In a world of rampant inflation, with UK food basics rising in cost over the past year by 80%, the nation is becoming more money-conscious than ever, as highlighted in SaveMoneyCutCarbon‘s landmark research that has revealed 41% of the population said they’ve had to cut their overall food costs significantly to afford their energy bills.
In turn, money-saving expert through sustainability, and CEO/founder of SaveMoneyCutCarbon, Mark Sait, gives his advice on the simple and easy ways to cut back on food waste, while helping the environment and your pocket.
1. Try planning your meals and check to see what’s lurking at the back of your cupboards
Meal prepping isn’t just for fitness fanatics or people trying to be healthier, it’s great for reducing waste and saving money!
You don’t have to prep every single meal seven days of the week – that would take a lot of time, that most of us don’t have.
Start off by prepping a few meals of the week. One way to do this is cutting up vegetables at the beginning of the week and storing them in a beeswax wrap so you can take a handful in the morning for packed lunches.
2. Make a shopping list and stick to it
Only buy what you really need. If a recipe only needs one onion, don’t buy a whole bag – this is a great way of reducing waste, saving money and reducing plastic all in one go.
If you notice that you’re wasting a lot on one particular thing, cut down on how many or how often you buy it.
3. Learn to store food correctly to stay fresher for longer
An easy rule of thumb to remember is the ‘first in, first out’ mantra, which means arranging food according to date.
Just like supermarket shelves, keep rotating your fridge and cupboards so that what needs eating up first is right in front of you.
4. The freezer is your friend
One of the easiest ways to reduce food waste is to save any leftovers. Whether it’s only pieces of a meal or a second helping of an entire dish, you can save pretty much everything.
Stasher bags are perfect for this as they can go straight from the freezer to a pan of boiling water or the microwave, no mess and hassle-free!
5. Find your Zen and eat intuitively
This final tip may be slightly unconventional, but it involves being in tune with your body.
If you learn to understand your hunger cues and know how hungry you are, it can help to reduce your food waste.
Remember, you can always go back for seconds if you want to and if your eyes happen to be a bit too big for your stomach, use the freezer!
About SaveMoneyCutCarbon
SaveMoneyCutCarbon is the go-to partner for sustainability. They help businesses and consumers take practical steps to a more sustainable future by providing products, solutions and expertise to support your full range of ESG and financial goals.
Their promise is in their name; it reflects the clear, no-nonsense way they go about our work. Through delivering more than 1,000 sustainability projects saving customers millions of pounds off their bottom line and 27 million kilowatts of energy last year alone.
SaveMoneyCutCarbon supplies over 75 leading technologies across solar, lighting, water solutions and more to make your operations as low-cost and planet-friendly as possible – all with a single partner.