Helping you save the planet one meal at a time

Do your bit in the kitchen with these easy tips to help reduce waste at home.

World Cleanup Day takes place on September 17, 2022, uniting millions of volunteers, governments and organisations in 191 countries to tackle the global waste problem and attempt to build a more sustainable world.

Beach cleans, recycling plans and banning single-use plastic can help, but the best way to make a difference, is to begin at home.

We've whipped up theses seven handy ways you can reduce food waste in your kitchen.

1 Take an inventory.

Take stock of your pantry, refrigerator and freezer before going to the store to prevent overbuying.

2 Create a meal plan.

Planning at least a few meals for each week is a great way to ensure you have healthy meals. It also prevents you from buying too much food because you feel like you need to be prepared for anything.

Coordinate your meals so you aren't using completely different ingredients for every recipe. For example, plan to eat broccoli as a side one night and in a casserole the next.

3 Save and eat leftovers safely.

If you don't think you will be able to eat your leftovers within three days, store them in the freezer and label them. Keep your freezer organised so food doesn't get lost and then thrown out due to freezer burn.

The shelves at Choithrams are packed with clever, handy ways to store food, whether in the fridge, pantry or freezer. Check out these favourites below.

4 Store food appropriately.

Storing fruit correctly can make all the difference between it lasting a day or five.

Start by only buying what you can eat in a week. Shopping online at Choithrams.com makes this easy as delivery is free (above a limit), meaning you don't have to schedule several trips to the supermarket.

Store greens with a paper towel in a plastic container in the crisper drawer, tomatoes and bananas on the counter, potatoes and onions in a cool, dark place and fresh herbs in a glass of water.

A good tip is to always have some frozen fruits and vegetables on hand in case you eat all your fresh produce before your next grocery delivery day.

5 Buy "ugly" foods.

We don't mean buying bruised or spoiled produce, we just mean picking the ones that don't look "perfect" in shape. That's all.

Thanks to clever marketing, it's become a worldwide expectation that each fruit as to be perfectly round or symmetrical. Well, believe it or not, nature didn't intend it that way! in fact, most organic produce differs in shape, colour and even skin texture, to regular crops.

Purchasing imperfect food refers to misshaped or oddly shaped fruits or vegetables, means all the produce is more likely to be selected and used, meaning less waste. Think about it next time you're shopping.

6 Compost.

Even vegetable peels don't have to go to waste.

Back garden composting is a great way to keep food waste out of the landfill and provide nutrition for your garden. But even if you live in an apartment, composting can still work, thanks to the many small, table-top or cupboard composting containers on the market today.

7 Use leftovers creatively.

Find ways to use rather than toss food that isn't fresh. Vegetable scraps and peels can be made into soup stock.

Apples or blueberries that are soft work perfectly cooked in oatmeal. You can even use stale bread to make croutons or an egg strata. Slightly wilted vegetables are great for soups or stir-fries.

Vegetable leftovers be gone

One of the best things about soup is you can make it out of pretty much anything.

If you aren't sure how to start experimenting with using soups to use up leftovers, why not start with this recipe? Go on, give it a go!

It serves 4–6 people and you will need the following:

300-500g of vegetables (anything you have left)

Aromatics, such as an onion, a couple garlic cloves or leeks

1–2 tablespoons olive oil

1 vegetable stock cube

600ml boiling water

Seasonings to taste, such as pepper; cumin; chili powder; ginger

Dried herbs, like basil, sage, oregano and a bay leaf.

It's easy

1. Cut up the vegetables and aromatics. Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat.
2. Saute the aromatics for about 5 minutes or until fragrant and soft.
3. Add vegetables, except for any delicate greens, and continue cooking for several minutes until softened slightly.
4. Add seasonings now so the flavours blend well in the soup.
5. Add the boiling water and stock cube and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. Cook for about 30 minutes.
6. Once the vegetables are soft, you can puree the soup in a blender or with a stick blender. Rewarm gently after blending.

Remember: When pureeing the soup, you can add flavour and texture by adding beans, tofu, coconut milk or plain yoghurt.

Once the soup has finished cooking, you can also jazz it up by adding leftover cooked pasta or rice, cooked ground turkey, diced chicken breast, a can of rinsed beans, chickpeas or tomatoes.