Do you also change your diet at the beginning of the year?
For reasons of environmental awareness, it is advisable to also deal with the topic of food waste.
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At the beginning of the year, plans are often made – do more sport, do something for the climate, detox, vegan through January (keyword Veganuary), avoid alcohol in Dry January (German: dry January) or save money.
But between work and personal life, many goals are overly optimistic.
It doesn't always have to be the annual subscription to the gym or the vegan switch.
You can also shop and eat more sustainably in other ways – without making sacrifices.
According to the
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
, a total of 11 million tons of food are wasted in Germany.
17 percent of them never make it onto the supermarket shelves.
At the same time, private households produce 78 kilograms per capita every year - this is the largest proportion and has consequences for the environment: According to a report by
UNEP , almost a tenth of greenhouse gases are produced
reportedly associated with foods that are not eaten.
Your own wallet is also suffering from the ever-increasing food prices.
Sustainable alternatives are also becoming more interesting for economic reasons.
One possibility: food rescue.
But how?
Dominique Ertl from the food rescuer Motatos gives tips for less food waste.
Good for the environment and for the wallet.
1st tip to waste less food: Knowledge is power - learn and inform
Why is food waste a problem?
Why do we find it so difficult to change habits and what difference can you make in the first place?
Many ask themselves these and other questions at the beginning of their project to reduce food waste.
Many things simply have to be tried out.
But knowing what a best-before date (MHD) really means helps a lot.
This is often misinterpreted.
Actually, it just tells us that after expiration, a product may not be the same as it was when it was made.
You can tell if something is still edible by tasting, smelling and looking.
The use-by date is different: this marks the point in time at which food is no longer safe and should be observed at all costs.
Anyone who is aware of the problem (e.g. food waste) and learns about the necessity and solutions can better prioritize and question their own routines.
More information and practical tips from the expert:
For bookworms: Zero waste kitchen by Sophia Hoffmann (promotional link)
At Movie Night: Wasted!
(2017), Food waste - bin instead of plate?
from
NDR
On your ears: Smarter life podcast from
Spiegel:
Waste of food with Daniel Anthes
Social media: Max La Manna's Instagram channel gives simple tricks and tips for rescue every day
Don't want to miss any more recipes and kitchen tricks?
Click here for the gourmet newsletter from our partner Merkur.de
2nd tip to reduce food waste: Deliciously crooked – consume and store smart
Everything perfect?
Thanks to marketing standards and control regulations, vegetables and fruit in the supermarket are seldom crooked or "unshaped".
These determine how mature or dent-free it must be.
At home, too, there are personal preferences, albeit less official ones: Brown bananas, soft tomatoes or shriveled cucumbers quickly end up in the trash – even more often than bread or yesterday's dinner.
If you are not put off by the consistency and appearance, most of it can be processed further.
How about a delicious spread, pesto or power smoothie?
When pureed, roasted or boiled down, blemishes are no longer noticeable.
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Sharing unneeded food with friends or neighbors before it spoils is a great way to reduce food waste.
© Jose Carlos Ichiro/Imago
Ever heard of leftover parties?
Round up friends, everyone brings slow sellers from the kitchen and together you conjure up a no-waste dinner.
There is inspiration for this, for example, with the leftover recipes from the social media trend #scrappycooking.
Meal prepping is recommended for those who are always in a hurry: Instead of cooking every day, prepare everything for the next few days at the beginning of the week.
So that it doesn't get boring, just vary the toppings a bit.
This saves time, money and waste.
However, it is often not the cooking that fails at all, but rather the wrong storage.
The expert's rules of thumb:
Warm tropical fruit, cool regional fruit.
It is better to store peppers and tomatoes outside.
The kitchen is often a damp place, so even in the dark corners it is not always suitable for dry storage, eg of potatoes.
Separate fruit that has finished ripening, e.g. apples and bananas emit ethylene, which means that they both ripen even faster next to each other.
In addition to optimal temperature and space conditions, the main concern here is practicality: leftovers should not be complicated, but simply integrated.
It is best to always put the opened things to the front and sort them by expiry date.
This creates a good overview in the pantry and means that the essentials are used up first without much thought.
What foods should you always have on hand in an emergency?
What foods should you always have on hand in an emergency?
Tip 3 for wasting less groceries: save with Last Christmas Shopping
What actually happens to the Christmas chocolate after the holidays?
Or the leftovers from the New Year's offer?
A small part of it is reduced on the shelves between the years or at the beginning of January.
Many products don't even make it to the supermarket.
The reason: seasonality, short shelf life or misprints.
The goods can still be enjoyed for a long time, but are no longer sold.
The same applies to products with blemishes that do not conform to the norm.
This can benefit you, especially now that your wallet is smaller: rescued food is usually sold at a lower price, but still tastes great.
In contrast to containers, these products come straight from the production line and often have an expiration date.
Vendors like etepetete or Motatos save exactly these foods and sell them a lot cheaper.
Do you want to exercise more or try a vegan diet?
With many food rescuers you can also simply test vegan or fitness products for little money.
4th tip for wasting less food: New Year's inventory in the pantry
Not everyone likes to cook from a recipe.
The quantities are loosely estimated and so sometimes there is a lack of feeling for how much is really needed.
Spontaneous meal plans with friends also sometimes undermine the cooking plan.
Then the salad is soggy, the yoghurt tilted or the previous day's meal smells sour.
It's high time for an inventory: what else is actually in the household?
Tip:
A note on the fridge.
Draw two columns: On the left write down if you throw something away (eg two bananas, rotten).
Enter on the right if something is empty or has been bought later.
After a week or before the next big purchase, a cash register crash is imminent: Which slow sellers are there?
What do you have to keep buying?
The aim should be to get to know one's own consumption, to shop more consciously, to consume food in good time or to donate it.
5th tip for wasting less food: To be good neighbors
Who doesn't know it, after work you get hungry and the food cooked is enough for a whole football team?
Cooking the right amount is not that easy.
Leftovers are often left unlovingly on the stove - and the next day there is no time to eat them or you crave something new.
When it comes to clothing and household goods, it is more common for us to place our items on the street or in the hallway – this is less common when it comes to groceries or ready-to-eat meals.
But why not?
Neighbors, colleagues or food sharers are happy about the willingness.
In addition to official locations such as the fair dividers from foodsharing, this is also very easy with a rescue box in the hallway, on the street or in the office.
When the food is cooked, try a WhatsApp group with the neighbors or just knock on the door.
Little effort, little waste and sharing is fun.
Rubric list image: © Jose Carlos Ichiro/Imago
