I hate wasting money. Who doesn’t? If you could save some money, wouldn’t you? If you think of how much money you waste throwing away food, you’d be surprised. Half of an avocado, $0.60; a half dozen eggs, $0.60; half a carton of Half and Half, $0.75… and that is in Fargo, ND. This doesn’t include fresh produce that can be very expensive in the winter months. Especially now that Ben and I are eating healthier, we need to make sure we are eating all of our food, and throwing away none.
Ben and I have not been horrible at wasting food, but to me, even wasting a potato annoys me. I think that if I would have planned meals better we wouldn’t have had this issue. This week is the end of us wasting food. We have found several ways to prevent this from happening. Mrs. Green from MyZeroWaste.com says that by keeping foods on the top shelf that need to be used first before anything new. This is a great tip I would have never thought about. This may require a little reorganizing of our fridge, but will likely do. Another tip which we will implement is putting a dry erase board on our fridge that will help us see what we have to use up without digging. Then just erase when it’s gone. This challenge for Ben will also allow him to be more creative when it comes to preparing meals.
Another way to prevent this food waste from going into the garbage and also save money is to compost it. Yes, you still waste food, but you make up the money in the nutrient rich soil you make from it. This will give you better results from your organic gardening. In North Dakota you can’t compost outdoors in the winter because the temperature plummets below freezing for about 4 months. We invested in a NatureMill Composter that we put into our garage to keep the compost brewing throughout winter. It runs on approximately $0.50 worth of electricity per month, doesn’t take up much space, made from recycled materials and you can get a batch of compost ready for the garden in 2 weeks instead of 3 months. Did I also mention it’s made in the USA? Everyone should purchase one of these.
Besides saving tons of money, we will also reduce our waste output for the city and reduce the amount of methane gas that is released into the atmosphere. Reducing food waste has a snowball effect on our carbon footprint. We’ll save money, create more meals and help the environment. Also, since we don’t put out the garbage unless the bin is full, many times weeks between, the garbage man won’t idle his engine while unloading our garbage. With the great soil we’ll get from food scraps we’ll have a better garden next year. If you have any other suggestions on how to eliminate food waste, please comment below.
Menu planning helps me. I buy one one of those $1 7 day a week blank fridge calendars. Or you can print out a blank monthly calendar. Look at your personal calendar and plan the menus accordingly. Like if you have something happening one night where you won’t have time to cook, make that a crock pot night. Also allow take out or restaurant nights into the mix if that is something that you do regularly. Then make a shopping list according to your menu plan. You will buy less food and make less trips to the store (saving gas, food, and money).
Also think about left overs. A large crock pot meal can be lunch for that week. You can also freeze some and have it for dinner on another night. Are there other items that taste good reheated? Make a larger amount of them and freeze them for quicker cooking times later on. I will sometimes make a larger amount of a food that I like when cooking dinner. I then can reheat it for lunch the next day.
Thanks for the comment Kristy! I think we are going to get a fridge calendar. In the meantime, we have been using junk mail to write down items that are close to going bad. We usually plan about 4 meals a week and “wing” the rest. I think we really just need to get better about making sure we cook with what we have.
I’d never heard of the nature mill composter – what a great sounding idea! Glad the ‘top shelf’ tip is useful and I wish you well with your week on food waste. I think you will have a great success and put lots of new habits into place.
I’d love a white board on the fridge, but I can’t see it working here. I would LOVE a fridge with a clear glass door – wouldn’t that be great!
I agree with Kristy; a crock pot is a great way to reduce food waste