You're probably familiar with this: you just can't manage to eat everything in time, there's always leftovers or food in your fridge that you don't actually eat.
Somehow, high-quality food ends up in your garbage can every time and you don't know exactly what you should do differently.
You're not alone with this problem - millions of tons of food end up in household waste every year and it's not uncommon for this to be due to incorrect stockpiling or meal planning.
Food waste probably seems like a huge problem at first, one that is caused by various factors and is virtually unsolvable.
However, there are some measures you can take to reduce food waste that you can easily implement in your own home.
For this reason, here are a few tips on how you can tackle this specifically.
Food waste in your household - these are the causes
Before we go into more detail about how to reduce food waste, here are a few reasons why it might be a problem in your home
Often we simply don't keep track of our supplies, we plan our shopping incorrectly and buy food that we already have at home. As a result, we don't even manage to use up our stock quickly enough and good quality fruit and vegetables quickly end up in the garbage can.
Another reason is incorrect storage of our supplies. So often we don't even know what needs to be considered and our food spoils because the way it is stored is unsuitable for it.
Most good food is thrown away in Germany because the best-before date has passed and we automatically classify food as "expired".
In any case, there are many reasons for food waste and you can also do something about it with simple means.
Reduce your food waste - how you can save food
If you are a little more careful with your food, you will not only reduce food waste in your household, but also save a lot of money that would otherwise end up in the garbage can in the form of food waste.
At least best before means not already expired
Since most of our products have a best-before date on them, we often tend to throw food away "just to be on the safe side"
.We often don't even check whether the food has really gone off, but instead immediately consider it inedible once the date has passed. Instead of throwing away good quality food immediately, you should take a closer look at the product and trust your judgment! You can often eat this food for a few more days before it actually spoils.
Saving expired food
Did you know that supermarkets now have a section where you can buy chilled products with an expired best-before date?
This is not always the case, but it's worth asking. These often high-quality products are always on sale at reduced prices and can usually still be enjoyed for days.
Give "ugly vegetables" a chance
Tons of fruit and vegetables often end up in the bin in supermarkets because customers want to buy food that is as beautifully shaped and flawless as possible.
However, the appearance of food makes absolutely no difference to its quality or taste. Although you may not be able to prevent good food from continuing to be thrown away, you can simply pay more attention to your consumption the next time you go shopping.
If you want to actively shop for vegetables that are usually left lying around or shredded after harvest, you can use the Etepetete app, where vegetables are sent to you all over Germany in an organic box.
Buy seasonally and regionally
Nowadays, we have a huge variety of products that we can buy in the supermarket, which definitely enriches our everyday lives.
When stocking up, make sure you store food with a long shelf life and use seasonal foods.
Store provisions correctly
Whether it's leftovers from meals, fruit and vegetables, rice or pasta - all foods have different properties and need to be stored accordingly.
If you want to avoid food waste and preserve your food for longer, you should definitely consider the basics of correct food storage.
If you've bought too much and can't manage to use all the food immediately or still have a lot of leftovers from the previous day, you can freeze them, for example.
You can find out more about storing food correctly here. (Link to article on how to store food properly)
Use up leftover food
So much food left over from a party, the bread is getting hard and the fruit is turning brown?
If our food no longer looks so appetizing, we tend to just throw it away.
There are so many ways to make use of old food and leftovers. There are so many recipes, especially for old bread and shrivelled fruit and vegetables, that you can use to quickly conjure up a really tasty meal.
One platform where you can easily find recipes for your old food is, for example, Restegourmet.
Take leftovers from the restaurant
If there's too much on your plate at the restaurant and you just can't finish it all, you can easily take your leftovers with you. That way, you've already prepared a snack for tomorrow's lunch break and don't have to cook anything in advance
If you often have leftovers, you could also take a food storage container with you so that your food doesn't have to be wrapped in plastic.
Buy leftovers
If the baked goods in bakeries are not sold in their entirety, they cannot always be offered the next day. The same applies to fruit and vegetables from the supermarket - too often good food ends up in the garbage can.
If you want to save high-quality food from being thrown away and buy it at a cheaper price, you can use the app Too Good to Go.The goods from nearby restaurants and markets are offered there at a reduced price.
Plan your shopping consciously
If you want to reduce food waste in your household, it often helps to simply shop more consciously. Think about this before you go shopping and go through your existing stock so that you don't buy more than you need
Instead of going straight for special offers or bulk discounts, it is often worth considering whether you actually need all of these items.
If you are mainly buying food that you want to use for cooking today, you can make sure that you primarily buy products that are about to expire.
In general, it's worth taking a strategic approach to shopping planning and always keeping an eye on your daily food consumption.
Reducing food waste completely is probably not possible. However, you can work on using your resources more sustainably and create an awareness of your personal role in food waste.
This will not only help you to throw away less food, but also to use your leftovers and food more sensibly.
