The French throw away a lot every year, even products that are still packaged.
With 430€ of food thrown away per year, avoiding this mess is a real necessity for your wallet and for the planet!
Good news, learn to know the dates shelf life, to freeze or choose your cooking , cooking leftovers and peelings , or to give or exchange surpluses are possible.
The first reflex, to consume well without wasting, is to know the expiration dates food:we wrote this article about it which says that looking at the dates in store avoid waste, or this one, which will tell you how long you can keep your food.
Fresh produce is best eaten right away, but many foods can be frozen , before or after being cooked, so don't hesitate on this second step:freezing. We have this article, which will give you some tips.
Let's take a very concrete example that will make you understand where I'm coming from:
Imagine you are buying eggs because your children really want boiled eggs.
For this you need very fresh eggs. preferably, it's much better. You buy the eggs, but for some reason keep them for a while without making them.
Instead of throwing them away, you can cook them in other ways. If you realize after a few days that you forgot them, an omelette will still be delicious. And if it's two weeks later, they will still be good hard-boiled .
The principle works with endives bought for a salad, which will become endives with ham, or even a fish or beef tartare, which you will ultimately eat cooked.
Do you have the reflex to accommodate your leftovers , instead of throwing them in the trash?
Stored in your fridge, they can serve as a basis for a new recipe the next day. We have some sample leftover recipes, how about this one, for example?
The peelings also cook. It's something that's being done more and more, I've even seen a Master Chef knockout event have this concept as their theme.
The Chefs seemed to be enjoying themselves, I assure you. You can simply make chips with your potato peelings, but other recipes more elaborate can now be found on the net or other recipe books.
Who has never done too many races the week before the holidays? To realize, 2 days before departure, that there are at least 12 fruit yogurts left in the fridge.
Unfortunately, this happens to me quite often. And throwing them away is still heartbreaking, isn't it?
My solution is then to give them to my neighbor , as well as fruit or eggs, butter, etc., which cannot be frozen. She does the same when it's her turn to leave.
I also bring them to associations , always happy to receive this kind of additional donations for their beneficiaries.
This system of donations to avoid the "waste hunt" has nowadays developed a lot, to the point of creating Internet sites , where you can sign up to donate your leftover food before it perishes.
Do you practice waste hunting? What are your daily actions to reduce the amount of your waste? Comments are welcome here.
