt and season. It will keep for 1 week.
- MAKE PICKLES Too many veggies? Make CSA pickles. Simply chop mixed vegetables into a jar, add spices and cover with vinegar brine or even old pickle juice and pop in the fridge for 2 weeks until they are ready to eat!
- PRESERVE IT Do you have bad looking (ugly) fruit? You can simply start a shrub or syrup by sprinkling some sugar and lemon juice over it and then finding a recipe. Or you can freeze them for smoothies.
- CREATIVELY REPURPOSE LEFTOVERS Save leftover rice to turn it into fried rice or sweet breakfast porridge the next day.
- MAKE CANDY After you are done juicing your lemons or oranges, you can make candied citrus peels with them!
- MAKE PESTO If you have greens or herbs that are about to go bad, you can make pesto using basil, cilantro, kale or arugula. You can also make it from carrot greens, beet greens or radish greens rather than tossing them out. Simply blend with olive oil and sea salt, and slather on everything!
- PRIORITIZE AND ORGANIZE Cook according to what is going to go bad first in your refrigerator and think creatively to use up that perishable food.
- COMPOST When all else fails, composting diverts waste from the landfill and makes healthy soil for our planet. You can also feed other animals like chickens, goats and bunnies with produce that would otherwise be composted.
- THROW A PARTY! Invite friends over for dinner if you have too much food to get through.
