Tips to make your grocery store last longer and have a zero-waste kitchen

Many people are looking for ways to reduce food waste (Photo: Getty Images)

With the cost of living rising and the energy price cap set to rise even further, many of us are looking for ways to make our money stretch even further.

One way to do this is to reduce food waste, although there are many reasons other than saving money that might make you want to do this – such as the positive impact on the environment.

A zero-waste kitchen can seem daunting at first, but don’t stress.

All you really need to know is that the idea is simply to live less wastefully and try to reuse, recycle and compost instead of throwing things away.

Zero waste efforts don’t have to be intimidating. Taking it one step at a time and learning as you go will help you become more mindful of what you do with your food.

These tips for making food last longer should help you on your way to less waste and save you money on groceries at the same time.

Table of Contents

Puree and freeze

A woman uses a blender — You can squeeze extra life out of fresh ingredients by blending them (Image: Getty Images)

If you have spinach that’s disappearing in the fridge, throw it in a blender, puree it, then store it in serving-sized pots in the freezer to add to smoothies or sauces so it doesn’t go to waste.

The leaves can also be frozen whole and added to stir-fries and sauces from frozen.

Store your nut butters upside down

Storing your nut butter upside down in the cupboard will keep it from splitting and drying out, meaning you’ll use it all up instead of constantly buying new tubs.

Make your own pitta bread

Making small pitta breads is so easy and really quick. Just mix flour and water with a little salt and yeast or natural yogurt and you have fresh bread to dip into soup, stew or make a quick lunch.

This is a great tip if you often throw away half a loaf of bread that you didn’t manage to get before it went bad.