In the name of Allah, the most Generous, the Kind
Two strangely parallel struggles we see in the world around us are people starving and people wasting food. The average American wastes somewhere around 200 pounds of food in a single year. Imagine how many people that could be feeding?
Generally we don’t simply decide that we’d like to waste some food on any given day! But… There are some general choices we can make as we go about our everyday lives that allow us to decide that we are NOT going to waste any food today. When we make those choices into habits and we build upon them day after day, they become our lifestyle. Not wasting food and, instead, actually valuing food becomes part of our family culture.
If that sounds like something you are interested in, let’s dive into these 3 tips that can help you and your family waste less food!
1. Meal plan and make a grocery list.
Meal planning and keeping a grocery list are 2 super helpful tools in a variety of ways. They help you stick to a budget. They also allow you flexibility while still giving a good structure. Furthermore, they can be utilized to help you avoid wasting food. When you sit down ahead of time and decide what meals your family will have, you are then able to come up with a grocery list based on what you actually need and what you are actually going to be eating. Once you have your list, it is key that you actually stick to your list! It takes a bit of discipline and practice but once you stay on track the majority of time…it helps you avoid wasting money. You won’t be buying things you don’t actually need and in turn, you’ll also be avoiding throwing away as much food.
2. Learn a new way to store (and preserve) your food!
Once you get your groceries, you want to make sure they stay fresh until you’re ready to use them. Sometimes a little prep work ahead of time can really come in handy. Learn new tips and tricks for the best way to keep those fruits and veggies nice and crisp a little longer. Chop and freeze things ahead of time. Make sure you always close things once you are finished using it! A big part of this step is making sure you have some proper storage tools whether that be some kind of ziploc style bags or containers with lids. Storing and preserving your food is an important ingredient in reducing the amount of food that goes to waste in our homes.
3. Use the food you have in different ways.
Those way too ripe bananas that are brown and mushy are absolutely perfect for banana bread. The chicken (or whatever kind of meat) bones are great for making a delicious and nourishing bone broth. Veggie scraps can also be saved and used to make a broth. Tomatoes that are getting a big soggy are perfect for making pasta sauce. Apples are starting to soften and brown are perfect for homemade applesauce. The list goes on… Just because a food is no longer appealing to eat in the original way you had intended doesn’t automatically put it in the garbage. Try to think of different ways you can use the food you have.
There are lots more ways to lessen the food waste in our home! These are 3 big steps we can take in the right direction. Food waste is a major problem and it is important that we take a proactive approach at combating it within our homes with our families! We have to practice being intentional about how and what we are eating. We also have to try to do better with actually valuing the food we have and are eating. Shifting our mindset can be an extremely helpful first step but action is absolutely necessary. I hope at least one of these three ideas is helpful to you and your family!
Question for the comments: If you have noticed that wasting food is an issue in your home, what is something that you’ve found helpful in combating that?
Thank you for stopping by ‘Nourishing Our Home’. Please be sure to pop in every Thursday for new posts. Also, if you found this to be relatable and beneficial, please help me out by sharing with your family and friends.