When it comes to food waste, we at Produce Mate believe that creating a community of food waste thinkers is essential. Because of this, we like to talk about and promote pieces of food knowledge that we find. One of the cooler pieces that we found recently was written by Kristine Solomon over at thehealthy.com titled “20 Produce Mistakes You Didn’t Know You Were Making.”
This article is 100% worth the read and gives so many great insights into commonly mistaken concepts related to food and food waste. Not only does Solomon go into the mistakes that we all make, but she also offers other resources related to each tip that allow for further reading. This is amazing because not only does the article have an abundance of information, but it also links to further readings that can improve your food waste habits even more!
The approach of this article is also so great in the fact that it takes a more welcoming and learning approach to food and food waste. Learning how to do food right is all about being able to admit our mistakes in the past and learning about how to do it better and make the change now. Something that Solomon does exceptionally well in the article is avoiding the idea of shame around these common mistakes. There is no attempt to shame people for their previous habits, but instead inspires people to do more, to do better. This kind of mindset is what is essential to creating positive change in the world of food waste.
One of my favorite tips from this article is about how to process or store veggies and fruits. Something that I didn’t know before reading this article is that in order to freeze veggies, you need to or should blanch them first in order to seal in the nutrients for when you use them in the future. On top of sealing in the nutrients, blanching also increases the longevity of the produce, allowing it to be stored in the freezer for an extended period of time.
Overall, one of the biggest messages from this article is that we need to be more conscious and active in the way we think about that food we are eating. This extra attention to detail needs to happen before, during, and after our use of them. If we choose to neglect and ignore the issues related to food and food waste, the problem of sustainable consumption and production may just come back to bite us in the butt.
Check out Solomon’s article and make sure to keep coming back for all your food waste needs!
