Sustainable Living
Here's some ideas:
- Fridges tend to hide a lot of food - it gets pushed to the back and forgotten until such time that the fridge
is cleaned or an awful smell starts emanating from it. Check your fridge weekly and bring foods that will expire soon to the front (in retail this is called stock rotation) to encourage family members to eat it, or use as
ingredients in the next meal you cook.
- Likewise, do the same in your food cupboards regularly - we cleaned out our pantry prior to moving and
the amount of food we threw out was shocking.
- While buying in bulk can save you money, it can cost you more if you purchase items in large quantities
with a short use-by date or that lose favor with your family. Only bulk purchase items you know will be consumed before the food spoils.
- Discourage "dreg ignorance". In many cupboards and fridges, it's not unusual to find packets of chips with
just a handful left, or just a swallow of orange juice left in the container. It usually sits there until it's thrown
out. Implement a strict "No Dregs Left Behind!" policy for your home.
- Supermarkets are designed with one thing in mind - to get you buying more that what you originally came
in for. Resist impulse buying as the extras you purchase will only be tacked onto the list of what you need
rather than replacing an item, so the risk is something will be wasted as a result.
- Don't shop from memory. I used to have a great memory when it came to shopping, but as the years roll
by I find that no matter how hard I try, I cannot remember all the things I need to buy. This results in me
buying too much of one thing and not enough of another - and waste sometimes occurs.
- Consider planning meals well in advance. This way you can ensure you have the ingredients you need on
hand and can reduce superfluous spending and waste.
- Improper storage generates massive amounts of food waste. Leaving packets open, refrigerating stuff
that doesn't require it and vice versa rapidly speeds up food spoilage. Ensure you have the right tools for
the job such as airtight containers etc. It's worth spending a bit of money on proper storage containers as
cheap ones simply won't last the distance, adding more waste to food related issues in your home.
- Portion control. No doubt there's particular meals you prepare that seem to generate more waste than
others. That's fine if the leftovers will be eaten the next day, but if not, then you really need to look at portion control by slowly reducing the amount you cook of whatever it is with the help of kitchen scales until
you hit a sweet spot where bellies aren't left grumbling, nor stuffed to capacity.
- Get creative - use the Internet. Not so long ago, we were pretty much confined to the range of cooking
experiments we could try by our home cookbook library. The Internet has changed that and whatever it is
you have too much of in your cupboards that's threatening to be tossed out, I'm sure you could find a squillion recipes for online!
- One important point; particularly in a society where obesity is hitting epidemic proportions - overeating is
waste. If you eat more than your body needs, you'll either gain weight or have to burn it off somehow; perhaps through non-productive exercise which is a little like idling your car engine just for the heck of it.
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