Cut food waste and save over US$1,000 annually

Food blogger Carleigh Bodrug, creator of PlantYou, discovered the financial and environmental toll of food waste while testing recipes at home. Her research revealed that home cooks are a significant part of the problem—often tossing usable ingredients and leftovers without a second thought.

According to Bodrug, the average family of four wastes approximately US$1,500 worth of groceries annually. But she says that with a few intentional shifts in how food is stored, repurposed, and prepared, households can easily cut over US$1,000 in unnecessary spending.

Indeed, the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that 30% to 40% of the American food supply is wasted, a staggering figure with consequences far beyond individual kitchens. Reducing food waste not only helps save money, but also eases pressure on landfills and emissions.

Click through the following gallery to discover how to make the most of your groceries, with smart tips and ideas that turn scraps into savings.

Reframe your view of leftovers

Try to think of them as ingredients, not leftovers. Any leftovers you have can be used as ingredients in a new meal. Leftover rice can be used for stuffed peppers or fried rice. Leftover pasta can be added to a minestrone soup or a pasta salad.

Plan your portions

When you’re making dinner at night, try to portion it so there will be enough left for lunch the next day. This means you’re taking care of two meals in one go and nothing goes to waste.

Save your "waste" for stock

They might look useless, but the odds and ends left over from chopped vegetables will make a wonderful stock for soup or other dishes. Collect your vegetable scraps for a few days, then boil into stock and store in the fridge. You can also build up your scraps over a longer period and store them in the freezer until you want to make your stock.

Pickle leftover vegetables

Pickling your own vegetables at home is so easy, and it's really useful to have a range of pickles handy to add that little hit of acidity to your dish. You can do cucumbers, carrots, onions, radishes, jalapeños, and pretty much any other vegetable you can think of...

Breadcrumbs

Bread is one of the most commonly wasted food items in the world. If you have some bread going stale, whizz it into breadcrumbs in a food processor and plan a meal around it. Plenty of casseroles and Italian dishes are topped with a breadcrumb crust, like eggplant Parmigiana. You can also coat it in olive oil and herbs, toast it, and cut it into croutons for your salad or soup.

Stale pita bread or tortilla wraps

If you’ve got either of these going stale in your pantry, fear not! You can cut them into small triangles, drizzle with oil and spices, and bake them in the oven until you’ve got yourself some delicious homemade chips.

Freeze fruit for smoothies

If your fruit is about to go bad, you can chop it up and stick it in the freezer. Frozen fruit is amazing in a morning smoothie because it makes it nice and cold!

Leftover herbs

If you have leftover herbs in the fridge, then try blending them into a unique salsa verde before they go off. Add lemon, garlic, and olive oil. It’s perfect over fish, or you can simply dip some fresh bread.

Make kebabs

If you have a mix of vegetables, meats, fish, and even fruit in your fridge, you can make yourself an interesting kebab! Mix sweet with salty for an interesting contrast. This would work great on the barbecue in the summer.

Make it into a salad

There are few leftovers that can’t be made into a salad. Leftover pasta bake? Make a pasta salad. Leftover ground beef from taco night? Taco salad!

Leftover baked ham

A top tip for baked ham leftovers is to cut them into thin slices, stack in between pieces of parchment paper, and freeze. You can take out a slice at a time whenever you’re making a sandwich!

Yogurt flatbreads

If you've got some natural yogurt in your fridge that might go off soon, try mixing it with an equal amount of self-raising flour and a sprinkle of cumin seeds. This will make a simple dough you can roll out and fry on a pan to make the easiest ever flatbread.

Coconut milk

If you made a recipe with coconut milk but you’ve got some left over, you can mix it with confectioner’s sugar to make a delicious icing for a baked good or dessert.

Soups

If you have any leftover vegetables from a meal, whether cooked or uncooked, they’ll make a great start for a soup the next day.

Curries

If you have some curry paste in the pantry, or even just a can of coconut milk and some spices, you can get rid of half the leftovers in your fridge by throwing them into a curry! Add whatever vegetables you have and any kind of protein.