How to Reduce Food Waste and Save Money on Groceries
Food waste is a big problem for both the planet and your wallet. What can you do to spend less on groceries while saving the planet? Simple changes like mindful meal planning, careful shopping and rethinking leftovers can make a vital difference.
Buy Only What You Need
Smart shopping starts before you leave the house. Never go to the store without a list, and never make that list without checking your cupboards and fridge first. If you plan a week’s worth of meals based around what you already have plus only what you need, you’ll reduce the amount of food you bring home in the first place.
Buy Less Meat
Meat is one of the more expensive items on any grocery list, and cutting it out has a lot of benefits. Switching to a plant-based diet might reduce your risk of heart disease, improve your gut health and lower your risk of some cancers. It’s also a more sustainable and ethical option, and generally cheaper. Consider swapping it for other protein sources, like beans and tofu.
Choose Reduced Price Options
Misshapen veggies or food close to its use-by date often get marked down in the store. Take full advantage of this by choosing the less-than-perfect options and saving them from being tossed out.
Date labeling concerns quality, not safety. Items past their date are still usually safe to eat, unless you can see mold or smell a foul odor.
Buy In Bulk, But Only If You Can Store It
Multibuy deals are attractive and can be cost-effective, but people often buy more than they can consume before the food spoils. Consider whether you can freeze or otherwise safely store these deals. If you can’t, don’t be tempted.
Zero Waste Meal Planning and Cooking
We have all had weeks where we end up throwing away spoiled vegetables we forgot to cook. To avoid this, plan meals to use every part of the produce you buy, where possible. For example:
Use broccoli stems in stir-fries, soups or grate into slaws.
Carrot tops can go into pesto.
Potato peels can be baked into chips.
Herb stems can flavor stocks or sauces.
Other vegetable trimmings can make broth.
Stale bread can become croutons or breadcrumbs.
If you batch cook to save time, plan subsequent meals using the scraps or leftovers from the previous one.
Choose Nourishing Ingredients
Prioritizing healthy ingredients has countless benefits, including for your wallet. Empty calories in snack foods, like chips, can actually leave you feeling hungrier throughout the day. Instead of constantly hitting the vending machine when you feel hungry, create meals that will keep you nourished the whole day. Balanced meals with vegetables, fruits, protein and fiber will help you fight the urge to buy more, thus cutting down on disposable packaging that often comes with fast snacks.
Regrow Vegetables From Scraps
Lettuce, celery, carrots, beets, potatoes, fresh herbs and green onions can all spring back to life. Put the last piece of the vegetable in a glass of water that reaches halfway up it — leave this in sunlight and roots will start to grow.
Learn to Love Leftovers
Last night’s dinner can easily become today’s lunch, snack or even a whole second meal with some new ingredients. For example:
Add cooked beans or lentils to salads or wraps.
Grate leftover potatoes to make hash browns for breakfast.
Fry vegetables into a frittata.
You can include all kinds of leftovers in various quantities in bowls or salads. Lemon juice, herbs or spices can rejuvenate most ingredients for an instant lift and a dash of freshness.
Why Food Waste Matters
When food goes in the bin, the energy used to grow, harvest and transport it is also wasted. Trashed matter ends up in a landfill, emitting methane as it decays. Incredibly, emissions from food waste account for 10% of all greenhouse gases — almost double what is produced in a year by cars across the U.S. and Europe.
The financial impact is also significant. The average family of four could save $2,913 a year by reducing the groceries they throw away.
Small Changes, Big Impact
You can substantially cut your food waste by implementing these small changes and mindful strategies. There will always be some — you can compost that — but every step you take toward a zero-waste kitchen will also help the planet and ease your household budget.
