Zero Food Waste

Would we throw out five, ten, fifteen dollars of cash a week?  No, certainly not and yet so many of us throw out the equivalent in food! 

For example:

The leftovers put in the fridge which no one ate.

.

The fruit which has gone rotten or inedible in the fruit bowl.

The last few rashers of bacon or ham which were never used up and finally went bad in the fridge.

The food in the freezer which had been stored too long  because it was “lost” and had to be discarded.

The fresh broccoli and cabbage which wilted so badly before they were used that they were simply thrown out.

The cheese crackers which went soft and stale in the pantry because someone never put them away in an airtight container.

If you have hens or pigs or a bird table where this food is still eagerly consumed,  or if you can at least add most of it to the compost heap, all is not lost but still premium ham and cheese crackers are not the cheapest way to feed chooks!

If you’re on a tight budget or trying to pay back debt or save,  throwing out even a few dollars worth of good food a week can become frustrating.   Over weeks those few dollars can quickly add up.

Here are some of my suggestions on how to achieve zero or minimal food waste.

Make A Meal Plan

This ensures you do not overstock on perishable items that cannot be preserved because for one you can use any perishable foods first.  Knowing specifically why you want perishable items can also dictate exactly how many you buy.  For example, I always used to buy nine or ten bananas thinking they would be eaten fresh but usually ended up using less than half that.  These days I usually buy just three or four bananas at a time, unless they are cheap that week (in which case I might buy some more to make a banana cake or muffins).

Taking the "haphazard" out of what you eat and making your needs as specific as possible helps you to achieve zero food waste and also save money at the supermarket.

Buy Smaller Rather Than Large Amounts of Perishables

I found I used to frequently overestimate how much of a perishable item I would need.  I tended to also buy the larger, rather than the smaller size.  Usually there seems to be good reasons for doing this - the larger size works out to be cheaper overall or you're afraid you might run out or not have enough,  especially if you're planning a meal for visitors or special occasions.   

Very often I found though I never used the whole larger tub of sour cream or cream cheese or the large bottle of fresh cream.  Often  half or more would languish in the fridge, end up forgotten and finally be discarded.   These days I tend to buy smaller amounts and think if there is not quite enough, I can substitute something else, for example using ice cream if there is not quite enough cream.  Mostly however, there's always just enough - and none of the wastage that so often happened with a larger size.

Freeze Perishable Items If Necessary

If perishable items can be successfully frozen that is always a good solution.  I buy 2 litre containers of milk but since many times I cannot get through a whole 2 litres fresh without it going sour, I divide it into1 litre containers, freeze them and take out 1 litre at a time.  If you need a larger amount for a recipe or visitors it is always easy enough to take out two containers. 

Sometimes freezing part of the perishable items you have just bought is a good strategy.  I usually buy several large containers of milk and freeze most of it as it also saves trips back to the store, thus cutting down fuel costs and also the temptation to spend more money whilst in the store.

Consider The Shelf Life of Fresh Fruit And Vegetables

If you're buying fresh fruit or vegetables it pays to consider their natural shelf life.  This is particularly so if you have limited storage or a hectic or chaotic schedule which means they may be unused longer than you intend.  For example, apples and oranges will keep for weeks, even months if stored right, whereas peaches and apricots can deteriorate very quickly.  

Vegetables like potatoes, pumpkins, brown onions, parsnips and carrots can generally be stored for months, whereas lettuces, cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli can wilt in a short time.  Giving priority to fruit and vegetables which have a long shelf life or can be frozen if the need arises helps to reduce or eliminate food waste.

When Buying Check The Expiry Date

Be careful not to buy a food item which is already expired or close to expiry, unless it is still edible and offered at a good discount.  Generally speaking, buy the item with the longest expiry date,

Use Up Leftovers

This is an opportunity to be creative and thrifty. If you have some cold, cooked rice left over,  you might also find in your fridge a few last rashers of bacon, an egg or two and some vegetables meaning you can make some tasty fried rice.  If there's a quantity of cold cooked pasta you can make a pasta salad by adding some vegetables, tuna and dressing or herbs and cheese.   With a few additions cold, leftover mashed potatoes can be made into tasty rissoles or potato cakes.   If you have leftover noodles mix them with an egg or two and a small can of salmon to make tasty fritters.  The possibilities are endless!

 

Always Have Some Good Basic Food Items And Staples On Hand
There are some basic food items in my kitchen I hate to be without.  If I have these I am virtually certain I can make a meal or bake something with other odds and ends that might be in the fridge or need using up.  My list of basics I nearly always have on hand includes lemons, apples, onions, garlic, carrots, cheese, eggs, frozen peas, bacon and instant noodles as well as the staples such as flour, olive oil,  butter,  baking powder, mustard powder, curry powder, pearl barley, rice and dry pasta.  

Amongst my store of canned foods I always have tuna, salmon, smoked fish fillets, tomatoes, baked beans, spaghetti, creamed corn, peaches, pears and apricots.  Most of these items are relatively inexpensive to buy, especially if they are on special, but can be used as a basis for many tasty and nutritious meals, including those which incorporate leftovers in large or small amounts.

If In Doubt, Preserve It, Even Small Quantities
Often foods items are on the borderline, for example those last few slices of bacon in the fridge or the bowl of leftover casserole no one has eaten or the fresh ripe plums which are languishing.  It's better to freeze them if they are suitable to freeze and thaw them again when they will definitely be used than waste them.   

There are also other options which might be used.  I never used to make jam with less than 3 kilograms of fruit but these days if I have just 1 kg of fruit like plums or oranges and lemons going spare I will make them into jam or marmalade.  Instead of being worried about the surplus, ripe fruit going to waste, now I have four or five jars of lovely plum jam or marmalade for relatively little effort at a fraction of what it costs to buy jam in the supermarket - and no wastage! 

Cook Less. 
Sometimes it is better to just cook less of some things or only just enough.   If I make a meal and have enough leftovers to freeze a meal or two there might still be too many mashed potatoes left.  Of course you can do all sorts of things with leftover mashed potatoes but I know that realistically I may not have time to use them in a creative way before they are past their best.   

Likewise, sometimes it's easy to have quite a lot of leftover carrots or broccoli or other vegetables at the end of a meal and you may not have time to make soup or quickly use them up in other ways.  Sometimes cooking minimal amounts is preferable.  If anyone still feels a bit hungry it's easy to add some more simple fare like bread and buns or fresh fruit to the table. 

Make Frozen Meals From Leftovers 
Sometimes the converse is true.  Make a larger quantity or add a little extra, especially if you have food you wish to use up, and freeze the leftovers as meals.  These are always handy if you are unable to cook one night or wish to give away some frozen meals to someone who might need or appreciate them. 

Have Plenty Of Suitable Containers On Hand
One of my biggest bugbears had always been a lack of suitable containers for freezing food, especially meals.  Obviously reusing plastic ice-cream containers, large yoghurt pottles, margarine tubs and so on is helpful and appropriate for many items but it's easy to soon run out of these or they may not always be suitable    These days, for meals especially, I find the plastic containers often used for Chinese takeaway meals are perfect.  They have lids and you can buy different sizes.  I've used 500 ml, 750 ml and 1 litre.  

I buy the kind which are freezer and microwave safe.  I buy them fairly cheaply in lots of one hundred and I've found the ones I use are quite tough, tough enough that I have used them several times over and they are still perfectly fine.  They're also great to stack in fridges or freezers.  They can be bought online or your local Chinese takeaway  business may be happy to sell you a quantity. Buy yourself a supply and you will wonder how you ever did without them!
 

Likewise,  in the pantry,  having a good supply of suitable, air-tight containers for all foodstuffs is vital to prevent spoilage and wastage.

Labels

 Oh dear but how many times in the past did I wonder what this was, especially with items in the freezer!   I bought myself a good supply of suitable labels and now I label everything with the date beside it.   Traditionally of course this has always been done with jams, chutneys, bottled fruit, tomato sauce and so on, but now I do it to almost everything.  Nothing goes in the freezer without a label clearly stating what it is and when it was put in the freezer.  

 Likewise in the pantry everything is clearly labelled and if necessary dated. This can prevent those frustrating occurrences when you find an unlabelled container in the pantry and you're not absolutely sure whether it is baking powder or cornflour or baking soda for instance and it's important that you definitely know! If it is food items such as large bags of flour or sugar I will write the date of purchase on the outside of the bag so I can make doubly sure the oldest items get used first.  Life is so much easier with plenty of good containers and labels.  I keep a supply handy to the freezers, the pantry and the food stores along with a few good pens to make it even easier.

When Cooking Check The Fridge And Pantry

If you are making soup, casserole, risotto or something along those lines check the fridge and pantry to see if there is anything in there which could be used up.  Sometimes the last few slices of salami or ham or bacon, or leftover vegetables, or a last handful of pasta or rice or anything else along those lines is suitable to add to whatever you are cooking.

Smoothie It

Smoothies are a great way to use up fresh fruit in a hurry.

 Beggars Can't Be Choosers

 When I was a child and complained that what we were having to eat wasn't altogether to my liking my mother would always tell me, "beggars can't be choosers".   It isn't necessary to always like what you're eating.  

Perhaps you or your nearest and dearest would rather not have the leftovers or really are getting tired of having to eat so much of that giant surplus of beans you have that week or want steak instead of sausages, but if the budget doesn't run to it and the food presented is filling and nutritious, eat that food gratefully and remember there are many poor, deprived souls in this world who would gladly take your place at the table.

Learn To Cook Proficiently

If you don't know how to cook or are less proficient than you would prefer,  learn more so that you don't waste so many ingredients.   I remember as a child my mother sometimes despairing when I was learning to bake by myself and it didn't turn out, because we couldn't afford to "waste all those ingredients".  

When I was at high school our cooking teacher similarly impressed upon us all to do our utmost not to waste any good food.   I well remember her holding up a quarter of a cabbage and some carrots someone had thrown into the scrap bucket and admonishing the class for not treating good food with the respect it deserved.  Those lessons have stayed with me.  I am  glad they taught me to value the ingredients, even if we sometimes have plenty.   Improving your skills will invariably help reduce waste.

Learn How To Preserve Food

Learning how to preserve food is also a valuable skill. Bottling (or canning as it is called in some countries), drying, pickling, root-cellaring and so on will save food and money.   Ask someone who already knows how to show you, buy some good books on the topic or borrow them from the library, take some classes, peruse websites and forums where experienced people are willing to share their knowledge.  These are some of the ways you can learn to preserve valuable food.

Gently Does It In The Microwave

If you use a microwave it's better to under-do food and do it a little more than over-do it and turn it into something which resembles leather,  yet so many times I have watched family and friends "nuke" food into oblivion!  Underestimating rather than overestimating the time food needs to be cooked or heated in the microwave can save food and frustration. 

Reconsider "Best Before" Dates

Often expiry dates are guidelines as to when the food can reasonably be expected to still be of high quality, but after those dates it can still be perfectly safe to eat.  I tend to assess the food itself more than the expiry date and most often it is still perfectly fine.  That said, if I'm in even a little doubt about it's safety, I will discard it.  As always, apply common sense.

   

Delay The Harvest And Keep It Growing

Often it is preferable to keep things alive on the plant rather than harvesting them.  For example there may be a lot of beans on the vines but picking several buckets of them at once is problematic unless you are really prepared to deal with them.  

Sometimes an abundance of produce gets set aside and subsequently wasted in a fairly short time.   Unless you're ready to eat it or deal with it right away it often pays to keep produce like lettuces, beans, silver beet and broccoli growing and pick it fresh, rather than pick bigger quantities if it might end up going to waste. Use it fresh or don't harvest it until you are ready for it.

Forage.

Is there any food in your area free for the taking, which would otherwise go to waste?  These could be items such as mushrooms, wild blackberries or elderberries, water cress and so on.  If you know it is safe and that no one will object, harvesting some of it seems a good thing to do, especially if you also share some with others who might need it.

Look For Opportunities To Save Food Going To Waste Elsewhere

Perhaps you have elderly or unwell neighbours with fruit and nut trees or berries who are unable to harvest the produce.  You could offer to collect some of the fruit and nuts if you can have a portion.  Most times people are happy to give away what they can't harvest themselves.  If they are unable to pick their raspberries you could offer to pick them, make jam and share the jam with them.  

Are there empty houses nearby where someone might have left vegetables or herbs growing or fruit or nut trees or grapevines are producing?  Is there someone you can ask, possibly a landlord for example, if you can take some of it for yourself or to give to a food bank?  

Most times people are more than willing to give away produce that they cannot use themselves so it isn't wasted.  Giving them something back from the free bounty is always a good thing to do - be it jars of jam or chutney or some yummy cakes.  

 Share 

 It's always rewarding to share and give food away, especially if others might really need it.  Spare meals or suitable food can be given to elderly, sick or disabled people in your area or someone who just needs a hand.  Food banks usually welcome donations.  Surplus produce can be given to neighbours, friends, relatives and others.                                                                    

Pets, Livestock and Wildlife

If items are suitable you could feed them to any pets or livestock you are responsible for.  In the wintery cold in particular it's rewarding to make a bird table and share some food with our feathered friends.  If there are other wild animals in your location consider them as well.   Animals are often seeking water.  Leaving a suitable dish of water for them in your yard is a good way to help the creatures we share this world with as well.

Compost
Finally there is always the compost bins.  Compost suitable food scraps so they may return their goodness to the earth and thus the cycle of life goes on again. 

If you made it through this article you deserve a piece of cake!