In Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook: A guide to eating well and saving money by wasting less food, author Dana Gunders points to the main reasons why Americans throw away an average of $120 per month in uneaten food per household of four – wishful thinking, too-large portion sizes and lack of kitchen know-how. Incidentally, these are the same reasons so many of our personal chef customers hire us to prepare their meals.
Wishful Thinking – Buying with the greatest of intentions but then throwing everything away (along with your money) because you never had time to cook it.
Too-large portion sizes – Buying/making more than we need then over eating and/or throwing out the leftovers.
Lack of kitchen know-how – Not knowing how to store, prepare or use food before it goes bad.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can do right now to eat well by wasting less.
Know your dates. "Expires on", "Sell by", "Best before", "Use by". It's all so confusing and highly unregulated under current federal law. Most people assume that all of those mean throw the food out after that date. But that isn't necessarily the case. Knowing these Commonly Used Date Labels and their meanings will help you avoid unnecessary waste.
Think before you throw. Before you throw out scraps of fruits, vegetables, cheese, or wilted greens ask yourself, "What else can I do with this?". Check out these 5 Delicious Uses for Common Kitchen Scraps.