Читать книгу Zero Waste Cooking For Dummies - Rosanne Rust - Страница 56

To reduce overall kitchen waste, you need to think differently when you shop for groceries. However, the simplest way to zero waste cooking is asking yourself this question when shopping: Will I use this?

Consider what you typically do with food each week. What do you often throw away? What did you buy that you didn’t need?

When you put food into your grocery cart, you should know exactly what you plan to do with it. By making a mental note as you shop, you’ll be sure to use what you buy. Why do I need this? How and when will I use it? If the answer to the last question is “I don’t know” or “Probably not this week,” then you may rethink the purchase, unless you intend to freeze it.

Fresh foods are more perishable than canned and frozen foods. Canned or frozen vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish, and meats help reduce food waste.

Become aware of what you’ve routinely pitched in the past. For instance, if you’re always throwing away luncheon meat, maybe you need to buy just half a pound instead of a pound. In general, fresh fruits and vegetables get wasted most, followed by dairy products, breads, and meat.

Also, think about how you grocery shop. Do you go to the store weekly, biweekly, or monthly? Maybe you buy things in bulk and find you never get around to using it all. If so, consider freezing some of it in serving sizes that fit your family. If you buy two loaves of bread or two packs of English muffins, you can pop one in the freezer for the following week. Or maybe you need to reconsider your membership to that warehouse store, or shop with a friend and share the goods.

Check out Chapter 6 to dig deeper into your shopping habits and find some tips for planning and executing zero waste strategies for grocery shopping.

The thing is, you may not know it, but without an organized shopping plan, you’ll be wasting food before you even get home. Whether it’s wasting your money or food, the best strategy is to have a good plan for what you intend to do with everything you put into your physical or online shopping cart.