How To Stop Food Waste (and stop burning money)
If you feel like you’re constantly throwing food away, you’re not alone, and it’s likely costing you more than you realize. Food waste adds up quickly, and it can feel like you’re burning money. In this post, I’m sharing my own tips for how to stop food waste and save money while you’re at it!
Food waste is closely tied to your budgeting habits, how you shop, and how you plan meals. When you start using what you already have, it naturally leads to smarter money-saving techniques with little extra effort. You don’t have to be perfect, just more intentional.
If you follow a monthly budget and are looking for practical ways to cut costs, reducing food waste is one of the easiest wins. Being intentional about preparing meals with leftovers and adopting a “what needs to be used” mindset makes a noticeable difference. Let’s dive in!
I often discuss how to stop food waste on Instagram stories. I’m incredibly passionate about this topic, partly because of how I was raised and partly because I hate wasting money. The bottom line is that throwing food away is throwing money away.
My father was incredibly strict about wasting food. We had to finish our plates before we could leave the table. When we resisted, he reminded us that many kids had no food. I realize that seems extreme, but he wasn’t wrong. As a parent, I tried to instill the same values in my children, although I approached it more gently.
As always, all the tips I’m about to share are practices we implement in our household. They work as long as you have the right mindset, and I’m assuming you do if you’re here!
How To Stop Food Waste
Admittedly, I’m a bit neurotic about wasting food. I will eat the same thing for days, eat weird things, and even eat things I don’t enjoy – just to avoid throwing them away. I don’t expect anyone to be as crazy as I am, but you have to get out of the “I can’t eat leftovers” mindset, and just do it. Of course, there will still be times when you have to throw food away, and that’s OK, but implementing just a few of these tips will help reduce food waste and save you money!
Freeze It
- I was well into my 40s before I learned that freezing food was the best thing ever! If you can’t eat perishable food before it goes bad, freezing it is your next best option. When it comes to freezing leftovers, most of them do well. Leftover taco meat? Freeze it. Have a bag of fresh spinach or kale that needs to be used? Throw the whole bag in the freezer. They work beautifully in smoothies and soups.
Your Perfect Day Wedding Planner
I love these silicone freezer containers for freezing food. They’re durable, easy to stack, and dishwasher safe. They have multiple sizes, including both single and meal-size containers!
Give it Away
- Even though my kids are grown adults, they still happily take all the food I’m willing to give them, lol! Neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family will always be happy to receive home-cooked food. My husband takes food to work all the time, and his coworkers love it!
Cook It
- Of all my tips for reducing food waste, this is the one I use most, and I just did it yesterday. I had a package of mirepoix that needed to be cooked before it went bad, so I threw it in a pan with olive oil and let it sauté for a few minutes, and that’s it. All you have to do is cook it, which gives you a few more days to use it. Keep the seasonings simple or none at all. That way, you can use it in any dish.
Repurpose It
- For example, there are ways to repurpose leftover chili into a completely new meal. Leftover chili makes delicious taco salads, nachos, or chili mac. Leftover pot roast can be turned into tacos, pizza, or rice bowls. There are dozens of ways to transform leftovers into something completely new and delicious!
Eat It
- The most obvious way to avoid food waste is to eat it. I roll my eyes when people say I can’t eat chili three days in a row. Yes, you can. Be a grown-up and eat the chili so you don’t waste food that you paid for. If you’re sick of it, freeze it for a low-effort meal later. Chili reheats beautifully.
Eat Less
- The amount of food shown in the picture above could have been lunch the next day. You may think it’s an exaggeration, but I was a server for years, and it accurately represents how much food people leave on their plates. Start with less food on your plate, and get more if you’re still hungry.
Buy Less
- When I was younger, I was guilty of buying too much food. This was before I had experience running a household, feeding a family, and learning about money. When you buy too much food, you often can’t eat it all, and most of it winds up in the trash. These days, we all have access to local grocery stores, Amazon, and multiple grocery delivery services. You can always buy more food.
Get Organized
- It’s nearly impossible to stop food waste in an unorganized kitchen. An organized pantry, refrigerator, and freezer will help you track what you have and what needs to be used. When you buy too much, things get disorganized, get jammed in the back, and get forgotten. There’s a balance between having a good stock of pantry staples and not having too much. This is especially true for items in your refrigerator, which have a much shorter shelf life than those in your pantry and freezer.
Kitchen Inventory List
A simple Pantry + Perishables Inventory List, like the one, makes tracking groceries, food items, quantities, and expiration dates easy. Stay organized and minimize waste!
Buy Frozen
- When I talk about ways to save money on food, this is a tip I’ve given repeatedly. Frozen produce is a game-changer! First of all, it comes prepared and ready to go. You can use what you want and return the rest to the freezer. It’s also more nutritious. Unlike fresh produce, which has sometimes sat on trucks for weeks before it hits the shelves at your grocery store, fresh produce is often picked at peak ripe and frozen for hours, making it more nutritious than fresh produce. You don’t have to worry about the strawberries or onions going bad when you buy them frozen, and they work just fine in most recipes.
Have A Plan
- Have you ever come home from grocery shopping with a ton of food and still can’t put together cohesive meals? Having a plan, even if it’s a loose plan, will prevent that from happening. You may want to check out my post on how to meal plan on a budget. I like to buy ingredients that can be used in several different meals. This is also a great way to ensure everything is used, helping prevent waste. For example, I may have frittata, burritos, and rice bowls on the menu this week. I can buy cheese and veggies that work in all three dishes.
Save Scraps
- I’ve got one more tip on how to stop food waste, and this is something my daughter taught me. Keep a large baggie in your freezer to throw produce scraps in. Whether it’s half of an onion, a few sad-looking carrots, or wilted herbs, add it to the bag. If you chop celery, the leaves can go in the bag. The same applies to the stems of herbs, broccoli, and cauliflower. When the bag is full, dump the contents into a large pot, cover it with water, and make vegetable stock. So clever and so healthy!
I hope this post has provided you with some helpful tips on how to reduce food waste. If you have any suggestions, please comment below. Have a great day, friends!
