Posted on October 09 2023
You may have heard about the studies showing that up to one third of food purchased at the grocery store is never eaten. Maybe you believe those statistics. Maybe not. Either way you may want to take a look at your own grocery shopping and food consumption habits.
If your grocery bills are heading higher, you may want to first look at the amount of food your household is wasting. There are plenty of great ways to use and repurpose the stuff lurking in your fridge, and here are 10 ideas to get you started.
- Turn those meat scraps into soup starter. That chicken carcass and beef fat still have their uses, so resist the urge to toss them out. Instead use them to create a handy soup starter, something that can be frozen until it is needed.
- Bake some delicious banana bread. Those brown bananas hanging out on the counter or in the fridge may not look appetizing on their own, but they are the perfect ingredients for a delicious loaf of banana bread. Just add some flour, eggs and sugar and you will have a great dessert for the whole family.
- Whip up some healthy fruit (and vegetable) smoothies. Fresh produce is amazing for your health and your family, but those fruits and veggies have a limited shelf life. As that time approaches why not whip up a batch of delicious fruit (and vegetable) smoothies?
- Give your wilted lettuce a refreshing ice bath. Before you toss that old head of lettuce try giving it an ice bath. Plunging wilted lettuce into super cold water just might bring it back to life and get you one more healthy salad.
- Pickle and preserve. Pickling is for more than cucumbers and sauerkraut. You can pickle and preserve everything from sprouts to carrots. Try experimenting with various pickling recipes to find the ones that work best for your taste buds.
- Turn that old cheese into fun fondue. If you have old cheese hanging around in the fridge, give it a delicious new life. Just fire up your fondue pot, fill it with cheese and enjoy the gooey, melty goodness.
- Make some buttermilk mashed potatoes. If you have leftover buttermilk in the fridge use it to make some buttermilk mashed potatoes. You will love the creamy goodness - and so will your family.
- Turn stale bread into homemade croutons. There is nothing like the crunch of croutons in a fresh salad, especially when you use stale bread that would otherwise get thrown away. Cutting the stale bread into homemade croutons is a grocery hack you will use again and again.
- Replace the mayo in your recipes with healthy tangy Greek yogurt. The delicious tang of Greek yogurt is perfect for many recipes, including ones that normally call for less healthy mayonnaise. Your taste buds - and your waistline - will thank you.
- Use leftover marinara to create a fresh homemade pizza. If you have leftovers from spaghetti night you can turn them into delicious homemade pizza. The great thing about making your own pizza is that everyone can have their favorite toppings, so why not do some experimenting?
The only thing worse than spending a ton of money at the grocery store is throwing those groceries away. This unhappy scenario plays out in every home, but you can do your part to reduce the waste. Just keep these 10 tips in mind the next time your fridge needs a cleanout.
You might like these articles too:
5 Easy Ways to Reduce Food Waste
Related Posts
High Grocery Prices Got You Down? Stretch Your Food Budget With These Storage and Freezer Hacks
13 Ways to Save Big Bucks on Everyday Expenses and Change Your Life
0 comments