3 tips to reduce food waste and save money

Food waste is a huge issue. 

Australians throw out the equivalent of 1 in every 5 bags of groceries they buy. Food waste fills up our landfill creating greenhouse gases that are bad for the environment. Fighting food waste is easy, and by making a few simple changes you can save money and help save the planet.   

1. Don’t throw away tired fruit and veg 

Don’t be scared of wilted vegetables or overripe fruit. There are plenty of recipes that can take your bruised, wilting and wrinkled food and transform them into something delicious. Here are some great ways to use fruit and veg that have been sitting in the fridge for a while. 

• Add overripe tomatoes into a delicious pasta sauce.     
• Grate older zucchinis into fantastic fritters.     
• Overripe bananas are the secret to making muffins, banana bread and pikelets sweet, delicious and healthy! 

2. Love those leftovers 

If you have leftovers from a meal, use them to your advantage! Here’s how to use them up to save time, money and the planet.

• Use leftover dinner meals such as our delicious chicken cacciatore in a sandwich or wrap for lunch the next day.   
• Add leftover roast chicken and vegies in a couscous salad.      
• Cooked and cooled leftover rice makes the perfect fried rice.   

 3. Make friends with the freezer 

Learn more about what foods can be frozen. You can freeze things like bread, cooked rice and pasta, grated cheese and milk. It’s safe to freeze food right up to the best-before date and then defrost in the fridge when you want to use it.   

• Freeze soup for a quick and easy lunch meal when you are short on time. 
• Have individual portions of snacks such as apple and date bliss balls in the freezer for a mid-afternoon sweet treat.   

• Make an extra batch of cauliflower nuggets and freeze for when you need a healthy alternative to store-bought chicken nuggets.   
• Freeze leftovers in single serves for a quick and easy meal.  Search the Healthy Lunch Box website for recipes tagged ‘easy to freeze’.   

Using these tips to reduce food waste will save you money, time and our planet!