“But it's too expensive and it goes bad quickly!” There's a common misconception that buying healthy food can mean spending a lot of money on fresh food that will spoil before you use it. In reality, while it's true that nutritious foods are often perishable, there are a few tips and tricks that can help you use food wisely and avoid waste.
And there are good reasons to be careful with food. A third of the world's food is wasted: in Australia alone this waste costs about 20 billion dollars a year. What can we do to avoid it?
1. Before you go shopping, look in your refrigerator, freezer and pantry. Make a shopping list based on what you really need. Take into account some factors:
- How many people do you have to cook for?
- How many meals need to be prepared?
- What foods should be consumed?
- What are seasonal products? They will be cheaper, fresher and taste better
2. Plan meals based on what you already have. Instead of asking every night “what do we want to eat?”, ask “what needs to be used first?” Get creative with the ingredients and leftovers you have. Leftover vegetables can be added to a soup, rice can be frozen or used to make stir-fries, and meat can be used in a great sandwich or salad for lunch.
3. Make the most of seasonal produce. It's a great opportunity to buy fresh produce, and it's cheaper. Freeze, preserve, or dehydrate leftovers. This way, you'll have a supply for the whole year. For example:
- Lemons can be squeezed into ice cube trays, where the pulp can also be stored.
- Tomatoes can be used to make pasta sauce or to preserve them in jars.
- Mangoes and pineapple pulp can be frozen in cubes.
- Olives can be preserved.
- Fresh herbs can be stored in airtight containers in the freezer.
4. Learn the difference between “best before” and “use by” dates:
- Best before: The food supplier's recommendation of when the product is “best before,” so it is safe to consume for some time after this date.
- Expiration date: The manufacturer's recommendation on when the product should be consumed for food safety reasons.
5. Save the old. If you have food that is about to be thrown away, try to do something to save it:
- Milk can be made into ricotta (just heat and add vinegar).
- Ripe bananas can be made into smoothies or cakes.
- Stale bread can be made into breadcrumbs and stored in the freezer.
- Soft vegetables can be made into soup or broth.
- Ripe apples, pears, peaches and nectarines can be made into excellent desserts, with the addition of cereals or yogurt.
- Foods can be frozen close to their expiration date.