Do you find yourself with nothing to eat after grocery shopping? Does your produce go bad before you get around to eating it? The average person wastes about 220 pounds of food per year - which ends up being about 30-40% of the American food supply.
Don't fret though! Even as a college student, you can make a change and get the most out of your groceries, and in turn save some money & the planet.
Tip Number 1: Meal Prep/Plan Ahead
Being strategic with my meals each week and having a plan has not only saved me money and time, but really helps me make sure I'm not being wasteful! There are tons of recipes online to meal prep and plan ahead - no matter your food preference! I am no meal prep expert (yet!) but even just preparing snacks ahead of time has helped (ex. peeling and cutting up cucumbers so I can snack on them throughout the week instead of waiting until I'm craving them).
Another tip I have is to buy food you already know you'll enjoy! I think it's important to try new things, but realistically, you'll be rotating through a few of your fave meals each week. Is there ways you can simplify these things ahead of time? Some things I've done is make salads ahead of time (instead of always buying the premade ones with lots of extra packaging) and hard-boil eggs. We also started buying Gatorade powder and making a whole pitcher at once so it's ready to go! By shortening the time between buying our food and preparing it, we have hardly had any food go bad any more.
It's also easier to meal prep if you do it all at once! I've fallen out of the habit a bit, but I like to do all my meal prepping right after grocery shopping before I even finish putting away all the groceries! It may take up more time on my Saturday, but it saves a lot of time during the busy week!
* I also think its important to not stress too much about cooking 'healthy' meals if you're not yet used to cooking at all! Take it one step at a time :) Meal prepping and planning ahead is supposed to help you, but let it become a burden by trying to do it all at once! I've been working on all of these things for months and still have so much to learn -- YOU GOT THIS!!! <3
Tip Number 2: Store Ingredients & Leftovers Properly
Did you know there's ways you can store you groceries and leftovers properly so that they last longer? I'm going to be honest - I didn't realize this before, even though it feels like common sense now! Pantry items should be air tight. Curious how to store produce? I found this guide that lays it allll out: read it here! Some should be stored in water, some in the fridge, some in the dark... luckily that guide tells you *exactly* what you need to know! It's crazy how much food we've kept from going bad just because we learned how to properly store it.
Another thing with avoiding food waste is getting through your leftovers! For some reason, leftovers are so hard to get through - even though its the same food you were eating normally! We're working on implementing a leftover day so that way we don't have to toss any of it. I've also started figuring out ways to use leftovers and make new dishes! Next week, I'm posting some ideas for Thanksgiving leftovers on my Instagram. I plan on making a lot more content like that there, so let me know if there's specific foods you need help with!
Tip Number 3: Freeze Produce Before It Goes Bad
I have frozen soooo many different kinds of produce to use in recipes and smoothies! Here's a list of what I've actually frozen to get you thinking:
- Onions
- Minced Garlic
- Avocado
- Bananas (another yummy idea is to freeze these with toppings like peanut butter and chocolate for a snack)
- Berries
- Cantaloupe
- Pineapple
- Grapes
- Peaches/Plums
Fruit seems to always go bad before you can finish it. Smoothies is the main thing we use our frozen fruit for, but similar to the leftovers idea, there are a lot of creative ways you can use them up! By extending the produce's life in the freezer, you're saving money (you won't have to buy produce to make up for bad produce) and you're saving food from rotting in the dump (it actually doesn't compost, contrary to popular belief - it actually releases toxic gases!).
I still throw out food and can't wait to live somewhere were I can compost and recycle, but as a college student, I have seen huge changes in the amount of food that gets thrown away by implementing these habits. I would love to know if you've found anything else successful in your journey to limiting your food waste - especially if you are a college student!
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