Americans waste nearly 40% of the food we buy, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. That’s about 100 million tons and, by all accounts, unacceptable. There are simple ways to be part of the solution and not the problem, and wasting less food in your own home is a great place to start!
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For those with a yard, investing in a big, basic compost bin or a space-saving rotating tumbler bin will get you started on returning your food scraps from whence they came, creating nutrient-rich soil. Check out CNET’s guide to composting for tips on what and what not to put into your bin.
Whether you DIY or have your compost picked up for composting facilities, you can either freeze your fresh food scraps until you take them out or you can get real fancy with pretty countertop bins like this sleek wooden one or this cream metal model. Or get cute with this classic bucket design in eco-friendly bamboo. Practical and a great conversation piece for pushing your sustainable, environmental agenda on friends and family.
If your main problem is that you so want to use that meat and produce in meals, but you can never get to cooking before it all goes bad, a vacuum sealer might be your new best friend.
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The Anova vacuum sealer, for example, is designed for sous vide cooking, but also helps you out with preventing food waste in a few different ways. The most obvious use of a vacuum sealer is to remove oxygen from food — this slows down the growth of mold and bacteria, extending the life of your groceries. Another way a vacuum sealer can help cut down on solid waste is by enabling better meal prep. The vacuum bags allow you to pack more individually sealed meals in the freezer than you can with unwieldy containers, making it easier to tackle that big bag of vegetables or the meat you buy in bulk (Costco steak, for example). Cook it all in one fell swoop, and store it away with those space-saving food-preserving bags.
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For food storage, you’ll want freezer trays with more capacity than your average ice tray. Also, spring for a tray with a lid since spilling leftover braising liquid is a much more involved cleanup than water. Silicone is the best material since it’s easy to get clean and won’t crack in the cold.
Maybe you’re the type that likes vinyl records, hand-brewed coffee and homemade gifts. You want to prolong the life of your food, but a vacuum sealer seems too high-tech. The solution could be starting up a new hobby rooted in the olden days: canning.
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Get this multiuse water bath canner and you’ll nearly everything you need to dip into this historical preservation process. (At-home canning typically uses jars, so you will need to buy these separately.) This kit uses a water bath to heat the jar contents, killing off bacteria and creating a vacuum seal to keep out air. Make preserves, salsas and more with your surplus fruits and veggies and store these all without taking up any precious refrigerator space.
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If you like tangy flavors from live cultures, you can use the above kit for fermenting foods, but you’ll have a simpler time with this Easy Fermenter Kit. Make fermented pickles, kimchi or any other probiotic-packed foods with this kit, which has special lids that let the fermentation gases out of jars. With a regular canning kit, you would need to “burp” the jars to prevent that gas from building up — otherwise, you run the risk of an exploding-jar situation! With either kit, you’re able to store up fruits and veggies before they go bad in a wonderfully folksy way and you might just turn into that person who always has a gift of pickles or preserves ready to go for birthdays or the holidays.
It could be that you don’t want any new gadgets or hobbies — you just need a little help storing and using your groceries more effectively. For these situations, a new set of storage containers might be all you need.
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Ideal for dry goods, air-tight OXO Pop containers help you keep cereal, snacks and pasta organized and fresh. Storing foods in containers like these help you steer clear of those contentious conversations about this roommate that forgot to use the chip clip, or that family member who thinks rolling the bag top is good enough to prevent stale cereal (yeah, right!). And, with clear, neat containers, foods will stay visible and front of mind, making it more likely that you’ll remember to use them.
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If you have good heavy-duty storage bags on hand, you’re more like to make a habit of keeping extra food and leftovers versus tossing it. Stasher bags are made from silicone so they’re washable and reusable, and have a leak-proof seal. You can use them in the fridge or freezer and even cook in them (sous vide, steam or microwave), and they’re dishwasher safe.
