Tips to reduce food waste

To prevent bread waste, freeze it with parchment paper between slices for easy separation. For cheese with mold, simply cut off the affected part and the rest is still safe to eat, as cheese itself is a molded product.

Every year, about 92 billion pounds of food are wasted globally. In 2022 alone, 1 billion meals were tossed, with over 60% coming from our homes. This waste contributes significantly to landfill methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. Each household wastes approximately $1,000 in food annually.

Nutritionist Pamela Cook highlights three key tips for sustainable and money-saving grocery shopping: do not overbuy, reduce animal-based protein purchases, and minimize plastic packaging. The video demonstrates how to use reusable produce bags and buy loose produce to avoid plastic and control quantities.

Expiration dates are often suggestions. For milk, if it doesn't smell sour, it's likely still good. Spoiled milk can even be used for baking. Eggs will also indicate if they are bad by smell, and surprisingly, they can be frozen for up to a year.

Buying whole cuts of meat and doing the butchering yourself, if possible, can save a significant amount of money compared to pre-cut portions. Condiments like mustard and salsa, which contain vinegar, often remain good long past their printed dates due to their preserving ingredients, unless they appear cloudy.