Lockdown Day 26: Reduce food waste in your home with these tips

With a vast majority of the world’s population sleeping hungry and without food each day, it is our moral duty to conserve food and stop unnecessary wastage of food. Here are some tips that you can try in your daily life to make sure you don’t waste food and you conserve it as much as possible in your own small way.

1. Shop only what you need: One of the best ways to reduce wastage is to buy smartly. Rather than being an impulsive buyer, people need to be judicious in their approach when out shopping. A lot of people commit the mistake of buying way too many things. As a result the items are stored way past their expiry dates and end up in the waste bin. The key is to make a shopping list of groceries and other perishable eatables. It is better to buy things only as per the need rather than overbuying, wasting both money and the products.
2. Store food properly: Storing properly can increase the shelf life of the food product. A lot of people do not give due importance for storing of perishable food products. Sometimes refrigerating a particular food may enhance its life but can be a bad idea in case of other items like bananas for example. Choosing the right product to store holds the key in making sure that products have a longer life and are not going down in the bin.
3. Share stuff: Instead of cooking more and wasting, it is recommended that one shares the extra food with friends, neighbors and co-workers. So the next time if you make a dish that is a little too much for your need, make it a point to pack some of it for your co-workers or surprise your neighbors. Sharing helps building relationships while you may receive compliments on your cooking as an incentive.
4. Freeze extra food: Rather than keeping extra food in the refrigerator, try a deep freezer instead. Deep freezing increases the shelf life foods. Freezing is also a good option for some items like grated coconuts, flours, spices, meat etc.
5. Play chef: When was the last time you innovated with food stuff available in the kitchen? If you feel you some stuffs overflowing in your kitchen store, it’s time to play the chef. Try out a new recipe, mix, change and chop and discover something new and unique. For example left over breads can be turned to bread crumps for later use. Use leftover food stuff into other dishes as part of your cooking innovations. Two left over curries can be combined to a new dish or can be stuffed with paratas.
6. Make juice: Buying a tetra pack juice pack may be convenient but it is expensive as anything if you compare it with homemade juices. Plus all homemade juices are free from any preservatives enhancing the overall nutritional capacity of the juice. If you have a large chunk of fruits or vegetables lying around in your house headed to waste, make a blended juice for your family.
7. Pickles: Take a pickle making class or use the information available online to make some homemade pickles with the host of vegetables available in your home. Rather than cooking vegetables, making pickles can give you a creative high while making sure you can share some of the same with your family and friends.
8. Check your fridge temperature: If you store a lot of foods and vegetables in the refrigerator, make sure your fridge is set to the optimum setting of between 1 to 5 degrees that allows the best temperature for storing a wide range of food stuff for a long time.
9. Start compost: If nothing works and you have to throw some of the food you have stacked in your home, try starting home compost. You can use the compost to create manure for your home garden or you can sell it to a fertilizer company and earn some money.