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Wasting food is definitely one of my biggest pet peeves. It's done on so many levels, and most of the time there's simply no reason for it. That 40% is staggering - and embarrassing. While we do our best to eat every scrap of stuff in our fridge in the pantry, we do have the occasional produce bag full of something slimy or hunk of unsalvageable moldy cheese (often the mold can be scraped off).

My solution? A small flock of chickens! They eat almost everything - including banana peels and stuff you drop on the floor - which means that the wasted food really isn't going to waste at all. They get all sorts of goodies from the kitchen garden, too. And because our hens supply us with eggs, in a sense we're actually consuming that wasted food ourselves. I realize this isn't a viable solution for most people, but didn't you write something recently about people keeping chickens in NYC? : )

I forgot to mention that I love the idea of the magnetic whiteboard. Thanks for the great tip!

we try to use up produce that is on the verge of going bad by making a quick stirfry for supper. Sometimes it will be asian ingredients, and other times it might be just whatever we have lying around. We've used 3 nights of barbeque left overs in one stirfry. It was a meat extravaganza!

I'd really like to start composting. I feel bad throwing out the wilted ends of vegetables. I am used to having a rabbit around to feed, but since our current home doesn't allow pets, I'm thinking that composting any food waste and unused vegetables would be helpful. Especially to the garden.

Composting, definitely! I also freeze veggies that are still good but that I know I won't be able to cook soon enough. Making vegetable stock is a good solution, too.

I've tried rearranging the stuff in my fridge so that the most perishable items are the most "in your face" when you open the door. Condiments are on the bottom shelf while produce is front and center. That way its a bit harder to forget that you have that head of lettuce and you're reminded to use it. Also, I bought one of those "urban composters" so that I feel less guilty about throwing out the things that do go bad. I still have to get rid of stuff, but it hasn't been as bad as in the past.

A particularly annoying source of food waste for us has to do with fresh herbs and greens. Fresh herbs can really invigorate your cooking, but it can be truly frustrating to buy a big bunch of parsley, use 25% of it, and watch the rest of it decompose in the fridge.

But my wife taught me a surprisingly simple way to dramatically extend the shelf life of fresh herbs (and other types of produce as well) in our fridge: Place the herbs in the plastic bag, add a couple of tablespoons of water into the bag, and then tie the bag with a loose knot.

Sturdy herbs like parsley, cilantro and mint will keep well for up to two weeks this way. Really sturdy greens like kale or swiss chard can keep for even longer.

Thanks for bringing up this subject!

Dan
Casual Kitchen

I feel so guilty about food waste! I totally agree with Dan about the frustration of herb-waste and also his solution. I started putting unwashed greens in loose plastic bags (it helps if they're damp) and the greens keep much longer.

Other things I've started doing:
I make a grocery list, which helps. For me, one of the keys is writing the quantity of an ingredient if I'm buying it for a specific recipe ("1/2 cup quinoa" or 3 sweet potatoes) so I don't have to guess and buy too much.
I freeze chicken carcasses to make chicken stock.
I compost my food scraps, though I'm better at composting than using the compost.
I no longer buy groceries for the week. I stock up on basics that I use a lot and things that will save (spinach, cans of tuna in olive oil, beets, sweet potatoes), but I don't buy a week's worth of meat and easily-perishable vegetables. In fact, I try to think really carefully before buying those things, like celery, that most often turn to mush in the fridge.

1) are we wasting 40% of food BECAUSE we're producing 2x the amount we need? Looked at another way, its almost surprising we're not wasting the full 50% that we didn't need in the first place...

2) yeay composting! i live in a nyc apt with no outdoor space, and worms in my house freak me out, but i'm doing my bit by putting all my compostables in a bag in the freezer, and then dropping it off at the composting stand at the Greenmarket whenever i get a chance (which is rarely these days -- good thing that the compostables can't go bad in the freezer!). Also, supposedly freezing compostables before you compost them helps cut down on fruit flies by killing the eggs that are already on your fruits & veggies...

stick a hungry, starving kid's photograph in your kitchen and you will be prodded everytime not to waste.

Regarding people's comments about herbs going to waste:

In the last year, I became increasingly aware of that happening and have (I think!) finally hit on a decent solution. I freeze 'em. I do this one of three ways, depending on what it is.

Option one: Wash and dry herbs, strip them of their leaves and freeze them in a small, air-tight tupperware-esque container as is. You can pull out exactly as many leaves as you want. This is more appropriate for leafy herbs (duh) that are not as delicately flavored. (I probably do this the least often, just so you know.)

Option two: Wash and dry. Then puree the bejeesus out of them, put the puree on a piece of saranwrap, roll into a saranwrap-covered "sausage" and seal the ends with twist-ties. Lay on a flat surface in the freezer. When you want to use 'em, just cut off however much you want. This is best for hardy-flavored herbs and even better for savories like ginger and garlic.

Option three: Wash/dry. Puree with a bit of olive oil (or other oil) to carry the flavor. Spoon into icetrays and freeze. After frozen solid, dump into a heavy, sealable freezer bag and use as needed. This is a great way to preserve delicately-flavored herbs like basil; the oil keeps their flavor tasting almost as good as fresh.

That's it! Those are all my secrets!

i started using those greenbags that are advertised on the tube and elsewhere. they really work. greens, spinach, peppers, asparagus last for about a week longer. a lot of times i'll put something in the freezer if i know i won't get to it and it turns into vegetable soup these days. one of my resolutions was not to waste food. even cooking for one person i feel like a creep if i throw something out.

I'm glad to see a post on waste! I've heard a lot of people argue (me included, at one time) that there aren't enough resources to take care of all the people in the world. Now, I think it's the idea that's garbage; there are enough resources--they're just horribly mismanaged.

I try to limit grocery shopping to once a week and buy only what I need for that week, along with any staples like eggs or milk. That way, I always have a clear view of what's on hand. Once or twice a week, I'll cook a big batch of something and portion them out for lunches. If I have fruit that's about to turn, I bake it into muffins or a quick bread that I can freeze, have for breakfast, and share with friends. Produce will go into soup or stir fry.

I have 2 storage bags in my freezer full of veggie ends and veggies that are about to go bad and dying fresh herbs for a monthly vegetable stock. Also regarding fresh herbs and their short life in the fridge, I usually divide the fresh herbs I've just bought in half, and hang half up to dry. Not as good a fresh, sure, but infinitely better than the jarred dried herbs.

Carolynapplebee, I just heard about green bags while sitting around the Easter dinner table last weekend. I haven't seen anything advertised though. Someone brought it up and swore that any bag that is colored green will work. Is this true? Is it the color that matters or is this some special kind of special product?

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/evertfresh-green-bags-pack-medium-p-27.html

this will give you some info. i usually rinse after using and hang it to dry over my blender, reuse again. if i see a good sale, like aparagus was last week, i want to get two or three bunches for soup one day, roasting the next. berries keep well, apples, carrots. came from a large family, so sometimes i have this bad habit of buying in bulk for a bargain.

I usually just freeze the herbs in the plastic containers they come it from the grocery store. They lose a little bit of flavor yes, but they still taste better than dry. This works well with thyme, not so well with larger leaved herbs like tarragon, but it still works. For parsley - wash and roll in a paper towel, put the roll in a ziplock bag in the freezer. You can cut off what you need like cutting off cookies for cookie dough. Again, not so good as fresh, but better than dried.

it's not my veggies i have a problem with, it's the dairy. the last three tablespoons of sour cream, yogurt, or ricotta always seem to go bad, along with the last cup of milk. they're what i hate cleaning out the most too. nothing sets off my gag reflex like the funk of spoiled dairy products.

Lindsey - I agree about the dairy! I think the best thing I can do about it is buy the tiniest container possible, and only if I have a plan for it. I buy pints of milk (a few at a time, since they don't expire right away) and the open only when I need it. Half pints of cream, and the 8 oz. container of sour cream (which I WISH came even smaller!). It helps, but it isn't perfect.

Kitchn folks -- can we get a post or two about composting in an apartment? we live in a loft building with zero available outdoor space. i know there are small undersink composting bins available, but could we have a post to discuss?

elissa's post made me wonder about the "proper" use of shelves in the fridge - aren't vegetables supposed to be kept in the lowest section of the fridge for proper temperature regulation? perhaps a post on maximizing the proper use of our refrigerators would be helpful, too?

thx.

I am pretty good about not wasting too much food at home, although I have post-its on the chest freezer, tubs of bulk stuff, etc. instead of a whiteboard, which is a much better idea.

My food waste victory for the month is this: After seeing a local grocer throwing away perfectly good produce, I publicly shamed, err, wrote about it on my site and the next thing you know they aren't throwing food away anymore! It's a small victory, in this case cheap, bread-ready bananas but they say they are also donating more stuff to the food bank so I am feeling good about it.

I have problems with the food in the crisper drawers spoiling so I moved the food onto my shelves and put my condiments in the drawers. Now I can see everything at eye level when I open the refrigerator. My milk and juice are in the door so I never worry about pushing them to the back of the fridge.

apartment folks looking to compost: if you're in nyc or another place with community gardens, ask them if you can bring your compost there. not all community gardens compost, of course, but many do. i know our (brooklyn) community garden is happy to accept compost, even from non-members.

I always plan out my meals for the week and make my shopping list accordingly. I also take any leftovers for lunch the next day. Even with my meal planning I inevitabely have some things that don't get used up.

Once a week or so I take anything out of the fridge/freezer that is about to pass it's prime and throw it all into a soup or frittata. I always keep a few things (beans, eggs, etc.) on hand that will help round out the meal. Last night it was frittata (onions, green pepper, potato, spinach and broccoli), last week it was a big greens and beans soup.

I cook for one and sometimes two.
I finally just gave up on salad greens, and enjoy salads at restaurants instead. This also means that I am through having five or six bottles of salad dressing. I buy carrot sticks, tomatoes to slice, and have plenty of green veggies (mostly from the freezer)
I use the freshener drawers to keep condiments in. They're not going to wilt if I forget they're there. Other items are in clear plastic bags and good quality clear plastic containers.
I take time to wash and prepare fruit before putting it in the fridge. If a cantaloupe or honeydew melon is already peeled seeded and cut into nice bite-sized pieces in a snap lock container, it will get eaten to the last bite because it's a handy snack. Ditto with grapes and strawberries. If I know they're ready to eat, I'm more likely to add them to my dinner plate or to eat them as snacks.
I eat only one kind of sandwich until I'm done with the ingredients and find that this not only doesn't bother me in the least, but also means that I don't have weird dried out slices of cheese or dubious sandwich meat in the fridge. Example: This week I am having ham and swiss on whole wheat bread every day for lunch. I have all the ingredients except the bread together in a plastic container. Out it comes. Sandwich is made. Back it goes. Next week I might have a microwaved hot dog every day.

I don't kid myself anymore that I'm going to reheat cooked green and yellow veggies. They aren't great as leftovers. Instead I try to cook less of the fresh ones, and only buy the bags of frozen ones that allow me to shake out the right amount.
I nearly always put leftover meat or meat dishes (like chili or casseroles) into serving size containers or plastic bags and freeze it. That way, if I don't get to it the next day, it's going to be safe to eat. The microwave is great for reheating.
I buy meat in larger packs for the savings, but repackage it for freezing. Otherwise the only things I buy in larger quantities are the non-perishable items like rice, pasta, flour, etc.

Its a small trick, but try wrapping your celery in tin foil! I've had a whole bunch of celery stay crisp and green in my fridge for up to 2 weeks!! It doesn't go limp or anything. I'm going to start trying it with other veggies. No reason to waste money on a gimmicky "green bag" when foil is so damn cheap!