Homes in general create a large amount of waste. However, I happen to think the kitchen is the biggest offender of all the rooms in the house. From rotten produce to packaging, there’s almost an endless amount of waste coming from this one room! If you have been considering a no waste kitchen there’s no better time than now and I’ve got some tips to help you get started.
(Note: The links in this post may be affiliate links. Read the disclosure policy here.)
Reduce
The first step to reducing kitchen waste is to reduce and reuse packaging. Be mindful when buying packaged items. Jars and containers can be reused for other purposes. Visit your local farmer’s market to buy fresh produce and bring a basket or reusable shopping bag so you do not need to take plastic grocery bags. Not only are these foods better for you, they have a lower impact on the earth. Also, Bulk Barn Canada has introduced a reusable container program at all Bulk Barn locations!
Regrow
Regrow produce from leftovers. Yes, it’s true! Several produce items can be regrown using the ends! From celery to pineapples to green onions and more, you are bound to find a favorite thing your family can regrow.
Don’t Toss Overripe Food
Put overripe fruit to use by making bread, muffins, and other fun baked goods. We are all familiar with using bananas for banana bread, but you can do this with nearly any overripe fruit in your fridge or freezer.
Compost
A great way to work towards a no waste kitchen is to compostand boost your garden nutrients at the same time. Instead of throwing out what your family does not eat, use it to build up your garden and feed your family again. Banana peels and eggshells are great to toss right into your garden beds.
Smart Storage
Invest in storage that makes food last longer. Produce can go bad fast but with the right storage, you can make it last longer than ever. Washing fruits in a bit of Apple Cider Vinegar or white vinegar will kill off mold spores that make them spoil faster. Storing carrots and celery in water can make them last weeks at a time.
No More Sponges
Ditch the sponge for a washable dishcloths that last longer and cut down on bacteria that can make your family sick. I also recently purchased a washable pot scrubber like these, that I LOVE!
No More Paper Towels
Ditch the paper towels for a washable option like reusable towels or microfiber cloths. Reuse empty cans for draining things that cannot be washed down the drain, like bacon grease.
Store Eggs Properly
Make eggs last longer. When storing store bought eggs, put them directly into a sealed container in the fridge. These eggs no longer have the protective coating the chicken leaves on the eggs so they can absorb odors, flavors, and bacteria from your fridge. If you have your own chickens don’t wash the eggs. Slightly dust off feathers and bedding that may be on them and store on the counter. Do not WASH until you go to use them.
Reusable Bags
Shop with reusable supplies like cloth grocery andproduce bags. One trick you may enjoy is bringing laundry baskets or big storage containers when you go shopping. Have the cashiers toss everything into the baskets instead of bags. Move the basket to your car and from your car to your home. It cuts down on waste and makes getting everything in easier. You may want to separate refrigerated and pantry goods in these baskets to make putting everything away easy.
Buy What You Need
Don’t buy more than you need. So often we see a sale and buy more than our families can use before it goes bad. If you do not have a deep freezer, control the impulse to buy out that clearance meat. The same goes for buying produce, milk, eggs and even pantry goods that can go stale.
Go Homemade
To cut down on packaging waste for convenience items like cookies, granola bars, apple sauce cups or even frozen entrees, start making those items at home and storing in reusable containers or your baking ware.
Menu Plan
I can’t write anything relating to food without mentioning the importance of menu planning. Menu planning is especially vital to reducing food waste and lowering your grocery bill because it helps account for everything you buy. When you have a plan for your food, there’s less chance that it will be wasted.
If you really struggle with menu planning, then try out $5 Meal Plan. It happens to be my favorite meal planning service. Itâs just $5 a month (the first two weeks are free!), and you get menu plans sent straight to your email along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This service allows you to save time because you wonât have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well! If you are interested in joining for free, click here.
Armed with these tips, you should be able to make little steps towards a no waste kitchen. Changing one thing at a time will enable you to see progress and keep more money in your pocket too!
I’d love to know how you plan on going towards a no waste kitchen? Please share in the comments below!
Here are 7 Menu Planning Tips For Tight Budgets that you will appreciate:
When it comes to menu planning, these budgeting tips are going to transform how you view your grocery budget. There are so many simple tricks to help you create amazing meals for your family when you are on a tight budget. This post has some of the best! Armed with a few simple tricks up your sleeve, you can provide your family with delicious meals without breaking the bank.
Create your menu with what you have on hand first.
One of the best menu planning tips is to start not with what you want to buy, but what you already have on hand. Look at your pantry, freezer and refrigerator for great starts to a meal. Utilize your on-hand items and limit your week to week expenses as much as possible focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables.
Ask your butcher for budget cuts of meat.
Not only can you watch for the sales on meat at your market or grocery store, but you can talk directly to the butcher. Sometimes they will have meat that isn’t bad, but can be sold at a fraction of the regular price for some reason. End pieces of whole rib eyes can be found at low prices because they aren’t enough to be a âsteakâ. Ask for these bits and then cube for stews or braised beef dishes. Sometimes meat isn’t past the ‘best by’ date, but close to it and the butcher has to mark it down. Grab those mark downs and cook in advance to freeze for a later date or simply freeze the meat uncooked as soon as you bring it home.
Use your slow cooker.
Slow cooker or Instant Pot recipes are one of the best ways to stick to your menu plan as well as stay on budget. One of the best menu planning tips is to use those budget cuts of meat and tenderize them for amazing meals in your slow cooker or Instant Pot. A beef roast or whole chicken can feed your family several meals for half the price, but may not be as convenient or easy to cook in the oven. Use a slow cooker or Instant Pot and let them do the work for you.
Start your own garden if possible.
If you have time and space to have your own garden, this can be a huge savings for your menu plan each week. Learn to can or freeze your excess produce for future use, and use your surplus year round in your weekly menu plans.
Build around low cost staple items.
For most, this means picking up things like dry beans, rice and potatoes that are low cost but can stretch a meal further. While many would find this unhealthy, if you combine this with nutrient-dense vegetables and limit your high-fat proteins you truly can eat healthy. Focus on whole grains when possible and limit the regular potatoes and white rice.
Buy what is on sale and combine with coupons.
For sales at your market or grocery store, take the time to check your coupons and shop using those coupons on sale items. You’ll get twice as much value toward your menu plan!
Utilize one item multiple ways.
One of my favorite ways to save money is to cook dry beans in my slow cooker or Instant Pot. Dry beans can be seasoned and eaten by themselves, added to soups or chili, refried to make dips or put into burritos. This simple item can be used multiple ways for very cheap.
Take advantage of my favorite menu planning tips that will stretch your budget even further! I’d love to hear your tips that make your grocery budget stretch farther in the comments below!
Cost Effective Alternatives to Buy at the Grocery Store
So, you’re looking to save some more money at the grocery store without compromising your health. Sometimes it can be as simple as replacing one item with another similar item! Today, I’d love to tell you about 8 items you can buy to replace their costly, less healthful counterparts.
Oatmeal instead of cereal
Do away with the expensive boxes of cereal full of sugar and buy oatmeal! You could purchase those convenient packs of pre-made oatmeal, but I’d encourage you to buy a bag of oats instead. I find it so easy to create my own instant oatmeal packs, plus I can control the sugar content by adding various delicious toppings. Oatmeal will also help keep you feeling full so you may need less snacks đ
Frozen fruit instead of fresh
Purchasing fresh fruit in season can be an inexpensive way to get them, but frozen fruits are a good option too. Especially because they’re picked at the peak of their flavour and aren’t any less healthful than fresh. So if you find yourself in the dead of winter wanting fruit, try grabbing a bag of frozen fruit to save yourself some cash and disappointment with the lack of flavour.
Yogurt tub instead of cups
Sure, yogurt cups are really convenient for packing in lunches, but you could spend a little extra time once a week filling up reusable containers with yogurt from a tub instead. Buying yogurt in larger quantities (tubs or those pour bags) will save you big time.
Make dressing instead of bottled
Making salad dressings from scratch has got to be one of the most simple kitchen tasks you could do. Believe me because I don’t do complicated in the kitchen. If you’re used to buying those expensive bottles of organic/natural salad dressings, you’ll be saving yourself a bundle at the grocery store by making your own with simple inexpensive ingredients you may already have on hand! Here are some of my recipes:
Not only is a head of lettuce much cheaper than the bags or containers of salad, they last longer too! I understand the convenience of buying a bag or container, but really it doesn’t take much effort to tear up some lettuce leaves for a salad. Especially when you have to sort through the slimy pieces in the bags or containers anyways.
Rotisserie chicken instead of deli meats
Go for the whole rotisserie chicken instead of the deli meats for sandwiches. Your boring ol’ sandwiches will taste so much better! Plus, you’ll be feeding yourself something a bit healthier. But don’t stop at sandwiches, hang onto the bones and extra meat to make a delicious chicken noodle soup for another meal or two.
Dried beans instead of canned beans
I’ll be honest and say that we don’t eat a lot of beans in our house so I do tend to purchase the cans of beans. But, if you use beans a lot in your cooking, purchasing dried beans is the way to go if you want to save yourself a bundle! Cooking up a batch of dried beans is simple if you put your slow cooker to use or the new Instant Pot.
Brown Rice instead of white rice
There may not be much of a price difference between white rice and brown rice, but if you look at the nutritional value, you’ll win with buying the brown rice. The vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are some of the benefits, but one of the biggest pluses may be that the high amount of fiber in brown rice helps fill you up longer than white rice would. In turn, cutting down on the amount of snacks you may need between meals. Or even the amount you pile on your plate in the first place.
A you can see, there may be no need to stop buying some items completely to save money, but a simple replacement should help you out. How many of these replacements do you buy already? What are some other things that you buy to save money?
Groceries. We need them and we have to buy them. Yet, while they are a necessity, do you find that you have quite a high grocery bill? Are you frustrated by that fact? There are ways to keep grocery costs down and I’m about to reveal my secrets that will help fix your problem.
You might be feeling as though there’s no possible way to lower your grocery bill. But, I’m of the mindset that our grocery bill is one of the most flexible bills we have to pay. There is no set monthly bill that a grocery store sends our way, unlike the phone company. We make the call on how much our bill will be each time we stop at the store.
Shop your Pantry
Before you even head to the grocery store, peruse your pantry shelves to see how many ingredients you already have that will help you put together as many meals as possible. Take inventory. Every once in a while I like to dedicate a week or two to shopping from my pantry. On those weeks, I literally only spend about $30 on dairy products and fresh fruits & veggies. Simply because I’m making an effort to use what I already have on hand. This is a great way to ensure that you don’t spend money you didn’t have to, and that you don’t find good food that has expired.
Have a Meal Plan
I’m a huge fan of meal planning. Like, huge! Every week, I try to have 5 dinners planned out by Sunday evening. Five, because one night we usually eat out and Sundays are spent at my parents. Also, I plan dinners only because lunch usually consists of dinner leftovers and breakfast is a rotation of oatmeal/peanut butter toast/pancakes/French toast/and eggs, each always served with fruit. This works for us because usually the same things get marked down on the list and I know what each item generally costs. This makes our bill fairly consistent, since there’s usually only a few “not usual” items needing to be purchased.
Shop the flyer sales
I’ll admit and say that shopping the store sales and planning meals around those sales is not my strongest trait. But often times if there’s an item on sale that I know we’ll use in the near future, I will buy at least a couple. (Chicken is on sale this week so I’ll probably buy at least four packages to get us through to the next sale.) If you can get good at planning your meals around what’s on sale each week, you’ll be saving a ton!
Breakfast is cheaper than dinner. There are usually a couple of nights a month where I plan to make breakfast for dinner. Waffles with whipped cream, fresh strawberries and bacon? Yes, please! My husband also likes to make a huge batch of French toast once in a while and we put the leftovers in the freezer for super easy breakfasts.
Use rice & pasta
I like to use rice and pasta quite a bit because I find them to be so cheap! Pasta is very cheap when I can find a good deal using coupons. Rice, when purchased in bulk, is cheap and lasts a long time! I like to make up stir-frys once in a while using rice or pasta to serve the veggies over. (Stir-frys are also a great way to use up vegetables!) Also, I know when I make something involving rice or pasta, it’ll be a hit with my toddler, and that’s a win!
Eat leftovers
Growing up, I was not a big fan of leftovers. When my parents would inform me that we’ll be having leftovers for dinner, I usually cringed. Now, as an adult, I LOVE leftovers! Leftovers mean one less meal I have to make during the week! More often than not, I’ll actually double up on dinner just so we have extra. Most of the time we save leftovers for lunch, but occasionally we’ll have a busy night that will need a super quick dinner.
Use meat substitutes
These days, I’m actually forced to use something besides meat and poultry because my daughter has decided she’ll have none of it. Luckily, she loves beans, lentils and eggs, which I find to be a great grocery budget saver! There are also many other vegetables that are high in protein such as mushrooms, green peas, kale, broccoli and cauliflower that I prepare with each meal.
Use frozen vegetables
While I much prefer fresh vegetables, sometimes buying frozen vegetables can be cheaper in the long run. Especially if you find certain vegetables are always going bad before you have a chance to finish them. (That’s cauliflower in our home!) I usually have a bag of mixed frozen vegetables on hand for those nights when dinner can’t be made fast enough. We have also determined that steaming them makes them taste the best. They’re not as soggy that way!
Use coupons
I don’t use a lot of coupons, but as I mentioned above, I’ve stocked up on pasta (and other items) many times because of some sales and coupons I’ve had. I also consider paper towels, toilet paper, toothpaste and other household items to be grocery items and I won’t buy these items unless I have a coupon. There are also some great cash back apps that I use to save even more.
Eat before you shop
This is a tip you probably hear every time someone tells you how to save money on groceries. But, I can certainly attest to its truth! Nearly each time I grocery shop hungry, I end up with extra stuff in my shopping cart. And it’s usually not healthy stuff! A bag of chips? Sure! A bottle of pop? We haven’t had that in a while! I always have snacks in my purse because of my daughter, but I’ve been known to “share” them with her just so I’m not starving and fill our cart full of unnecessary stuff.
There you have it. My 10 Secrets to a lower grocery bill! I hope you found something helpful in this list, or at least something that inspires you to try harder.
I’d love it if you would share your tips and tricks in the comments!
This homemade Baking Mix (Bisquick) is made with only 5 simple ingredients and takes just minutes to mix up. Itâs cheaper, healthier and tastes great!
Homemade Baking Mix (Bisquick)
If you are like me and looking for ways to eat healthier and save money at the same time, then youâll love this copycat âBisquickâ mix!
It only takes minutes to make, is cheaper than buying the Bisquick brand and it doesnât have any ingredients that you canât pronounce.
Take a look at my recipe for homemade baking mix (Bisquick)! Use it in any recipe in place of Bisquick. It’s so great in casseroles, quiche, pancakes, biscuits, muffins and more.
(Note: The links in this post may be affiliate links. Read the disclosure policy here.)
Quick & Easy Way to Shred Meat
Looking for another valuable use for that KitchenAid stand mixer? How about an easy way to shred meat? It works so well to shred some cooked chicken breasts, boneless pork butt, or beef roast.
If you have ever tried to “pull” a pork shoulder with forks, you know this can take a bit of time. With the stand mixer and the normal beater attachment, you can shred a pound of cooked chicken breast straight from the slow cooker in under 30 seconds! (Tip: You can also use a hand mixer!) Take a look at this handy kitchen hack:
Here’s the Easy Way to Shred Meat:
1. Take your meat straight from cooking and toss it in the mixing bowl.
2. Make sure the beater attachment is in place.
3. Raise the bowl and hit a low power setting for about 30 seconds.
4. Enjoy your shredded meat!
So you no longer need to hesitate to make recipes like chicken enchiladas, pulled pork, or beef barbecue because of this tedious job again. If you don’t have a KitchenAid Mixer, here is another great reason why you might just want to take the plunge!
