How to Avoid Wasting Food When You Live Alone

Whether you’re plant-based, vegan, and/or cooking for one, it’s easy to let unused ingredients go to waste. But with a little bit of planning, you can avoid wasting food and save money at the grocery store.

Here are ten easy tips to help you avoid wasting food when you live alone.

1. Plan Your Meals

Hands down, meal-planning has been the best thing I’ve done for my grocery budget and avoiding wasting food in my home. It takes very little time, and helps me plan several meals at one time.

Once a week (usually Sunday morning), I eyeball what is in the cupboards and refrigerator, and plan meals accordingly for the upcoming week. This is my opportunity to cook ahead for the week, which ultimately saves me time and money.

For example, today I noticed an unopened box of pasta and will be incorporating it into a pasta salad and at least one pasta lunch or dinner for this coming week. I also have three lemons to use, so I will be slicing one for iced lemon water during the week and at least one more when I make my vegan lemon pasta recipe.

2. Shop Smarter to Avoid Wasting Food

When you are cooking for one or even two people, it’s easy to overbuy at the grocery store. The sales are designed to make you buy, whether you eat or even like the food or not. And with our economy tanking, prices are higher than ever, so it’s even more important to save where you can!

To avoid wasting food, always make a list before you go grocery shopping. Only buy what is on the list or what you absolutely need. This way, you’ll avoid having excess food that ends up going to waste, and you’ll save money too.

And don’t forget to shop from the bulk bins! This way you pay only for what you need or can use, and the quality is often fresher than the same bagged products.

3. Get Creative With Leftovers

If you have leftovers, find a way to turn them into a new meal. No one likes to eat the same thing day after day, which is what we solo dwellers often end up doing!

Think of leftovers as an opportunity to try something new

For example, if you have some leftover rice, try making fried rice or a rice pudding. Turn leftover vegetables into a soup or a stir-fry, and with leftover tomatoes, use them on a sandwich or in a salad. You can also freeze whole tomatoes to use in a sauce later!

So the next time you have some leftovers, don’t just reheat them and eat them as is. Avoid wasting food and get creative – let’s see what new dish you make!

4. Learn How to Freeze Leftovers Properly

One of the best ways to avoid wasting food is to freeze leftovers. Freezing not only prevents food from going bad, but it also makes it easy to reheat and eat later. Plus, freezing leftovers is a great way to save time and money.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when freezing leftovers:

• Let the food cool completely before putting it in the freezer. Otherwise, the food releases moisture as it freezes, which can cause freezer burn.
• Make sure to wrap the food tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. This helps prevent freezer burn and keeps the food fresh longer.
• Label the storage container with the date and the contents so you know what it contains and how long it has been in the freezer.
• Use airtight containers or freezer bags for liquid foods like soup or stew. To avoid spills, place the container in a bowl or pan before freezing.
• When reheating frozen food, be sure to thaw it completely before cooking. Otherwise, it may not heat through properly.

Freezing leftovers is a great way to can avoid wasting food and you’ll have something ready to eat when you’re short on time.

5. Use Smaller Dishes, Pots, and Pans

Have you ever cooked a big meal, only to find that you can’t finish it all? I get so frustrated when I waste food, especially when I know how much effort went into making it. I helped solve this problem by using smaller pots and pans. It truly works!!

Cooking in smaller containers helps you avoid wasting food by limiting the portions you can cook. For example, using a 1 or 1.5 quart sauce pan instead of a large pot to cook pasta or rice in will automatically create a smaller pan full of pasta or rice.

When we cook for ourselves, it’s also important to be mindful of portion sizes. Use smaller dishes to avoid eating too much food. Again — it works.

I very, very rarely use dinner plates anymore – I use salad plates instead like these 7.8″ plates that double as appetizer plates too. This simple change helps me avoid eating more food than I need, and I’m SLOWLY losing a few pounds because of it.

It also helps to use the right kitchen tools. Try to find multi-purpose tools like this pizza cutter wheel to cut brownies, waffles and pancakes with. You can find more versatile multi-purpose tools in my free 10 Best Kitchen Gifts Under $10 Guide!

6. Keep a Well-Stocked Pantry

A well-stocked pantry should include basics like vegetable stock, flour, sugar, nuts, baking supplies, herbs, spices, pasta and grains like rice or quinoa.

Whether you have a bowl of leftover sauce or a fresh bag of a neighbor’s peaches, these staples will provide easy and available ingredients to help turn those extra foods into creative new dishes.

7. Re-purpose Kitchen Scraps to Avoid Wasting Food

Did you know you can freeze leftover onions, vegetables, greens and potato peels and use them to make homemade vegetable broth? I use a 1-quart Mason Jar that gets filled with various veggies throughout the month. At the end of the month, I pour out the contents into my 3-quart Insta-Pot and add a Bay leaf, salt and pepper, and press the Soup button. It cooks for 30 minutes and I’m left with a tasty and nutritious (and free) veggie broth that rocks.

And remember: leftover tea and coffee grounds can be used as mulch in the garden!

Also, don’t throw out your citrus peels. They can be zested with a zester or dried for baking cookies or cakes, or used fresh and infused with other ingredients like vinegar or distilled water to make natural and safe cleaning supplies.

These are just a few ideas on what you can do with kitchen scraps. And in a future article, I promise to share more.

8. What to Do With Leftover Bread

Do you find you’re always throwing out bread due to mold or it’s stale? I finally started storing my sliced bread in the refrigerator and that stopped these problems. If I know it’s going to be in the fridge for more than a week, I pop it in the freezer until needed.

Try making croutons from stale bread. Just cut the bread into small chunks and place them in a plastic bag or a bowl. Add some olive oil, salt, and a clove of crushed garlic and mix well to coat the bread. Spread the bread onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and make in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes, or until the edges turn brown.

The croutons are great for salads or soups, and can be stored in tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

You can also allow the bread to become very dry and toss into a blender to make bread crumbs. I do this with old baguettes or very crusty breads, and break them into small chunks. Put them into the blender and add salt, garlic powder, dried onions, and dried herbs like thyme, oregano, and rosemary. Push the pulse button on the blender until the bread and spices are broken down into crumbs.

The bread crumbs make a wonderful coating for fried green tomatoes or baked zucchini slices. And they can be stored in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator for several weeks.

9. Avoid Wasting Food by Learning Measurements

If you’re cooking for one (or two) but looking at recipes designed for more, see if it’s able to be easily halved or divided. For example, if a recipe calls for a whole onion, try using half an onion instead. But remember – not all recipes can just be cut in half! You’ll need to taste-test along the way and adjust ingredients as needed.

Second, pay attention to measurements. When scaling down a recipe, it’s important to use smaller measures such as teaspoons and tablespoons rather than cups. If you don’t already know your divided measurements, get a reference chart like this magnetic one and refer to it as needed.

Finally, don’t be afraid to get creative in the kitchen. If a recipe seems like it will make more food than you need, try cutting back on some of the less essential components. With a little bit of trial and error, you’ll be able to resize any recipe to fit your needs.

…And last, but not least —

10. Avoid Wasting Food by Storing Your Produce Properly

Produce can spoil quickly if it isn’t stored properly, so eat your fresh foods as soon as you can to avoid waste. Here are a few more tips:

• Store fruits and vegetables in a cool, dry place, like the crisper drawer in your refrigerator or assorted sized glass Mason jars. (I store nearly everything in these jars nowadays and haven’t purchased plastic bags in nearly two years)!
• Wash your produce before storing it, but dry it thoroughly first so mold doesn’t have a chance to grow.
• Don’t store produce that is already starting to spoil. This will cause other produce to rot quickly, so use it up right away or compost it.
• Most vegetables do best in humid conditions, so when possible, wrap them in a damp paper towel before putting them away.
• Fruits emit ethylene gas as they ripen, which can cause other nearby produce to spoil more quickly. Simply store them in a separate part of the fridge. Ethylene-producing fruits include apples, bananas, pears and tomatoes. Ethylene-sensitive produce includes leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage and carrots.
• If you have ripe fruits or vegetables that you won’t be able to eat right away, freeze them. Just wash and chop the produce, then store in airtight containers, Mason jars, or versatile silicone freezer containers.

Wasting food is not only bad for your wallet, it’s also bad for the environment. By following these tips, you can help reduce the amount of food that goes to waste in your home.

If you have more tips on how to avoid wasting food that you want to share, please leave a comment below – I would love to hear from you!