Top 5 ways to reduce food waste to save money – and the planet

Having a plan before shopping pays off. Write a list of items you need by looking through your fridge and pantry before shopping. Keep an up-to-date note on your phone with the ingredients you use up and need to replace. A whiteboard on the side of the fridge is a great idea too. Consider downloading an app on your phone that tracks coupons, savings and deals at your local grocery stores.

You would be surprised at how many fresh foods can be preserved in the freezer instead of going to waste. Freeze foods before they go bad, and use them in cooking later. Some unexpected freezer candidates include tomatoes, citrus fruit, herbs, ginger, garlic, bread, shredded cheese, cooked pasta and butter. You can even store brown sugar in the freezer to keep it fresh and to prevent hardening.

Cook once and eat twice by freezing leftovers for a quick meal on a busy night. When you cook with your freezer in mind, you can increase variety in your meals by reheating frozen leftovers.

Keep the easiest recipes that make great leftovers on hand. Print, pin or save them as a screenshot in a photo album on your phone. For example, compile a list of your favourite muffin, soup and smoothie recipes, all of which freeze well.

Check out this Freezing 101 resource to see what ingredients, foods and meals you can freeze, and get tips for better tasting frozen food.

Do you find that you avoid leftovers in your fridge altogether? Try using leftovers from meals in other delicious recipes. For example:

• Use mashed potatoes on top of a shepherd’s pie later in the week.
• Make different sauces and keep them in your fridge to change leftovers up.
  • Some ideas include kale pesto, peanut sauce, jalapeno ranch, garlic cilantro aioli, or a creamy honey mustard. Add these to pasta, pizzas or even sandwiches for added flavour.

If leftovers do become inedible, consider composting instead of throwing them out in the garbage. Keep odours down by placing a waste container in the freezer for spoiled foods and scraps from food preparation. When it fills up, add it to your compost bin, green bin or a local composting pile. Be sure to read tips on home composting, and local green bin requirements: some won’t accept food items like meat and bones, for example.

March is National Nutrition Month, led by dietitians across the country. Dietitians work on many levels to support the nutritional needs and challenges of individuals, families and communities. They recognize that the recent increase in food costs have meant that a healthy diet is out of reach for many British Columbians.

To mark Nutrition Month 2023, we’re featuring articles written by UBC Dietetics practicum students and our staff to help you eat better, live better and save some money. Check out other stories in the series:

5 reasons to choose frozen produce over fresh

The power of a single seed

This article was written by Lisa Pritchard, a UBC Dietetics student living in Vancouver. She completed the first three months of her practicum with Interior Health.