We all do it. An unfinished dinner here, the end of a carrot there. Too many bags of salad. That thing lurking in the back of the fridge you meant to eat, but now it’s past its best. Snacks to unwrap. Sandwich bags for lunch. Takeaway curry cartons (you need our homemade versions here!) When it comes to real tips on how to reduce food waste at home, there’s no point in crying over spilt milk.
We’ve got five wonderful ways to inspire you to crackdown on how to avoid food waste at home in the first place.
And if you haven’t tried these healthy crisps made from veg peelings? They’re so good.
How to avoid food wastage
1. Recycle
OK so when it comes to food waste, and learning how to reduce it it isn’t just about the food itself: it’s what it’s packaged in. If you’re not into recycling yet, get into it!
All those peelings and scraps love being put to work in a compost bin, use it! Your garden (or a neighbour’s allotment!) will love all that free fertiliser, helping good things grow again and enriching the soil, naturally
- Research your local recycling rules
Some cities have on-street recycling bins, some councils give you 3 bins each. Some accept one type of packaging and not another. Food waste heroes will know exactly what bit of packaging goes in what bin.
- Food waste and your Mindful Chef box
Here’s how we’re working on recycling your Mindful Chef packaging here. And if you’re interested in the stats, don’t forget to check out our other food waste blog here
2. Plan your meals
It’s all in the planning. As Brits we cook the same 6 recipes on repeat, but if that sounds dull, it’s because it is. And probably the reason why so many salad bags end up as landfill!
- Meal planning for the week
For us, there’s no issue on how to avoid that food waste guilt trip when you get to choose from 20 delicious healthy recipes every week. There’s no meals on rotation, just lovely pre-portioned, high quality ingredients that get delivered to your door.
- Avoiding food waste in the longer term
If you love a list, and love planning, then you’ll love this even more: you can choose your recipes up to 8 weeks in advance in your Mindful Chef account. We get told people love this, especially around stressful times like Christmas!
3. Double up
If you’re cooking for one, or cooking for more and questioning how to reduce food waste at home, why not double up and make more? you can have it for leftovers the next day, or pop it in the freezer. (Perfect when you don’t know what to do with that onion half or broccoli stalk.)
4. Cut down on supermarket shopping
It would be great if everyone made a list of what they needed and stuck to it, but supermarkets don’t work like that. They are set up to tempt us with their wares and are incredibly successful at it.
Did you know that you can reduce your carbon footprint by 21% with every Mindful Chef meal compared to the supermarket? And save 54% carbon emissions with Mindful Chef by not travelling to the supermarket.
5. Get a Mindful Chef Box
You knew it all along! The ultimate trick on food waste and how to reduce it is to get a Mindful Chef box of course! You knew we were going to say that, but we pre-portion your ingredients so you don’t have to throw anything away.
And no need for out of date spice jars lurking in the cupboard again, either!
Yet to try healthy eating made easy? Get £25% off your first four recipe boxes by entering code BLOG25X4 at checkout. Mindful Chef healthy recipe boxes help you to cook delicious nutritious meals, in as little as 15 minutes. Each box contains recipe instructions, pre-portioned ingredients and responsibly sourced, seasonal British produce.
