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- Trust Us — One Key to Reducing Food Waste Lies in Your Freezer
Trust Us — One Key to Reducing Food Waste Lies in Your Freezer
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This article is brought to you by Suncorp Bank.
Learning how to store food correctly can be a task that feels never-ending if you’re not exactly sure how to do it. Suncorp Bank have partnered with OzHarvest to bring us the Food Savings Challenge, encouraging all Australians to combat this nation’s problem with food waste, but when it comes to your own kitchen, where do you even start? Well, we have one answer — your freezer.
Chances are, a lot of your food waste comes from popping things in the fridge and then promptly forgetting about it. Your freezer is the friend that’s not going to let that food go bad, and keep it edible until you need it (within reason). But this goes beyond just freezing meat so it doesn’t go off — here’s how you can use your freezer to reduce food waste.
- Let’s start simple with smoothies.
Say you were starving and two bananas are staring at you from your fruit bowl. Thinking you’re hungry enough, you grab both of them to eat. You make your way through one-and-a-half of them before realising you’re full. You could throw the other half out (you shouldn’t!) or you can slice it and pop it in your freezer. Then, when you’re ready for a morning boost of energy, you’ve got the perfect ingredient to add to your breakfast smoothie!
This basically goes for anything that can blend. Extra ripe strawberries? Pop them in your freezer. Best part is? You don’t even have to thaw it — blend it straight from frozen. In fact, did you know you can even freeze milk? It’s a great way to hit pause when getting close to its use-by date. Simply defrost and use it when you’re ready for that next smoothie.
- Skip the part about putting leftovers in the fridge.
If you’re anything like me, the thought of cooking a meal and then having the leftovers of that meal the very next day isn’t all that exciting. And if you put leftovers in the fridge and leave it there, that’s what you’re going to have to do, lest that food go to waste — exactly what we’re trying not to do here.
But, if you put the leftovers in the freezer, they can be kept for far longer. This means you don’t have to compromise on variety and you’re helping stay on top of food waste. Then, the next time you’re craving that meal, or are considering takeaway, just thaw it out appropriately and safely (in your fridge), and you’ve granted your own wish, saved yourself money — and wasted no food in the process.
- Don’t let your jars go to waste.
How many times have you been trying a new recipe that calls for a cup of cooking cream, or a few tablespoons of tomato paste? Sadly, your local grocery shop doesn’t sell these in small quantities (and if they do, please let us know immediately). Using a tablespoon of tomato paste is great, until you’ve got all this leftover tomato paste that you might forget about.
It might not have occurred to you before, but this stuff can be frozen! Not only does freezing ingredients like cooking cream save it from going bad in a matter of days, but it also means the next time you need it, you have it on hand. On top of that, you can also measure out portions accordingly to ensure you’re using exactly what you need to. Just be careful, because cooking cream should only be frozen for around three weeks.
- Yes, herbs and oil can (and should) go in the freezer.
Unless you’re great at growing herbs (props!), you’re probably buying herbs by the punnet. And, considering herbs aren’t as essential to a meal as other types of produce, you might be letting them go to waste at the bottom of your crisper. One way to get the most out of your herbs is — you guessed it — the freezer.
Chopping up some herbs, popping them in an ice cube tray, covering them with water and chucking it all in the freezer is a PERFECT way to get the most out of your herbs’ shelf life. This way, you can just thaw as you need and, if using an ice cube tray, half of the portioning work is already done for you.
But, why stop there? Swap out the water for oil, and maybe even combine some herbs, and you’ve got yourself a marinade or a dressing that can add a real punch to your food. Much better way to use it than to let it rot in your crisper before throwing it out, right?
Put simply, reducing food waste is one of the coolest things you can do to help your wallet, as you don’t have to buy the wasted food again. And there’s no method cooler (literally) than using your freezer. Don’t be afraid of freezing your food — it could be the one thing that’s stopping you from becoming a food saving master. If you’re after more ways to reduce your food waste, head to Suncorp Bank’s website and check out the Food Savings Challenge — your wallet and kitchen will thank you.