Practical Tips for Reducing Food Waste

As I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, reducing the amount of food that you waste is one of the best ways that you can help the planet. In North America, the statistics for food waste range from 30 to 40%, however, the bulk of the waste is institutional, from places such as restaurants and grocery stores. I was pleased to learn that Loblaws, a large Canadian grocery store chain, has partnered with Flashfood (an app) to allow the quick sale of items that are about to expire. The food is priced at 50% of the original price. My friend Mireille was pleased to tell me that it had appeared at her local Maxi store:

The Flashfood app is used to purchase the food and then you go to the fridge at the grocery store to pick it up. This kind of initiative is essential to helping us reduce foodwaste on a larger scale. It is also excellent publicity for grocery stores.

Another positive initiative is being led by another grocery chain, IGA. They have a food waste reduction training program called “A Vos Frigos” or “To Your Fridges”. This free program is offered throughout the province of Quebec. I had attempted to have the team at A Vos Frigos conduct a seminar at my workplace, however, as it is a lottery, we were not selected. Fortunately, I was chosen to attend a program in March at a local store.

On a rainy Tuesday night, I headed to the IGA in Dorval. We were a group of about 20 people, ranging in age from 25 to 65. Our seminar was led by food waste expert Florence-Léa Siry and a chef from La Tablée des chefs (an organization that works to feed people in need by connecting donors with people who need food), Jeremie. Florence, who runs a blog called chicfrigosansfric (https://chicfrigosansfric.com/), used to be a caterer for television and movie sets. This not being Hollywood, budgets were often tight, and she had to be creative in feeding the hungry crew. Her motto was that everything had to be used three times. For example, she would make rice and then use it in fried rice with vegetables and chicken, then take the rice to make arrancini balls and then finally use the rice that she had left to make a pie crust. She said that the food would get better and better with each use.

The evening started with everyone describing the things that they tended to waste and Lea confidently stated that she had a trick to help us with that. IGA donated old fruits and vegetables to the team and they had to come up with a way to use it up.

Lea and her colleague prepared a recipe for a muffin that could be both savory or sweet (I am still waiting for the recipe). They prepared two versions: one with feta cheese and one with fried fruit.

While Jeremie was preparing the food, Lea would explain various tips and tricks that we could use to avoid food waste. Most of us already knew about making soup from your not so fresh vegetables or adding wilted greens to your favorite fruit smoothie but there were several ideas that I thought were interesting:

Freeze leftover sour cream or milk: I don’t know about you, but I can’t count the number of times that I have thrown out sour cream or buttermilk. Lea suggested that we freeze the leftover. She explained that all milk products can be frozen to avoid waste. While they are probably not going to be very good for drinking, they are definitely fine for cooking and baking. I know that I will be trying this out soon!

Store food at room temperature: If you purchase the food at room temperature, it can (and should) be stored at room temperature. In fact, storing things in the fridge often leads to moisture and eventually mold. For example, mushrooms are best stored on the counter. It is better to have them dry out than get moldy.

The containers your fruits and vegetables are in when you buy them at the store are not for storage. The containers were selected for optimal transportation, not storage. Always remove the plastic your fruits and vegetables are wrapped in (if you have any), as it traps moisture and can lead to mold. Use alternate containers or just store them in a bowl on your counter. Hopefully, you are already like me and buy your fruits and vegetables in bulk without any packaging and use fabric bags.

Freeze carrot tops, parsley and basel: These spices are best frozen in a bit of olive oil. I recently had a lot of leftover parsley and to prevent it spoiling, I used this trick.

Wrap berries in fabric: Lea says that she can keep berries for up to 3 weeks just by wrapping them in fabric and changing to a clean, dry fabric once a week. Again, moisture is the enemy of delicate fruit such as strawberries and blueberries.

Clean your fruits and vegetables only minutes before you use them: As mentioned, moisture leads to mold and therefore, it is important to keep your fruits and vegetables as dry as possible.

Freeze fruits and vegetables when they are fresh and in season: Other than canning, freezing your own fruits and vegetables from the outdoor market is a great way to save food when it is at its best, such as summer and early fall. Lea suggested freezing avocados when they were ripe so that you always have them at the ready to make guacamole. Her strategy: remove the skin, cut them in half and freeze them.

Prepare syrups with leftover strawberry tops or citrus peels: This is another great trick. Lea typically prepares a half water and half sugar solution and allows the strawberry tops or citrus peels to flavor the water. This flavored syrup can be used in drinks or in cooking and baking. For those who are concerned about pesticides, she recommends soaking all fruits and vegetables in a water solution (1.5 cups water, 1 tsp baking soda) for 12 minutes prior to consumption.

Store herbs and green onions in water: Lea cuts the end of her green onions, puts them in water and regrows new green onions on her kitchen counter. She says that she hasn’t had to buy any green onions in two years! The water needs to be changed every week and the onions need some light but they will keep growing and growing. Some fresh herbs are best stored in water at room temperature e.g. basil. Parsley and cilantro need to be refrigerated but storing them in water also helps them stay fresh.

Do you have any great food saving tricks that you routinely use? Please share in the comments below (and thanks for helping reduce food waste).