Ways to stop wasting food and save yourself THOUSANDS of DOLLARS!

Our generation seems to be more of a ‘throw-away’ generation and we don’t seem to value food like our grandparents used to.

Alarmingly, stats show that each year Australians waste around 7.6 million tonnes of food, and this wastage is equivalent to around $2,000 to $2,500 per household per year! They’re pretty big numbers.

What’s more, wasting food is bad for our environment and contributes towards green house gases.

Now more than ever before, due to rising grocery costs, we should be doing our best to try and stop wasting food – you could save yourself THOUSANDS!

Thankfully, we at The Healthy Mummy are all about avoiding food waste and helping you save money. Learn more with our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge…

10 tips to stop wasting food

1. Check the use by dates on all of your food items

Before you do a food shop each week, check what needs to be used up first and then make a list of items to purchase to make a meal with the item that will go off soon.

2. Tailor meals to incorporate everything you need to use up

Stuck on what to make with your food that needs to be used up? Jump on the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge and add your food items and it will come up with a heap of healthy meals for you to make.

3. Meal plan

Don’t just go to the shops and purchase whatever you fancy, you’re more likely to end up with food that goes to waste. Make a meal plan for the week and stick to it.

Thanks to bulk cooking, you can still keep on track with your health. Rather than reaching for that quick, sugar-loaded meal, you can opt for a healthy, home-cooked dish. And keep the convenience.

4. Try to do smaller shops more frequently

This one isn’t always easy to do, but if you do smaller shops and go more often, you’re less likely to load up on things that could potentially go off before you get chance to use them up.

5. Watch your portion sizes

If you pile too much food on your plate, chances are you are going to eat it or leave it. Eating too much can lead to weight gain, not eating it all will lead to food waste. Don’t feel guilted into eating extra food. Start with a small amount on your plate to begin with, then go back if you want more. If not, put the remaining food into a Tupperware and eat it later.

6. Batch cook

If you don’t have time to meal prep for the whole week, then batch cook (or double the recipe) and then divide it up into different meals to store and freeze. Maybe you saw a discount on a whole chicken or leg of lamb in the supermarket. This type of batch cooking is a great way to save yourself a lot of time and energy, especially during chaotic and hectic weeks!

It can also be very cost-effective as you are buying in bulk, and there may be many significant discounts for purchasing food in larger quantities at your local grocer. 

7. Grow your own

Does the veggies, fruit and herbs you buy go off before you get to use them? If you make your own veggie patch, then it might be a way around it. Vegetables last longer before they are picked. This is very true for herbs and fruit as well.

8. Take leftovers for lunch

Rather than buy your lunch out, use the leftovers from the meal you made the night before! Not only will you save money but you will also have a delicious and healthy meal if you make something from The Healthy Mummy app.

9. Use up food in smoothies and broths

Fruit and vegetables may slightly soften or wilt when they are just past ripe. But you don’t need to throw them out straight away. They still may make excellent additions to soups, smoothies or stocks.

People can use leftover vegetable scraps to make a soup stock, leftover fruit in smoothies. Even stale bread works perfectly for toast, croutons or breadcrumbs.

 The Healthy Mummy’s delicious smoothie range tastes great with blended up fruit and veg! Here are 15 for you to choose from.

10. Embrace Frozen Vegetables

Remember that you can buy good quality frozen veg such as corn cobs, peas, green beans, broccoli and cauliflower. These are super handy if you often find a sad head of broccoli in your crisper at the end of the week.

11. Substitute ingredients

Be flexible with your recipes, for instance if it says you need to dollop sour cream on top of a soup you can easily just use Greek yoghurt instead if you already have it open.

If you need to add baby spinach to your salad you can just use the iceberg or cos lettuce that you already have. Using sweet potato instead of pumpkin will work in most recipes.

12. Use the freezer

Only need half a lemon for a recipe? Slice the rest up and freeze it, you can then pop it in your water bottle the next day.

To avoid stale tortillas or wraps you can store them in the freezer instead of the pantry. Pop a piece of baking paper between each so that you can easily break them off one at a time when frozen. Store the baking paper back in with the wraps and use it again next time.

There are heaps of food you can store in the freezer so it doesn’t go to waste if it’s not going to be used.

Tired of wondering what to cook?

Now you can easily meal plan with our personalised plans & over 6,000 family & budget friendly recipes catering to a wide range of dietary requirements.

The Healthy Mummy is a holistic program to nourish your body with nutritious food and help you stay active in your busy, everyday life. Yours and your families well being should be a priority so let us take the hassle out of it.

Unlock the key to sustainable life changes that will leave you feeling your absolute best.

Find Out More