5 Tips to Reduce Your Food Waste

If you made a resolution to reduce your foodwaste for this new year, here are five ‪‎tips‬ to keep  you on track from KCET 

Cook from your fridge.
Learn to make a meal with what you already have, rather than starting with a recipe that requires you to run to the store for a slew of other ingredients. Look for perishable items in your fridge first before you open another box or can from your pantry.

When it's just too much, freeze it. Freeze excess food in your freezer until you're ready to use it. This goes for fresh food items you might not be able to use up right away, like meats, as well as cooked meals that you make ahead of time to bring in to work. Don't forget to label your bags or containers with the name and date of the dish — otherwise your freezer-burned foods might be bound for the trash as well.

Make a grocery list.
Lists will keep you organize, help you plan meals, eat well, and save money, and they also keep you focused at the grocery store. It also means you won't buy something that you already have home. 

Store your produce properly.
Fresh fruits and vegetables can actually keep for a week or two (and sometimes more) in ideal conditions, and they can easily be revived if they go limp. For most leafy greens, it's best to wash them once you bring them home, wrap them in a towel, then store them in a produce bag to keep the moisture in. Loss of moisture is what causes vegetables to go limp, including root vegetables like carrots and radishes. If those items have gone soft, simply soak them in a sink full of cold water. They'll crisp up after a couple of hours, and can even be stored in the fridge in a bowl of water (just remember to change the water every few days if it starts to look murky).

Know what the dated labels mean.
The "Best by," "Use by," or "Sell by" dates are more or less guidelines for the grocery stores, and do not equate to expiration dates for the food you're buying. 

Read the article here. 

Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr/Creative Commons