Always forgetting something you had stashed in the fridge? Letting food go bad isn’t just a nuisance, it’s wasting precious resources and money.
Clean Eating is launching its first-ever health and happiness challenge, #GoClean45, on October 10th. As our nutrition coach, author and award-winning dietitian Kate Geagan, MS, RD, has created a super-powered six-week program with customizable meal plans, more than 50 recipes and a weekly roundup of essential clean-eating tips and insights to help you on your journey. Ready to change your health forever? Sign up here.
Did you know that roughly 40 percent of the food produced in the U.S. all produced food is wasted? That’s like walking out of the store with three bags, dropping one bag in the parking lot and leaving it there.
Doing your part to reduce food waste will not only help reduce your environmental footprint, but it will save you money!
Here’s how to set up your kitchen for success—one of the many elements I cover as the health and nutrition coach for Clean Eatin’s new challenge, #GoClean45:
With those tips in mind, you can also decrease food waste by doing two things:
Help your fridge do its job
Set your fridge at 40˚F or below, which helps fresh foods retain their nutrients for longer. If your fridge doesn’t have a thermometer, place a food thermometer in the center of the middle shelf. When it comes to meat and poultry, I usually freeze what I’m not using immediately which helps free up fridge space and reduces the risk of cross-contamination (i.e. bacteria transfer from one food to another). As the week goes on I’ll pull what I need from the freezer and allow it to defrost in the fridge.
Be realistic about your time and energy
Ask yourself an important question each week: What are you willing to prep yourself vs. what could be purchased pre-prepped? Time savers such as triple-washed bagged lettuce can be great lifesavers. Plus, many grocery stores today have taken on the art of “vegetable butchery”, showcasing products such as spiralized raw veggie noodles and walls of ready-to-go, pre-chopped vegetables. Although prepped produce is more expensive up front, the price of vegetables left to rot and become unuseable is costlier.
A clean, smartly organized kitchen is the secret to success. How your options are presented to you has a huge effect on the choices you’ll make throughout your day!
Take the challenge, change forever! Sign up now for our 45-day preholiday transformation journey #GoClean45 with Kate Geagan and Gillian Mandich.
Source: Clean Eating