• Prepare a grocery shopping list
• use leftovers
• Freeze food
• Proper storage of food
• As easy as zero waste

Zero Waste covers many topics, but in practice it boils down to one thing – reducing waste production. This concept can mean both trying to break the habit of buying products in unnecessary plastic packaging, repairing and reusing broken items, or wasting something as noble as not having life force. How do you implement the Zero Waste idea in the kitchen and how do you not waste food? Here are some simple solutions.

Prepare a grocery shopping list

The easiest and most effective way to avoid food waste is to plan your purchase carefully and only choose what is on your list during a visit to the market or supermarket. Before making a grocery list, you need to check the cabinets and refrigerator. Check the expiration dates of the products you already have and remember that there are two labels: "best before" and "use by". Products from the first group are not dangerous to your health, even if you eat them a few days after the expiration date. They might look a little less attractive, but if you don't notice mold or other bothersome signs of spoilage, you can easily do something with them. The date with the preceding "Use by" entry should be noted, so when checking, list those items at the top whose best-before date is closest and take them into account when planning the menu for the next few days. Think about how they can be used up and add to the list of what you need to cook from short shelf life produce.

use leftovers

“Other” foods can also look (kind of) luxurious and taste great. Remember that almost anything can be refreshed and served in a new form. Leftovers, vegetables and sauces come together in a salad cleverly named Buddha Bowl. Sauté leftovers of cooked vegetables in olive oil and garlic or make a creamy soup, turn stale bread into French toast (soaked in plant-based milk in the vegan version; in egg in the childhood memory version). Fresh, but slightly wilted vegetables, you can try to firm them in a water bath. Wrap leftovers in a tortilla or pancake, add to pasta or make a pie, and make fruit compote.

Freeze food

Freezing is a method that allows you to preserve the freshness, taste and nutritional value of food for up to several months, but remember not to freeze stale products. You can ViolationFreeze , fruit, vegetables and parsley, dumplings, but also soups and other dishes, preferably divided into smaller portions. A prime example of Zero Waste in the kitchen is freezing peels, cuttings and ends of vegetables. So you always have the ingredients for a vegetable broth in the fridge, from which you can prepare soups, sauces, risottos or anything that can be poured with a light broth.

Proper storage of food

Store products with a short shelf life on top.

To protect your eggs from premature spoilage, do not wash them before putting them in the fridge or you will strip off their natural protective coating. Interestingly, eggs don't need cold at all. If you prefer to keep them out of the fridge, keep them in salt like our grandmothers did.

Full use of vegetables and fruit

Zero waste does not exclude. Following the idea of not wasting food means using all, even the disliked parts of the vegetable, and we're talking stems, leaves and tops. For example, a stalk of broccoli, peeled from the woody outer layer, is crisp, juicy and nutritious, suitable for dipping in hummus or as an ingredient in a salad. Carrot leaves and radish leaves can always be mixed with olive oil, garlic and sunflower seeds for pesto. Turnip greens or celery leaves, sautéed in butter like spinach, serve as a side for dinner. It's also worth experimenting with pickling and marinating, adding what we don't eat to cocktails or soups, or frying it with garlic. Why throw it away when there's so much vitamin and fiber in it?

As easy as zero waste

As you can see, not wasting food can be easy, fun, and even a little exciting! Open up new flavors and possibilities, prepare pasta with carrot and parsley pesto, pickle radish with leaves and baste the risotto with your first leftover broth. Have fun in the kitchen and enjoy knowing that more and more conscious people are doing it to you, and nature's harvest isn't going to waste. to win!