I read a statistic the other day that said “Americans aren’t eating about 40% of the food we buy.” That is a lot of wasted food! I don’t know about you but I start to get stressed when I have to throw out food that went bad. When I start to notice something is going to expire I get creative and think of ways to use it or freeze it.
We do eat and love leftovers and rarely have food waste, but it does happen to the best of us. I notice when I go to the grocery store without a list or a meal plan for the week that is when I have food that gets wasted. After reading that statistic on food waste I started to look for and think of ways to avoid food waste. I partnered with Blue Apron to come up with 5 tips to avoid food waste.
I got my food delivery from Blue Apron and decided to make the most of every piece of food they sent with our meal.
First of all we got two meals that fed a family of 4. There was plenty of food for all of us including my baby, so really 5 of us. Also we got the delivery on Thursday and that is the day my sisters got into town for the weekend. I was starting to stress about using the food, not wanting to waste it. So I looked online at blueapron.com and it said “their chefs pick the freshest ingredients so their meals will last in the fridge for a week”! We ended up making this on Tuesday night, 6 days after the delivery and everything looked like it did on day one.
Blue Apron offered me a special to share with my readers-
The first 25 readers from my blog can get THREE FREE MEALS off of your first Blue Apron order just by clicking HERE
This is what we got to make and how it turned out-
Braised Chicken with Spinach and Mashed Potatoes
Salmon Piccata with Orzo and Broccoli
We loved it ALL. I really liked that we could make a few tweaks to fit our needs. For instance the chicken recipe said to cover it in flour and cook it. I skipped that step and just cooked it without the flour. All of the ingredients are so flavorful that it really didn’t need it.
Tips on Avoiding Food Waste-
Tip #1- Freeze Spinach that is starting to wilt or go bad. I simply put mine in a freezer zip lock bag. Use frozen spinach for smoothies or in spaghetti sauce or in soups.
Tip #2- Freeze your bread or baked goods. I have done this for years. I always buy two loaves of bread and freeze one of them. You could even freeze half of one loaf to avoid waste. I defrost mine in the fridge and actually keep it there. Freezing cookies and backed goods is another great way to avoid eating too many and to avoid waste.
Tip #3- Use all of the broccoli. I trim off the ends of the broccoli and use a hand held spiralizer or put the broccoli ends in a food processor. These are great sautéed and added to eggs, a quiche, stir-fry, soup, really anything that calls for veggies.
Tip #4- Make healthy chips with the skins of the potatoes. These are SO tasty. I can’t believe I wasted SO many potato skins before! These make a really good appetizer too while you are waiting for food to cook. Beware they are gobbled up quickly! My kids loved them.
Recipe for Potato Skin Chips
- Wash your potatoes and peel the potatoes
- Lay the potato skins out on a baking sheet on top of parchment paper or a greased pan
- Spray or drizzle olive oil over the potato skins. I used Organic Olive Oil Spray. You don’t want to soak them- just lightly cover.
- Sprinkle with salt
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.
Tip #5- Use a food service like Blue Apron. Using Blue Apron you get the exact ingredients you need for a meal and you avoid over buying when you go to the grocery store.
Remember to click HERE to get THREE FREE MEALS on your first Blue Apron order!
I honestly love Blue Apron. I like that the recipes are so easy to follow I can have my 9 year old help me do a couple of things while I help the other kiddos under my feet.
Hopefully these tips help you to avoid food waste. Love hear how you prevent food waste, leave me a comment below!
great post! I have not heard of blue apron, I will go check it out!!
Thanks Kellie! Yes, try it, you will be impressed!
All of the recipes look so good. I’ll have to try it. Thanks for all the tips. What a cute family! Love your top too by the way. It reminds me of the dress you said you got at Old Navy. Did you find this top there?
Thanks Donna! Yes…that top is from Old Navy! Thanks for reading:)
hey girl- great tips!
thank you!
I never have used the ends of broccoli like that. I am so going to try this. I love your blog….your Friday Favs are fun!!
Thanks Kim! yay! I am glad you like my Friday favs:) I appreciate that feedback! I will keep it up!
I was impressed as well with Blue Apron., the have my vote and
I’ve placed my order with them more than once 🙂
I get the dine for 2 .. and it has 3 adults and 1 child.
Also adding to the fresh vegetables comment …
they are fresher than the choices of a few of my local grocery stores.
Finally…… most importantly it is shipped with individual attention
and never have had any issues.
I agree! The food was so fresh to last that long! Thanks for your comment!
I love Blue Apron! These are great tips for not wasting food. I especially like the potato peels – will try that this week! Love your blog – very enjoyable reading. 🙂
Thanks so much Lori for your comment 🙂 the potato skins were really good! You will want to skin a lot of potatoes!