7 Ways To Waste Food Less (As A Food Blogger)

I often see food bloggers sharing on their stories how they’ve given some leftovers to a homeless person, or dropped off some extra treats they’ve been given at their friend's house, but…

What are the best ways to waste less?

It’s easy to think we are doing good by giving something away, and to feel guilt when chucking those extra potatoes sat on your shelf in the bin, but there are small ways to contribute to a healthy environment around wasting less and giving to people who will consume the food your provide them.

Often overlooked, the stats around wasted food in the hospitality industry are astounding. Billions of pounds of wasted food every year is thrown away rather than recycled or repurposed, 25% of the world’s water supply is used to grow food that isn’t eaten, and the biggest shocker is that over half of food waste happens at home!

Never really discussed among the food blogger community is how we can make a change, and how we can help each other understand the best ways to reduce food waste. I know I still need to do more, but I’m here with open arms ready to make the change toward a better world, supporting our environment and hopefully also helping our food blogger community make changes themselves to waste less.

Buy only what you need (plan)

The best way to save waste is to plan your meals. People looking to get fit do this all the time, so why can’t we? (or maybe you already do!) Each Sunday ahead of the week, or any day of your choice as week start, you can sit down and research, recipe hunt and plan out your groceries needed. As I have a veg box arriving, I plan my meals around them and go get the meat, additional ingredients, etc, to make sure when it arrives I can get cooking. Companies like Gousto, MindfulChef and HelloFresh that offer pre-measured recipe kits can also be a fantastic way to get healthy, delicious meals and not feel like you’re having to buy loads of an item when the recipe only calls for a small amount. I’ve tried Gousto, Mindful Chef and HelloFresh and all are useful, meaning you don’t need to buy an obscure spice to make a dish as they provide the perfect measured out portion.

Quality over quantity - even if the price is less, do you need all of the food

When it comes to produce, I always think about the item and the cost, weighing up if it’s necessary to buy 3 for two. Do I need the third item? My Grandpa is the best bargain hunter, and when there is a sale on ice cream, 3 for 2 is the way to go. You can pop items like that in the freezer and leave them until you consume, whereas fresh fruit and veg or even ready meals can go off quickly if not consumed or disposed of in non-wasteful ways. Think twice before giving in to an offer on 6 for £5 for 200,000 kiwis, because the likelihood of you consuming that many before their expiry date are unlikely.

Focus on use-by dates

Ok, yes, you are not likely to buy 200,000 kiwis, but if you are buying in a deal or looking to stock up, consider the expiry date. I have been guilty of buying into a deal and then not consuming one of the items, say pre-riced cauliflower for example, and then the pack goes off before I have gotten to it because I didn’t check if it would last long enough. Often, when produce is put out, you can look through the packages to see if there are later expiry dates rather than grabbing the first item on the shelf. This also applies to buying in bulk. Make sure if you’re going to freeze something, you eat it before it’s frozen expiry date arrives. I have made this mistake one too many times, and now have learned from my lesson 1) not to buy so much frozen food that it goes off while in the freezer but also 2) that checking the expiry date is just as important for frozen or fresh.

Give to local community members who will use the food

There is no escaping food waste no matter what position we are in, but if you can try to plan ahead of your food waste (I promise I’m not losing it) then you can save our planet a little more. I’ve recently been using an app called Olio who allow you to share your food (and non-food, too) products that would be otherwise wasted, with people who want to save them! Although you’ll never know ultimately if the other person has made a meal, or done something with your rescued items, sometimes you may get a sweet surprise, like the one below.

I had received loads and loads of spring onions (massive ones, too) in my veg box and had kept them in water to let them live a little longer, but they got to the point where I knew I couldn’t use them all, so I listed them on Olio (it’s free for the person listing and the person rescuing) and someone popped up almost immediately to come and collect them. The next day, they shared the most amazing post in the forum, and honestly, it made me so happy to see that I had done some good with something that would have otherwise ended up in the bin. Waste not, and you could make someone else’s (and your own) day.

I’m a big fan of Olio, but again, knowing a little ahead or being available day of the expiry date is best as you don’t want to get anyone ill from off food. You don’t even always have to be a giver, but could look to Olio to collect ingredients for a recipe and save some money on your grocery shop.

Replant

So the woman who collected my spring onions replanted them in space she had and was eventually going to transfer them into her garden, so if you have this as an option, it’s an incredible way to save fruit and veg that isn’t going to make it to your plate and give back to the earth. Oftentimes, you don’t have to grow fruit or veg from their seed, like these spring onions and you’ll be able to use your grown veg — so much more satisfying when cooking that store-bought or delivered food items.

Compost what you can’t eat

I first saw composting at a family friend’s house who had a tiny tin bin (see below) on their counter and it made me wonder… is that what they use for all of their rubbish? Impossible! They were quick to explain that they saved banana skins, orange peels, carrot tops, and more, instead of binning it as it could be used to nourish the plants in their garden — genius! If you don’t have a garden, you can still do this, and some councils even offer a collection of compost that is compiled in bins. Our neighbour sometimes puts a bag outside her front gate with a “free compost, please take” sign so that could be an option, too!

Cook your food when you can

Of course, planning your shop or meal planning can help to make sure your food doesn’t get wasted, but if you have anything that is going off, look to baked goods. Banana bread, crumbles, jam, curds and things that can be saved for longer once preserved. These kinds of foods can then also be listed on apps like Olio, or just consumed later down the line. Don’t worry about those soft strawberries, they’ll make a delicious jam or strawberry syrup!

I’m no expert, but since starting blogging, I noticed how much waste there was within the hospitality community.

It’s a staggering number of food bloggers that probably aren’t aware of these kinds of ways to save food, and that’s totally ok! It’s a learning curve and something we are privileged to have as an issue. That being said, think about where your waste is going next time you are just binning some bread past its use-by date or throwing away your leftovers from the restaurant you went to the night before. Hopefully, this will be eye-opening and maybe I’ll see a few more Olio users in the next few weeks (I’m seriously in love with Olio) and look forward to hearing how you’re saving the planet and your surplus food.

Before I sign off of this blog post, I do want to mention something I have talked about in my blog post about gifting, which is knowing when to say no. When I was first starting, all the free goodies were amazing, but once I realised how much waste I was creating by accepting anything that came my way, I was so disappointed in myself and realised it wasn’t worth it. As a food blogger, we may be in a privileged position in that we are getting offered food, drink, random goodies and more, left, right and centre, but always know that we can say no. Never feel pressured or obliged into taking something when it may get wasted, we always have the option to say no. Brands will understand if we don’t feel it’s the right fit, or if we explain why we are not going to accept the product, and the door can always stay open. Not accepting a gift is never a closed door, just a conversation to be re-opened in the future.