Eco-friendly foodie: 8 top tips for cutting down on food waste in the kitchen

Did you know, every household in Ireland is responsible for about 117kg of food waste per year? That’s between €400 and €1,000 per household per year thrown INTO THE BIN! 

It’s not just a waste of your hard earned cash – food waste sent to landfill doesn't harmlessly break down but instead releases methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Where possible, we all need to focus on preventing food waste, and Aldi’s Ambassador, Trisha Lewis (Trisha’s Transformation) has some top tips that have helped her in the reduction of food waste.

Reducing food waste can be really easy and so satisfying. Having empty shelves in your fridge on the day of your food shop means you know you have done your best to use everything you have. Here are Trisha’s top tips;

  1. Prepare a meal plan.

  2. Use the system FIFO - first in first out - rotate your food and bring the oldest to the front always so it is the first one you grab.

  3. Make a shopping list! Planning your meals before you head to the shop helps you pick up the items you need.

  4. Buy frozen green vegetables as a backup for when fresh run out towards the end of the week.

  1. Pay attention to the use by dates and make sure you know the difference between “use by” and “best before”. Use by means that you must use it by this date for it to be safe to eat and best before means that it is at its best quality before this date.

  2. Watch your portion size - if you are like me and when I cook pasta, I cook enough to feed an army - my top tip here would be to measure your pasta out and only cook what you need to avoid the excess going into the bin.

  3. Freeze food before its use by date. I often freeze fresh berries after 2 days in the fridge and use them in my oats or smoothies.

  1. Use your leftovers the next day- so if you make boiled potatoes for dinner and you have too many, think of what you can do the next day - make a soup or sauté them for example.

The most fun and delicious way to reduce food waste in your home is to make amazing dishes with all your extra ingredients. So, grab what you have in your fridge and cupboards and give some of Aldi’s amazing recipes a try this week. 

Find all of Aldi’s amazing recipes here https://www.aldi.ie/c/recipes. There are lots to enjoy!

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