Day 10 30 Days Greener - Food Waste

Day 10 or my #30daysgreener challenge and it's all about Food Waste.

If you do one thing today take just 1 minute to watch this trailer and then, go watch the full documentary.  It doesn't matter that this is US based because food waste is one of the biggest contributors to green house gases in Ireland.

WASTED! exposes the criminality of food waste and how it’s directly contributing to climate change and shows us how each of us can make small changes – all of them delicious – to solve one of the greatest problems of the 21st Century.

Irish householders on average throw out 

€700 worth of food every year*

Though the individual amounts may seem small, when added up the total volume of food waste produced in Ireland every year adds up to over 1 million tonnes* 

Some of the most common types of food we throw away include meat and fish, dairy products, bread, and fruit and vegetables*

The best way to prevent food waste is by planning your meals, writing a shopping list, storing your food correctly and utilizing leftovers.  The EPA have a great resource here  A-Z Foods outlining everything you need to know to prevent food waste, including tips on storage and recipes.   

Today I want you to do at least 1 of the following:

1 - Watch this trailer and then watch the documentary
2 - Tell, or share this link, with at least 5 people, get the conversation going
3 - Waste no food today
4 - Plan your meals for the week
5 - Make a list when you go shopping (use old envelopes #recycle)
6 - Use your leftovers
7 - Store your food properly. Use your freezer.
8 - Encourage your local shops to donate food rather than bin it
9 - Start composting your leftovers at home
10 - Eat what's in season

I live alone so I find food waste is certainly an issue for me.  I really try to use everything but sometimes it just doesn't happen.  Thankfully I eat mostly vegetables so anything I don't eat gets put in the compost. 

I've come up with a few tips and tricks along the way such as with ginger and garlic.  I buy them every few months and chop all the garlic and freeze it in a bag (yes it's plastic so I need to look at an alternative now).  Then whenever I have a recipe that needs garlic I just take it straight from the freezer.  I do the same with fresh chillies and ginger as I always seemed to be throwing them out.

Let me know in the comments what food you throw out the most?  Let's come up with some fab recipes that we can use for our leftovers.

Also have you tried making your own products as opposed to buying?  For example hummus is so easy and cheap to make at home.  Not only that but you are cutting down on the need for those plastic containers! There are hundreds of websites and millions of recipes online if you are stuck for ideas. 

*source: http://www.epa.ie/newsandevents/news/pressreleases2018/name,63589,en.html