Khoollect kitchen: reducing food waste in five easy steps

***Rachel Khoo would like to thank all the inspiring people who helped make the Khoollect studio a hive of creativity. Although the Khoollect studio’s doors have now closed, you can keep up with Rachel’s newest adventures on RachelKhoo.com and on Rachel’s Instagram and Facebook pages – and, continue to enjoy the Khoollect website’s stories and recipes, which will remain available.***

Obviously, food is a pretty big deal at Khoollect. With a team of avid eaters hanging around the Khoollect HQ kitchen, and with plenty of recipe testing going on, it’s important that we keep our food waste to a minimum. Not only will it ensure we’re not contributing further to landfill, but it also means less money wasted. Reducing food waste is easy to do — it simply requires forming good habits. Editor-in-Chief Rachel Khoo is an official supporter of the Think.Eat.Save campaign, in association with the UN. You can read more about that over here.

Here are five simple ways to get in the swing of reducing food waste:

1. Shop smart

If you make a shopping list and outline the recipes you’re hoping to make during the week, you’re far more likely to use up the ingredients you buy. Every item will be accounted for, and you’ll only buy what you need. The trick is remembering to take the list with you! If you’re bound to forget, we recommend making your list on your phone so you’ll have it with you whenever you find time to shop.

2. Serve up less

We’ve all been there. You’ve got the post-workday hunger pangs and you’ve plated up a massive serving of food, only to realise (half-way through) that you can’t actually finish it all. All too often, the food left on dinner plates winds up in the bin. An easy way to prevent this situation is by cooking smaller portions and simply serving up a little less … you can always go back for seconds later. Then, what’s left in your cooking pot can go straight into a container for your next meal.

Ways to Avoid Food Waste

3. Use every last drop

Often when fresh fruit and vegetables begin to look a little old, we assume they need to be thrown out right away. But, this isn’t always the case. Remember, old fruit can be baked into a cake and vegetables can be pickled. Some aging ingredients can even be used in homemade, natural beauty remedies. If you find yourself with a strange assortment of ingredients left, smoothies and soups are an excellent way to use up the last of your fridge contents. Look at the challenge as a chance to get creative. (But we do recommend following expiry date guidelines on packaged foods!)

4. Store it safely

If you take care to store your food well, it can last for longer. Then, you can make sure your recipes for the following week incorporate the ingredients left in your fridge or pantry. Freezing foods is another great way to make sure things don’t go to waste. You can blend fresh ingredients and store your mixtures in ice-cube trays for easy-to-use smoothie add-ins later. Even wine can be frozen in ice-cube trays to use in sauces at a later date. If you’re unsure about safely storing food, check out these guidelines.

5. Create a compost system

Using a compost system is the perfect way to return the nutrients from your food scraps back into the earth. That way you’re making use of all of the fruits and vegetables you purchase or grow. The resulting compost pile can make a great garden fertiliser too.

You can read more about reducing food waste on the Food and Agriculture Orgnization of the United Nations website.

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WRITTEN BY:
Sonya Gellert

Sonya Gellert is a contributing writer and associate editor for Khoollect. She lives in Sydney....

READ MORE BY Sonya Gellert

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