“Only take a bite of something,” my mom would tell me when we attended family reunions, “you can always go back and get more.” My mother was a huge proponent of the waste not, want not theory. She would have been appalled to know 31% of all food in America wasted. Last month I partnered with Food Future 2050 to share four ways to reduce food waste and save money. This month, after learning how inconsistency in date labeling confuses people, (should we go by the sell by date? the use by date? the best by date?), I am offering four more simple ways to save money without wasting food. And, yes, as I said last month, I still have my guilty moments, but I am working on it!
1. Hide the “ugly food” in other dishes. My kids are notorious for not eating bananas if they have brown spots on them or refusing to eat an apple if it has a bruise. But if I remove the peel from the banana and cut off the peel and bruise from the apple, I have a great base for fruit salad.
2. Buy Mark down items. When I am in the store I always stop by the meat section and the deli to see if any meat or bread is marked down. I can either use the bread immediately for sandwiches or hamburgers or make it into bread crumbs to add to meatloafs, casseroles, and more. Be sure to either use the product that day or freeze it. I do the same thing in the produce section.
3. Don’t throw items out because they reach their “sell by” date. According to Paul VanLandingham, EdD, a senior faculty member at the Center for Food and Beverage Management of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., the “sell by” date is the last day the item is at its highest level of quality, but it will still be edible for some time after. Obviously, if it is moldy, throw it out, but usually it can be eaten for a few more days. This was another case I had with my kids. They didn’t want to drink milk past the sell by date. I discovered if they didn’t see that date they were fine.
4. Split meals at restaurants. When my son was younger and had a smaller appetite, if I knew the meal would be large, I would purchase one meal and divide it with him. I can still do this with my daughter, but having a teen son means he could easily eat his portion and mine too!
Be sure to check out the Future Food 2050 website for the latest health related food news. What is your best tip on reducing food waste?
These are so great tips and ideas! My sister and I recently decided to reduce the the our food waste at home and here are some great suggestions for us to try. I’m definitely showing your post to mu sis and to some friends too. Thanks for the good ideas!
Great tips. We sometimes split meals when eating out.
My husband is notorious for throwing things away especially when it comes to sell by date. I don’t disagree sometimes just because I’d rather not take the chance with my 3 year old 🙂
Awesome tips! Thank you for sharing.
I hate wasting foods. SO I love the hide the foods trick.
I always shop for the discounts too. Especially dairy like yogurt and sour cream, it’s already fermented, so it usually lasts well past the “due date”.
I love buying markdown items! So many healthy things to use right away!
Great tips! We are pretty bad at not eating everything that we buy. Nothing is worse than throwing away food!
I admit I won’t drink milk past the sell by date, but everything else I’ll past without blinking. I’ve eaten yogurt a month later and never had a problem. Actually I do that all the time lol
Ha! Hiding ugly food. Thats a new one, but great idea! As a family of 5, its great to find new money saving tips.
Great tips! Us growing families could always use more help saving those pennies!
Great Tips!!! Hiding ugly food is a genius idea.
What great ideas! Love the idea of hiding the ugly food! That always seems to work at my house!
We have to have food everyday, it is non-negotiable. For that reason alone, it is important to make the most of our food dollars.
I love splitting meals at restaurants. SO much less wasted food and hurts the bank account less.
We always have the kids share their meals at restaurants. I also order a bigger meal for myself knowing I will use it for lunch for the next couple of days
People never believe me when I tell them #3. I’m a firm believer in pressing my luck with dates!
We reduce food by making smaller meals. I will also divide meals with my kids.
I am a totally believer that you can eat past the due date my grandmother was notorious for keeping things forever. She lived to 93
It kills me to throw stuff out just because of the dates. I usually will keep them past it. Milk, that kind of stuff no. But most others, I at least give them a try!
Hide the ugly foods in casseroles – love it! When we eat out, I tend to order an appetizer instead of a meal because of cost and I don’t usually finish a whole meal anyways.
We are big recyclers in our house. Thanks for sharing this!
Such good tips! It took me a while to realize, too, that the sell-by date is just the date they’re supposed to sell it by. It’s still good for a surprising amount of time after that.
Great tips!! Totally agree on the sell by date!! I think milk and meat are the only use by dates I stick to.
There are some foods that I will not touch past the best by date, they just freak me out – like milk. Most I let slide though.
These are great tips! It is good to know that the dates are not a date to be held to so strictly!
Once every couple months, I will put off a large shopping trip for an extra week. Just buy essentials, milk, bread, fresh fruit/veg and just do my best to clear out what’s built up in the house. Helps save and clear out space!
I hide ugly food in my kids’ meals all the time. They’re too young to realize that there’s nothing wrong with it. They’re also too young to realize what I’ve done. 😉
Great post! I’m a HUGE fan of ugly food! Banana bread is actually tastiest when you use “ugly” bananas. Just don’t use the “fugly” ones. =D
These are great tips! I always look for marked down meat and buy as much as my freezer will hold. It’s an awesome way to save a boatload of money.
Those are some great tips! I need to start doing more to less the waste on food. I throw out way too much!
Great tips! Hubs is good at eating the kid’s leftovers at restaurants but we waste quite a bit at home with all the fruits and veggies 🙁
We always buy marked down food, and even freeze it- it’s a great way to save and I don’t mind if it looks a little banged up or is past the ‘best by’ date.
Good tips – I always check markdowns when shopping. Usually they are items that are very close to the sell by date – perfectly fine to eat or freeze.
Great idea’s, I am not a fan of browned bananas, I prefer them more green. I will have to try some of your tips!
Great tips, thanks for sharing! I’ve pinned this article on minimizing food waste to my Healthy Family board on Pinterest. I especially love the tip to hide ugly food in other dishes!
I feel bad that we waste food here sometimes. One thing that throws us off is that we’ll cook one day with leftovers, but then we’ll go out to eat and never eat the leftovers. Splitting meals at restaurants would definitely help.
My boys just reached a point where they no longer share meals at restaurants. Sad day at our house. We loved having them split meals for so long. But now their appetites have grown.
Wait, your boys shared meals, Amber? My boys have ALWAYS been big eaters and never shared.
We always check the marked down items. It’s a great way to save a few bucks!