Six nifty food hacks to save money and reduce waste

Food wastage is a major issue in Australia, costing the economy $36.6 billion a year, according to the National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study. Australians waste 7.6 million tonnes of food across the supply and consumption chain every year, which equals about 312 kilograms per person.

With this food waste comes money waste, equating to a loss of up to $2700 per household, each year, but there are plenty of ways to reduce wastage on both fronts. Here are some quick and effective ways you can start, ASAP.

Australians waste 7.6 million tonnes of food every year, which equals about 312 kilograms per person. With this food waste comes money waste.Credit: iStock

1. Set up an ‘eat first’ section. In your fridge and pantry, dedicate some space for items that are nearing the end of their shelf life. This could be an eat-first container or basket. Aim to make it as attention-seeking as possible.

You want it in your face, front and centre so you don’t forget about it and are encouraged to use these items first. Survey your fridge or pantry a few times a week to refill this section.

2. If you’re looking for a new fridge, consider bottom mount. Sure, this tip might cost you more money upfront, but it could prove rewarding in time. Bottom-mount fridges (with the fresh food section up top and the freezer down the bottom) are considered more user-friendly than top-mount fridges (which have the opposite configuration).

Bottom-mount fridges allow fresh food items to be visible at eye level, meaning you can easily view and organise the contents of your fridge. This reduces the chances of something going off, as it might in a neglected left-hand corner, third shelf down of a top-mount fridge.

Plus, you don’t need to crouch down to see what’s happening. What you can afford to leave unsupervised for far longer is the freezer.

3. Speaking of freezers, could you use yours more? Thank goodness for freezers, the food storage MVPs. They enable us to cook in bulk and save half for the future. They house frozen vegetables, which are often much friendlier on the wallet and food wastage fronts, let alone a saviour when it comes to whipping up quick meals.

Hot (or cold) tip – freeze the leftover red wine you just can’t finish into an ice cube tray. Next time a recipe calls for it, simply pop some cubes out.

4. Buy some food seal clips. This might seem basic, but it’s such a cheap and easy way to reduce food waste. Protect your food from going stale, mouldy or rancid, by sealing properly with a food seal clip. Spending a mere few seconds sealing food properly can save crackers, chips, nuts and plenty more from an unnecessary trip to the bin.

5. Know the difference between use-by and best-before dates. Use-by dates indicate the date a product needs to be consumed by. Following that date, it is no longer safe for consumption.

Whereas best-before dates can be consumed after their date. Rather, it is up to individuals to do their own check of whether something appears or smells to be unsafe. Often, there is not anything wrong with the product at all. Other times, the product’s quality might have diminished, but that does not necessarily mean it’s unsafe.

6. Cook with what’s already at home more often. It can be tricky to avoid the tempting cycle of buying new, sexy groceries. Try to cook with the ingredients you already have at home on a more regular basis. Creativity is a culinary muscle; the more often you experiment, the better you’ll become at it.

Channel your inner MasterChef contestant facing a mystery box challenge. (For those who don’t watch the show, it’s where contestants are given a preset group of ingredients to create an impressive dish from.)

Granted, there are always some slip-ups. But that’s part of the fun. It’s quite hard to cook something that is absolutely inedible.

Caterina Hrysomallis is a journalist specialising in culture, lifestyle and health.

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