Kids & Company Blog

Decrease your Waste in the Kitchen!

It’s without a doubt that the kitchen is the biggest waste producer in most households. Between food waste and packaging, there is a ton of garbage that comes from the kitchen. It's estimated that more than half of the food produced in Canada is lost or wasted, which is almost $2,000 of food wasted per household each year! Additionally, a large amount of non-food waste is generated in the kitchen, but there are plenty of ways to be more sustainable! We have put together some easy tricks to help you cut down on your kitchen waste and help the environment!

The first important step to reduce food waste is simply to plan! If you are anything like me and tend to get carried away at the grocery store you will know the importance of having a list… and sticking to it. It’s easy to see all of the delicious food on display and end up with more than you need. If you are following a recipe, pay close attention to quantities and buy according to portion sizes. When you are putting together a shopping list, add in your portion sizes so you don’t accidentally overbuy.

Make Use of Food Scraps

Reducing your food waste also involves using up as much edible food as you can! Some parts of fresh produce that you may consider garbage can actually be useful for other purposes. For example, fruit peels can be used to flavour water or to make fruity ice cubes, while vegetable scraps can be used to make stock for soup! Keep a bag in the freezer with fruit or vegetable scraps until you have enough to turn them into something delicious. If a fruit or vegetable has passed its point to be eaten raw, it may still be good for cooking! Your slightly soft carrots could be cooked up into a batch of our Kidco Kitchen Gingerly Carrot Soup, or your overripe berries could be baked into a delicious batch of our Berrylicious Crisp.

Waste Management

At the end of the day, some waste in the kitchen is inevitable. Therefore, it’s imperative that you learn the garbage and recycling rules in your city! Everywhere is slightly different so there is no one size fits all for this one. Visit the waste management website for your municipality and print off the recycling rules. This is a great lesson to teach your little ones! You can even make this into a fun game. Start by printing off the sorting guide for your city, like this one from Toronto. Stick these to your various recycling, compost and garbage bins and have your kiddies help shoot waste in the right bin! Remember, whatever doesn’t go in the right bin ends up in the garbage. Lastly, if your city doesn’t collect green bin food waste yet, you can easily start your own compost! Composting alone can help reduce up to 30% of your kitchen waste.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @kidcochildcare and on Instagram @cheflisaruscica!

Cheers,

Chef Lisa Ruscica

Chief Food Ambassador

Posted on: Wednesday July 17th, 2019

Posted by: Lisa Ruscica