How to cut your food waste... and save money! | BBC Ideas

Why do we waste food?

An average family of four in the UK throws away £1,000 worth of food each year. Here's how we can waste less...

Video made by Rhys Aaron Lewis,. Made in partnership with @royalsociety

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[DawnRK]

I freeze bread and thaw in small batches. For the ends of the loaf, I freeze them and when I have a bag full, I toast and run through my food processor to make bread crumbs. I also make a breakfast dish by lining a baking dish with bread cubes and adding sautéed vegetables, eggs, and a bit of cheese and baking. I store my Dave’s Killer bread in the fridge, and it performs perfectly fine. I toast it. When you get home from the grocer, divide food up and freeze some for later.

[DawnRK]

My great-grandmother died from pellagra, a disease of malnutrition. I think of her all the time when Americans talk about how much food is wasted — because no one was in the mood to eat it, because many Americans don’t have intuitive cooking skills and can only follow a recipe and don’t know what to do with extra bits of food, because we’ve lost food preservation skills. Everyone complains about how much food costs, but really, often what they are calling food is manufactured ultra-processed junk. Yes. We need to return to respecting food, farmers, and how many resources go into producing the food we buy. Also, try growing your own food. It really helps you appreciate how much is involved in the process.

[blblalalbla]

Food packages are often too big. One kilogram of carrots for a single household seems manageable, but why do supermarkets sell 2, 5kg. Which household wants to eat 2, 5kg of carrots before they go into waste? Buying sweet or bell pepper for reasonable price means to buy 3 at once. If you buy them without plastic it is often a lot more expensive. So people, me too, tend to buy the packages of three and often end up eating 2 of them and often have to throw away no.3 (even from the fridge). Package helps to reduce costs because it is a lot easier to put it into the supermarkets, I know, but going away from this by political action could help to reduce plastic packaging (open and throw away, single-use-plastic at its worst) and could also reduce food waste.

[DawnRK]

Pop food in the freezer if you find you’re not using it up fast enough. I had jalapeños, for example, that I sliced and froze for a later date. I roast peppers and freeze if I notice I’m not using them fast enough. I also make soup often with bits of veg, and a favorite is gathering any root vegetables, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, etc. and roasting on a pan together with oil and herbs. You can freeze grapes. You can either freeze ripe bananas for smoothies or make banana bread with them. You can freeze avocados for smoothies as well. I’ve spent time learning how to make produce last longer as well. It’s true that a meal plan helps so much.

[walterbyrd]

Vegan for 10 years. I compost and garden. I practically never throw away food scraps.

[vwood]

I keep my bananas in the fridge and they last 10 days or so. They become too ripe on the counter.

[aluette]

well well! and in Poland we keep onions in the fridge.

[johnransom]

Chickens or pigs solve waste food issues. Anything unpalatable goes to them. They don’t care. Then you get eggs, chicken or pork back. And fertilizer for your garden

[shanash]

we need to get comfortable with smaller refrigerators--apples, potatoes, onions, garlic--even carrots--they don't (necessarily) need refrigeration. Store in a cool, dry, and dark place. Buy local and in bulk, if possible, and buy just what you need. For our household of two, packaged veg and fruit is often too much. Change your mind, change your habits. It's really not that hard!🥕🍏 🍋

[jennifersun]

Better decision making process is better

[User-qg]

This BBC has so much of obsession with India, don't know why. UK's economy is falling apart, having tragic riots, but they will always show their love for India in most of their video.😂😂