The Impact of Food Waste and Tips for Reducing It

Composting is an excellent way to turn food waste into healthy soil.

A substantial percentage of the food purchased by households goes to waste; this is in addition to food waste in commercial farming, processing, and distribution. The anaerobic conditions in landfills keep food from breaking down into healthy soil, instead food dumped into in landfills releases methane gas, a damaging greenhouse gas. Alarmingly, the carbon footprint of producing wasted food rivals that of the aviation industry. The yearly water wastage caused by uneaten food equates to a staggering 45 trillion gallons. To create a more sustainable future, it's essential that we reduce food waste.

Meal Planning and Shopping:

1. Have a plan for purchasing and preparing the meals you aspire to eat. This will help ensure that the beautiful fresh produce you buy makes it to your plate. Impulse buying and buying more food than you need often leads to waste (and unhealthy eating). If you’re not sure where to start, check out the ready to use menus on the Sustainable Chef Julia shop page.

2. If you want to stock up, do so with non-perishable staples like dried beans, whole grains, nuts, oats, herbs, and spices. Limit the amount of highly perishable items you purchase to what you will need for the next few days.

3. Take a quick stroll through your local farmers market regularly for those highly perishable items like fresh fruits and veggies. Farm fresh produce will also last longer than produce purchased in a corporate grocery store.

4. Be mindful of corporate food programs that claim to be sustainable or farm-to-table; they may not actually reduce food waste as they cash in on the growing concerns we all have about sustainability. Local farms and markets are our most resilient food systems.

Meal Prep:

1. When creating meals in a hurry, begin with the ingredients that need to be used up first. A stir-fry, saute, chopped salad, or sheet pan meal are healthy options that can utilize just about anything you have on hand; you may discover new combinations you’ll love when you toss in those bits of fresh herbs or veggies that need to be used.

2. Prepare some of your meals and ingredients in advance. This will make it easier for you to stick to your meal plan and it saves time when you are busy.

3. Have a repertoire of “use what you have” recipes, such as the free recipe included below, to help you turn just about any ingredients you have on hand into a beautiful meal.

Food Storage and Labeling:

1. Store perishable foods at the proper temperature to extend their shelf life. Berries last longest stored in glass jars. To keep leafy greens fresh, lay washed dried leaves on a clean dry dish towel, roll it up, and place in a bag in the fridge. I’ve kept lettuce fresh for over a week using this method.

2. Avoid overloading your refrigerator. A well-organized refrigerator containing only what you will need will save you time and money and reduce waste.

3. Educate yourself on the difference between expiration dates and best-by dates. Some foods are still safe to eat after their best buy date.

4. Utilize your freezer to reduce waste and simplify creating healthy meals on busy days. Freeze excess veggies and herbs for future use in roasted, stir-fried, or steamed dishes. Herbs can be chopped and frozen in ice cube trays with a bit of water and used to add flavor to sauces, soups, or stock. Veggies or fruit can be chopped and frozen on a baking sheet(so they don’t stick together once frozen) before storing in freezer containers to be added to quick dinners or smoothies. Cooked leftovers can be portioned into single serving containers to create effortless frozen meals that that are tastier and healthier than store bought.

5. Save vegetable scraps such as carrot peels, onion skins, and celery leaves in a bag in the freezer to make homemade stocks and broths.

Home-made soup using fresh stock from your veggie scraps is a simple and frugal pleasure.

Composting:

Consider starting a compost bin or participating in a community composting program. Composting creates nutrient-rich soil that nourishes plants and trees. Many communities are beginning to require composting of food scraps.

No Recipe Needed Fridge-Clean-Out

Herb Butter Frozen Veggies

Ingredients:

About two cups of chopped fresh veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, bell peppers, or green beans cut into 2 inch pieces

About two tablespoons of olive oil, coconut oil, melted butter, or melted vegan butter

About a tablespoon of fresh herbs such as dill, marjoram, basil, thyme, and/or chives (or a teaspoon of dried)

White or black pepper to taste

Pink salt, or any type of salt, to taste (optional)

Pinch of paprika or another spice

Pinch or more of garlic powder (optional)

½ teaspoon lemon zest or other citrus zest (optional)

Method:

Combine the oil or melted butter with the herbs and spices in a large bowl. Add the chopped veggies and toss to coat them completely. Spread the veggies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze, taking them out a couple of times to shake them around, making sure they don’t stick together. Once the veggies are fully frozen, seal them tightly and keep frozen until needed.

The frozen veggies may be roasted, sautéed, steamed.

For roasted veggies: Preheat the oven to 375°F, spread the veggies on an oiled baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes or until they are soft and just beginning to get a tinge of light brown on the edges, tossing them about halfway through cooking.

Recipe Tips:

Herb butter veggies can be added to baked chicken, fish, or tofu dishes during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

For a fast healthy meal, sauté the herb butter veggies in a lightly oiled pan along side a veggie burger until both are cooked through.

Sauté the veggies in a lightly oiled pan until cooked. Add in cooked leftover grains (such as rice) and protein (such as cooked leftover chicken) and toss until heated through for a quick meal. I like to add a bit of coconut aminos and some chili paste to this.