How To Produce Less Food Waste Weekly

After my How To Meal Prep post, I’m loving this ‘how to’ series we’re starting! So let’s keep the kitchen mindfulness going with “How To Produce Less Food Waste Weekly.” I’ll spill all about how I use up the majority (to all) of the food we purchase, how to keep that momentum going and also addressing what YOU said you waste the most! Let’s get started. 

I’m not about to tell you to start composting, because that’s still a foreign language to me and gives me horrible visuals of worm farms…shudder. But I’m going to give you my brain dump of things I do to end up with less food going into the trash can each week.

First of all: MEAL PLAN. I’m sure you’re turning off right now and running away if that’s not what you wanted to hear. But hear me out. Meal planning is the ultimate in organization. You don’t have to stick to it to a T (things come up, cravings change, I get that) but it gives you a starting point for the week AND makes it to where you’re never rummaging through the fridge, wondering what to make for dinner. And here’s how it waterfalls:

You have a list for every meal.

You’ve purchased groceries to make those meals.

You are using up those groceries on your planned meals.

Your fridge is essentially empty by the end of the week. No trash.

{shaved zucchini salad}

Ok, so that’s the ideal situation, right? Well here’s how to make it work on the fly, because following a plan for a whole week doesn’t always work out.

First of all, wash and cut your produce. If it’s ready, it’ll be used. If you cut all of your veggies like you’re ready to dip them in hummus, you’re more likely to grab them and eat them at snack time. PLUS if you’re making a stir-fry, soup, salad etc then all you have to do is chop them smaller on that night.

Think about how you’ll use your leftovers before you make your dish. Will you be happy eating leftovers reheated? Could you add an egg on top (enchiladas + egg = heaven)? Will you turn extra rice into fried rice? Could you make extra taco meat into a platter of enchiladas or a taco salad? Plan to use up leftovers before they even overtake your fridge.

Eggs. Do you have trouble eating all of your eggs before they expire? I do not have this problem, but my parents do because they hardly use eggs. I always plan on using them up by: baking, a big morning scramble, a weekend frittata, a custard based ice cream, boiled eggs for salads, scrambling a couple into stir-fry or fried rice.

Fresh fruit. NEVER let fruit go to waste again. Bananas can always be peeled then thrown in a freezer bag for future smoothies or banana bread. Berries and stone fruits can be washed and thrown in the freezer for smoothies or cobbler.

Spinach! Do you have trouble using it up within days? Besides salads, I put spinach (or kale) into scrambled eggs and smoothies. Here’s a HUGE hint: you can put it in freezer bags for smoothies. Also, I like to sauté it with a bit of olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. You can easily use up a whole container of spinach or kale in one meal.

{turmeric milk soaked oats}

THINGS YOU SAID YOU WASTE THE MOST:

On Instagram Stories, I asked you what you waste the most. The most common answers were:

SALAD GREENS: My biggest advice is plan on THREE days. And consolidate! What will you put greens on this week? Is it sandwiches? Smoothies? A big salad in itself? Smoothies? Now, are you buying a separate leaf variety for sandwiches versus salads versus smoothies? Let’s consolidate here. Use your salad greens on that sandwich, buy only a kale/spinach variety that will blend well into smoothies, wilt when sautéed for eggs/quiche/wilted greens, and makes a healthy salad too. Now, did you use up all of the greens? If YES, you could start adding one extra variety. But if you aren’t using it all, scale back again. And like I said above, wilting it all on day 3 for a side or freezing spinach for smoothies will knock out a container in no time.

HERBS: If you find yourself with an abundance of a ton of different herbs each week, then my biggest advice to you is: pick a food THEME for the week. If you buy herbs for a dish that calls for thyme and basil, don’t do Mexican food the next two nights (cilantro). Choose a theme that will run through the majority of the week and USE those herbs. Roast potatoes and toss them in herbs, chop a ton up into your salads (my fave), blend some into your salad dressing, make pesto, mix some into your beef for better burgers, top your avocado toast with them…just keep the theme until your herbs are used up.
I also love to find a buddy near me who loves cooking as much as I do. Text your buddy: “Hey! I’m buying basil if you want half my bundle!”
And of course, snotty answer: grow what you can so you aren’t buying as much. Had to say it.

VEGGIES: If these are hearty veggies, all I can say is: plan for soup. Cut up chunks into freezer bags and plan on just transferring them straight to a big ol pot of soup in the winter.
DAIRY: I don’t buy dairy milk because it doesn’t agree with our family’s tummies, and almond milk lasts longer in the fridge, BUT if you do: smoothies, oatmeal, ice cream base, iced lattes…
YOGURT: is something we fly through pretty quickly. If I have some lingering, I’ll try to make a batch of overnight oats and add some to it to use it up. I also put some in Canaan’s smoothie to up the protein.
BERRIES: I hate to say smoothies again (consider that saying it), so blend them up and pour them into popsicle molds! Hello! Also, adding berries to everything helps: salads, oatmeal, overnight oats, cheesecake, parfaits…