Waste Less Food with Consistent Meal Planning

If you want to reduce your kitchen food waste – and who doesn’t – then the best solution is to consistently plan your meals.

There’s a lot of information these days about food waste. In fact, here is an easy to understand summary on the topic. The bottom line is that less is better and more is harmful to the landfill, the Earth, and what you spend at the retail food market.

There is a solution that seems to tick all the boxes of wasting less food and getting more nutrition and it’s meal planning. Taking the time to pre-think your meals for a few days at a time, write them down, grocery shop specifically for the meals, and cook them will save food. Planning some repeat meals or leftover meal ideas will also help.

Meal Planning for Less Food Waste

• For 3 days of breakfast meals, plan on one banana with yogurt and walnuts, and oatmeal
• For 3 days of lunch meals, plan on a whole wheat pita with tuna salad & tomato slices, baby carrots & olives, and a small piece of dark chocolate
• For 3 days of dinner meals, plan on a side salad with greens, radishes, Bell peppers and onions
• For 3 days of dinner meals, plan on one day with homemade, lean meatloaf, brown rice, and steamed broccoli; one day with a repeat of the meatloaf, steamed corn, and green beans; one day with a repeat of any of the above cooked sides and a mushroom-cheese omelet.

By planning easy meals like these and then matching your shopping list to ingredients you’ll need — you will end up having ‘tighter control’ on your kitchen food resources. This adds up to less food waste.

Meal Planning for More Nutrition

Meal planning always comes first in the ‘waste less food’ process. So, as with the meals above, spend time considering nutrition. Always plan a fruit or vegetable for breakfast and lunch, for example. Plan 2 vegetables for dinner. Plan variety, too. For example, even though repeats and leftovers fit into a smart plan, after a 3-day meal cycle, change up the veggies, fruits, and proteins from animals, seafood, or plants. A plate with balance of the 3 big nutrient groups – protein, carbohydrates, fat – is best for the body.

How and Why to Be Consistent with Meal Planning

Meal planning consistently means that you do it without gaps of time. When you plan a 3-day meal cycle, you get ready for the next 3-day cycle. When that 3-day cycle gets started then you get ready with another 3-day cycle. It might sound like too much work but when you try the process, you will actually end up doing less work – and having less food waste.

Take Advantage of Meal Planning Resources

Being confident with meal planning takes time and effort, and becoming consistent with meal planning  takes even more effort. But, it’s worth it.

If you want to get a jump-start into meal planning then grab my free Mediterranean menus here. If you need more resources for meal planning then look at what my eStore offers here.

What meals will go into your first 3-day cycle to achieve less food waste?