Sunday 21 February 2016

stop wasting food.

I hate waste. I really can't stand throwing stuff out... especially going into landfill. I rescue furniture from the side of the road, donate things to Vinnies, reuse wrapping paper and cardboard, and try not to use disposable things.

But one thing I am really passionate about is food waste.

DID YOU KNOW that the average Australian household will throw out 1 out of every 5 bags of food that they purchase!?


DID YOU KNOW that up to 40% of the average household bin is made up of food?


DID YOU KNOW that over $1000 of food is thrown away in each household annually?


[For more facts and to see the full infographic, visit Food Wise]

Because these facts are ridiculous, expensive, and wasteful, here are 3 tips and tricks I do to ensure as little food is wasted as possible in our household.


1. use the freezer.
- when we buy meat that we're not going to use that day or the next, I freeze it. I always freeze it in amounts that I am going to use e.g. if I buy 1kg of mince I will split it in half or quarters and label it with what it is and how much.
- with leftover meals, I eat them for lunch the next day, but if there's any more, I chuck them in the freezer (labelled) and use it for a dinner when I'm in a rush or can't be bothered cooking.
- I store nuts which I won't use immediately to retain their freshness
- I make my own stock/bone broth and store it in the freezer
- If I make too much rice, I will freeze it and use it to make fried rice another day
- freeze baked goods. I often bake and between me and my husband we don't eat enough in the 2-3 days before they go mouldy, so I bake and freeze straight away (or gift them to a friend)


2. save your scraps.
- we sort our veggies in the fridge by how old they are. We use the oldest ones first so they don't have a chance to go off and be wasted. If they do, we save them to compost.
- I keep most of my veggies scraps (tops and skin of carrots, leaves and base of celery, stalks from herbs, etc) and save them up to make stock/bone broth.
- I collect bones from chicken (or any other meat) and when I have enough I make broth. This creates free broth and reduces waste significantly! And the range of flavours makes it delicious!
- compost. I haven't got a compost yet, but I have done a lot of research into them. I really need to get one because I have been collecting many scraps. You can add so many things to your compost such as tea bags, egg shells and obviously veggie scraps. You can also add shredded paper!


3. shop smart.
- before you shop, look at what you actually need - write a list and stick to it!
- don't shop when you're hungry. you're much more likely to buy more stuff and stuff that you won't use or don't need.
- look for food that's going off in the shops or mightn't be perfect. You will generally get it cheaper and it will save the shop from disposing of it. Old tomatoes are perfect for making your own tomato sauce, ripe bananas are great to freeze and make into smoothies, ice cream or cakes, meat close to it's due by can be frozen and defrosted.

What tips and tricks can you share? I'd love to hear how you reduce food waste or what you're to put into practice. Comment below...


I'm so excited about composting and being able to reduce our household waste significantly. With my dislike of plastic and very little food waste, I'm hoping we will rarely need to take the rubbish out! Stay tuned for a com-post post very soon!




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