What Food Waste Has to Do with Your Waist

“Clean your plate.” The mantra of parents everywhere. After all, there are starving kids in Africa. Which means you should overeat as way of showing your gratitude?? Ya, I never understood that one either…

Sure, we don’t want food to go to waste. The USDA has calculated that food waste accounts for about 40% of the total supply of food. Now, think about your $100 grocery bill. By these estimates, $40 dollars of that would go to waste!

But, let’s think about it this way; If your body doesn’t need what you are eating, it goes to waste too. Excess carbs, fat and protein will be stored as adipose tissue, your body’s very own landfill!

Here's a couple strategies to avoid wasting food; not just to trim your food bill, but also your body!

1)      Plan ahead! If you make up a menu plan ahead of time, you can determine what you need to buy and when. If today is Sunday and you want to make stir fry on Friday, you probably will not want to buy your produce until Wed or Thurs. Your food likely won’t last. This means you may have to make more shopping trips, but you’ll save money and food in the long run.

2)      Buy less. Ever look in a fridge full of food and say, “There’s nothing to eat”. Or maybe you’ve heard this from a family member. Less, really can be more. You can see more of what you have to eat, less goes to waste and you can stick to your healthy eating plan better.

3)      Get organized. Organize your fridge so you can see what you have and place new items behind old (new gallon of milk behind the one that needs to get used first). Same goes for your pantry, if you have set spots for certain items, you will see your inventory easily.

4)      Freeze more. If you have leftovers that you or your family won’t eat in the next day or two, freeze what is left and save it for a quick meal in the future.

5)      Share. If you throw a party and end up with a lot of leftovers, send people home with food or bring it to work to share. This prevents temptation for party foods you do not usually eat and prevents waste. You can even investigate local food kitchens or programs that you can donate food to.

6)      Make a choice. When all else fails, choose where you want your food to go to waste.

After all, if it’s going to go to waste, better the trash than your waist! :)