Do you often feel bad about throwing away tons of food leftovers every week? This super-fast world we live in doesn't permit us much time to manage our supplies and we constantly find ourselves in a situation where we are buying stuff just to throw it away a few days later when they go bad.
How many times did you open the fridge in the past month only to discover outdated food leftovers from last week's dinner or an old bottle of milk or a rotten apple? You probably felt bad about throwing it away, but there wasn't much else you can do about it, right? Well, actually, there is.
We have gathered some ideas on how to manage your bio-waste easily. Hopefully, some of them come in handy.
Don't see them as food leftovers, think about them as ingredients
Seeing food leftovers as ingredients is a key to saving at least 50% of the bio-waste in your fridge. Ok, so you don't feel like eating that pasta from yesterday's dinner, but try and think what else you can turn it into. What about a delicious frittata or a quiche? Tacos and burritos are another great way to use what's left of cooked rice, meat and vegetables. All you need to do is wrap them in a tortilla and top them with sour cream or hot salsa. There are no rules here. Just use your imagination.
Store food in glass containers
A great way to keep track of the food you have left in the fridge is to store it in glass containers. This way, you will always see what else is there at your disposal. Not to mention that glass containers are reusable and therefore very sustainable. Putting a sticker with a date on them might also help you to stay in control of your bio-waste management.
Put it in the freezer
This one seems obvious, but many people simply put their food leftovers in the fridge without having a clear plan of when they are going to eat them. Think about that in advance. If your schedule is already full and you know you will have no time to get back to that chicken breast you didn't use for dinner, put it in the freezer. It will wait for you there.
Share it with friends, co-workers or homeless people
No worries if you don't feel like eating your dinner leftovers for lunch the next day. But why throw it away? There must be someone who will appreciate your cooking. Give it to your friend or take it to work the next day and offer it to your co-worker for lunch. Or even better, why not give it to a homeless person and make their day a bit nicer?
Compost your food leftovers
Last but not least - you can use your bio-waste for home composting and produce your own natural fertilizer. Trust us; it's much easier than it sounds, and many communities do it already. All you need is a composter bin (Bokashi Organko, for example) where you can throw the leftovers. It will not take much of your time since the whole process is very simple. You just need to sprinkle bokashi bran (a unique substance containing special microorganisms) after every layer. These microorganisms will make sure the bio-waste ferments instead of decay which will result in a nutritious fermentation mass you can use in your garden or balcony pots.
Moreover, during this process, Bokashi Organko will also produce a super useful bokashi liquid which can be used for two things - as an organic cleaner for your kitchen sink drain or - when diluted with water - as a nutritious fertilizer for your plants.
What a great way to use your food leftovers, right?