What to do with Left Overs? | 3 Habits to Discourage Food Wastage

 

3 Habits to Better Food Budgeting and Less Leftovers

Filipinos are big on parties. It would mean lots of viands and dishes with these parties, and of course, left overs. This instance does not happen only with large pinoy parties though. Even your kids going to school can exhibit this problematic situation of food leftovers. And it is a problem because food prices are constantly inflating, while our salary remains the same.



As a mom, budgeting for food and other home necessities is a skill that is learned. But I do have here a few tips on better food allowance budgeting, and it starts with dealing with food wastage at home.

 

Transforming Left Overs to New Delicious Dishes

Veteran moms and chefs of the house know this rule. But if you're new in managing the kitchen or a new housewife, know that you can always fix up leftovers with a couple of aromatics, some salt, and usually garlic.



Say there's leftover veggies cause our kids didn't really touch them? Here's what to do:

• Sautee them in some butter and create a new saucy dish
• chop them up and add them to a red sauce spaghetti with lots of hotdogs. This one is guaranteed to minimize on food wastage.
• Add them up in meatballs and your dish will instantly be gone in seconds.

If you're out of ideas on how to freshen up your leftovers, you can watch Home Foodie for inspiration here.

A report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN)states that food items such as fruits and vegetables, roots and tubers, have the highest wastage rates.Similarly, food wastage is becoming a public concern in the Philippines, especially that every day, the country discards around 987,952 kg of rice, a staple in every Filipino meal, according to the latest PSA data..[i] 

Store Fresh Produce Properly

Almost 99% of the time, improper storage of pproduce leads to early spoilage. And we all know that the best dishes come from the freshest ingredients. It is recommended to separate fruits that emit certain organic compounds, like ethylene gas, as it contributes to early maturity of said food.



Another way to store your fresh produce in the fridge properly is via the "FIFO" Method. First in, First Out. And always organize your fridge to doublecheck the quality of fresh food and your leftovers.

Better Storage with Everfresh  and IonGuard Tech by Beko

In addition, the features of your fridge can help you in storing leftovers properly. For instance, you can manage them through the Everfresh+® feature of RCNT415E50VZWB, a wooden black finish, bottom mount, inverter refrigerator by Beko Philippines. This refrigerator provides a decent space in its special crisper compartment for storing leftovers that can be used in the next meal plan. Beko’s EverFresh+® technology regulates and controls humidity inside the crisper compartment that aids to prolong the shelf life of the produces, thus preserving its fresh and crisp qualities for up to 30 days.



Beko provides cool storage for moms who always pick the healthiest food options. That’s why the crisper also has Beko Active Fresh Blue Light™ technology that promotes continuous photosynthesizing of your leafy vegetables, keeping it greener and crispier.

Leftovers may emit certain scents. The RCNT415E50VZWB with its IonGuard® technology removes odors in your fridge by circulating negative ions that remove bacteria and other odor-causing particles.



The refrigerator also features NeoFrost™ dual cooling technology that has two separate cooling systems, where you can maintain high humidity in the fridge while keeping the freezer dry, frozen and frost free - retaining freshness and healthiness of the food.



Finally, RCNT415E50VZWB has Beko ProSmart™ Inverter Compressor. This technology enhances the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator to maintain an even temperature inside, which keeps produces fresher for longer without consuming much energy and electricity, while the compressor remains silently running.



Try developing these habits and, you might just realize that managing your leftovers could unleash the creative chef in you and may not be that big of a task after all!