A CSA community supported agriculture program is also a good option, but many are designed with families in mind. See if you can buy a half-share, split it with a friend, or shop as you go instead of getting a big box every week.

And when you do go to the grocery, try some of these strategies. Also, use a basket instead of a cart, have a snack before you go, and avoid bulk purchases.

I love Glad to Go containers; they have separate compartments for dressing, and they are easy to wash and re-use. Adult lunch totes are becoming more and more popular, as well. How many times have you watched your yogurt expire when it feels like you JUST got it. Learn to trust your eyes and nose and utilize the site StillTasty which lists almost every type of produce imaginable with proper fridge, freezer and panty shelf life explanations.

Remember that freezers are a magical thing, food can stay fresh in there forever! Well, almost forever; uncooked chicken, for example, can stay safe to eat for almost a year.

Just make sure to label your freezer packages with contents and a date. But with a few base recipes or techniques up your sleeve you can give new life to that quarter onion, half can of beans, and handful of shredded cheese.

Sauté a few veggies into an omelet, simmer chopped chicken into a soup, or toss everything into a quick pasta dish. For me, it takes some of the stress out of cooking and is a fun challenge as well. If you need some ideas, check out our Kitchen Sink Pinterest board.

Make a big meal, invite your friends to bring a dish, and have containers ready to send everyone home with leftovers. That way you all get to try out new recipes and avoid eating the same thing over and over again.

Trade off on hosting duties, share the love, and minimize waste! Be proud of your single self, take a risk and try something new. Cooking for One with Zero Waste Tips for making delicious, healthy and unique meals for one without throwing half of it in the garbage.

Take the Challenge: Learn easy ways to waste less food and save money. Share This. Produced by Sustainable America Partners The Fink Foundation Grace Communications Sources.

Also subscribe me to: Food Roundup. In The Zero-Waste Chef , Anne-Marie makes cutting back on waste more fun and accessible than ever. No matter where you are on your zero-waste journey, this cookbook will inspire you from start to finish.

Beautifully written and illustrated, The Zero-Waste Chef is filled with approachable recipes and wisdom for real life in a sustainable kitchen. US Cover Canadian Cover The Zero-Waste Chef: Plant-Forward Recipes and Tips for a Sustainable Kitchen and Planet Taste Canada silver award for single-subject cookbooks Second-place Gourmand cookbook award in the category of food waste Shortlisted for an award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals ORDER NOW!

CA SHOP LOCAL International Retailers READINGS AUS Advance Praise for The Zero-Waste Chef A timely and much needed resource.

Aimée Wimbush-Bourque, author of Brown Eggs and Jam Jars. Facebook Twitter Instagram. Share this: Email Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit LinkedIn Tumblr Pocket WhatsApp Nextdoor. Loading Comments Email Required Name Required Website.

The nose-to-tail movement has been gaining ground for a few years, and more recently cooks are beginning to explore how they can use all parts of plant-based foods see more ideas of how to do this below.

When whipping up batches of homemade nut or seed milk , save the pulp in the freezer. Recipe to Try: Almond Milk Pulp Cheese by Quite Good Food. Yep, they taste like broccoli too! Save them for stock, or chop them up for soups, stews or as a side dish. Incorporate them into your cooking instead.

Since they can be bitter, you may not want to eat them raw — but they work wonderfully when cooked, or when paired with acidity, salt and a pinch of sweetness in a pesto recipe. Recipe to Try: Carrot Top Pesto by Milk and Cardamom. Keep a large bag or container in your freezer with veggie scraps for broth.

Onion and garlic ends, carrot and celery ends, vegetable peelings, mushroom stems, leftover herbs, zucchini ends — use it all!

When your bag is full, put the contents into a pot, slow cooker or Instant Pot with water to make broth. Recipe to Try: Scraps Vegetable Broth by Garlic and Zest. You can also grab our complete Guide to Broths and Stocks.

After you strip the leaves off of dark leafy greens like kale, Swiss chard or collards, use the stems for cooking or juice them. Recipe to Try: Sweet and Spicy Sauteed Kale Stems by The Endless Meal.

Citrus zest is packed with flavour, along with Vitamin C and flavonoids that have anti-cancer properties. Zest your lemons and limes and freeze the zest for later, or dehydrate it for a fantastic condiment.

Finely chop your herbs, place them in an ice cube tray and then pour olive oil over top. This would also be great with homemade ghee! After you scoop out your winter squash, rinse the seeds and either dehydrate or roast them with spices for a tasty, homemade snack. Recipe to Try: Roasted Squash Seeds by Running to the Kitchen.

Roast a chicken last night for dinner? Use the rest of it to make a rich, health-promoting broth. Recipe to Try: Simple Bone Broth Recipe by Meghan Telpner. Canning, fermenting, freezing and dehydrating are just a few of the preservation methods that can help your food last longer and reduce food waste.

Our go-to experts on all things preserving are Joel MacCharles and Dana Harris, who are behind the cookbook Batch and the blog Well Preserved , which delves into preserving types in detail.

Learn all about how to preserve food at home here. Recipe to Try: How to Make Homemade Pickles by The Academy of Culinary Nutrition. Many large cities have curbside composting, but you can easily get a compost bin for your yard, balcony or even underneath your kitchen counter.

That way, your unused food can go towards growing new ingredients. We love to reduce food waste, but also minimize overall kitchen packaging waste that can negatively impact the environment. Here are a few more ways to go zero waste in your kitchen. Reducing food waste may seem overwhelming or challenging at first, but remember that every single effort counts.

If all of us began practicing even a couple of these tips on a regular basis, that would have a huge impact for our health, our budgets and the environment. We love the nutritional power of fresh produce, but we…. As you might imagine, we adore cooking from scratch here at the Academy of Culinary Nutrition.

Homemade pickles are delicious and when prepared in the culinary nutrition way, they become a fermented food that is rich in probiotics and fantastic for…. Dark leafy greens are a true workhorse of the vegetable world: they contain a payload of nutrients that support good health, including antioxidants, healthy fats,….

During a busy day, it can be challenging to cook three nutritious meals plus snacks from scratch. Employing kitchen hacks to get dinner on the…. Whether you have an overflowing home garden, bought too much produce at the grocery store or are wondering what to do with the surplus of….

Join Our Community Sign up to receive our monthly dose of culinary nutrition inspiration. Store Food Properly This is an essential first step to reducing food waste at home.

Fill out the form below for instant access. Shop with a Plan How many times have you been enticed by a bright, fragrant fruit or vegetable and ended up tossing it because you could never figure out what to do with it? Buy Local Purchase food that is in season and grown close to where you live.

Buy What You Need If there is a sale on tomatoes, will you be able to eat all of them before they go off? Assess Best Before Dates Very few foods have a true expiry date. Creatively Repurpose Leftovers We have no problems with leftovers and will happily eat bowls of chilli or creamy pumpkin noodles for three lunches in a row.

Start a Cooking Cooperative Enjoy the benefits of healthy meals with less cooking by starting a neighbourhood cooking cooperative.

Save Almond Pulp When whipping up batches of homemade nut or seed milk , save the pulp in the freezer. Recipe to Try: Almond Milk Pulp Cheese by Quite Good Food Recipe to Try: Carrot Top Pesto by Milk and Cardamom Save Scraps for Broth Keep a large bag or container in your freezer with veggie scraps for broth.

Recipe to Try: Scraps Vegetable Broth by Garlic and Zest You can also grab our complete Guide to Broths and Stocks. Use Stems of Dark Leafy Greens After you strip the leaves off of dark leafy greens like kale, Swiss chard or collards, use the stems for cooking or juice them.

Recipe to Try: Sweet and Spicy Sauteed Kale Stems by The Endless Meal Zest Lemons and Limes Citrus zest is packed with flavour, along with Vitamin C and flavonoids that have anti-cancer properties. Perhaps it was my upbringing, my career as a food stylist where I witnessed food constantly being thrown away, or my children eating so much food while tossing the rest.

Or maybe it was the unbearable food waste statistics and the effect it has on our environment. I developed a simple practice of batch cooking, using it as the opportunity to clean out my fridge and freezer, and experiment.

And, over the years, my favourite recipes became those that were most adaptable to the ingredients I had kicking around the kitchen. Fried rice, for example, combined leftover rice, with whatever bits of this or that I had on hand. Then I used the leftovers in packed peppers the next day.

After developing these and more food waste solutions in my own kitchen, I realized there need s to be a book that shares these kinds of practical, everyday solutions for using up the food we typically toss aside.

And Cook More, Waste Less was born. We all play a part: on average we unwittingly throw away one in every four bags of groceries we buy. When we toss aside perfectly edible food rather than eat it, we create needless waste and negatively impact the environment and waste valuable dollars and we perpetuate the demand for more food to be produced overall.

The more food that is produced, the more detrimental the impact on the environment. Food production is affecting climate change and vice versa , and food prices are soaring.

Along the way I have learned there is only one thing we have immediate, direct control of: our own consumption habits, i. Whether you are an environmentally or socially conscious eater or someone working with a tight food budget or just looking for new ideas for what to cook, I hope you enjoy this journey towards zero waste.