Food prices are at record highs. Now housekeeping is required. Very few people know that sustainability is helping to save right now. Here are a few tips that are good for the account and climate and against food waste.
Food prices have been rising rapidly for several months. It’s not just staple foods that are becoming more and more expensive, many consumers now have to think twice about whether they can still afford juice, snacks or their favorite cheese. Everyday shopping sometimes becomes a luxury.
As a result, the issue of sustainability, although it is important to many consumers, is increasingly being pushed into the background. The fear of winter gas prices and the spiral of inflation makes you frugal. If you still want to be sustainable now, you need affordable solutions. And it doesn’t always have to be organic and regional.
There are other ways to keep the ecological “food” footprint in check. With a few simple tricks, we can increase our awareness while eating and even save money. The key word here is: waste avoidance. Dominique Ertl from the food rescuer Motatos gives an overview of how cheaper shopping can be and less food ends up unnecessarily in the garbage. Here we go:
Saving food still has a container image. Everyone can benefit from it. Food is wasted every day, whether in the supermarket, restaurant or even during production. This food can be saved in different places – and above all inexpensively:
The British supermarket Waitrose is leading the way: in future, fruit and vegetables will be sold without a best-before date. The best-before date indicates up to which day a product, if stored correctly, will keep what it promises, for example in terms of taste and appearance. If special conditions apply to storage (e.g. cooling), they will also be marked by the MHD. But strictly speaking, it doesn’t say whether food is still edible or not. Time to clear up:
If the only obvious difference is the MHD, there might not be much difference. Then you can also benefit from reduced offers with a short sell-by date. But beware: Fresh goods are also often tempted with multi-packages – but they cannot be eaten in a timely manner. The situation is different, of course, with long-lasting products such as cans and pasta
Going to the supermarket after work? Tired, hungry and stressed, people buy more than they need. Here are three little routines that are effective at saving money:
Many foods have come a long way before they end up in your own kitchen. Not all products cope well with this. Frozen goods can tip over during transport, especially in the hotter months. Strictly speaking, we only have an intact cold chain if the product does not suffer a severe temperature drop. Especially in the hot summer months, it can come after minutes.
In order to maintain the cold chain, it is best to take the cool bag with you, possibly with ice packs, and if possible go shopping in the morning or in the evening. This has another advantage: thawed products often form ice crystals, which also affects the taste. Products are then thrown away more quickly. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture also provides a good overview of the correct storage of supplies at home.
The key to really saving money is often already on the kitchen table. Every year we throw 78 kilograms into the bin per capita – mainly expensive fruit and vegetables. Some things can be fed up and used better overall. For example, carrots can be stored directly in a damp cloth, which will keep them fresh for longer. Already wrinkled? Place in a water bed overnight, then peel et voilá. The same applies to radishes. Briefly dip fresh lettuce in cold water with a tablespoon of sugar to revive.
Snacks can also be conjured up in less than 10 minutes instead of being bought:
Bread chips: Dry bread in thin slices in the oven at 50 degrees
Rice pudding: The leftover rice from the night before with milk, sugar and cinnamon
Ice cream and shakes: Many types of fruit can be frozen wonderfully, especially the banana. Simply place in the freezer and then puree – with banana ice cream (with chocolate pieces and nut butter) or banana shake (with milk or milk substitute). Insider tip: simply freeze the contents of open tomato cans and boil them up again next time.
A large part of the 11 million tons of food that is wasted in Germany every year is still edible. With the tips presented, even small changes can ensure more sustainability in everyday routine – and prove to be particularly useful: “Of course, every day is the right one to take action against food waste. But consumers are also actively saving money, which is happening elsewhere right now is missing. And we even do something good for the climate,” says Dominique Ertl from Motatos.
(This article was first published on Sunday, August 28, 2022.)
