How to save money on groceries by reducing food waste

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While testing recipes for her plant-based blog, PlantYou, Carleigh Bodrug realized she was wasting more food — and money — than she wanted. The Barrie, Ontario-based cook figured other people might be in the same boat, and she began researching the topic. When Bodrug realized how large of a slice of the food waste 'pie' home cooks represent, she said she 'was stopped in my tracks. Food can go farther than how we use it.'
'The average family of four wastes about $1,500 per year on groceries,' Bodrug said. 'If you're really intentional, you can save more than $1,000 per year by implementing a food waste-reducing plan.'
The US Department of Agriculture estimates that 30% to 40% of the American food supply ends up in landfills. All that waste adds up quickly — in terms of its impact on the environment and your bank account.
'Here in North America, we throw out a lot of the food that other people in the world use,' Bodrug added, and she knew the appetite for scrap-maximizing solutions was strong when the first 'scrappy cooking' video she shared on social media took off. (It was her Candied Orange Peel recipe, by the way.)
After that video went viral, Bodrug made it her mission to inspire others, and challenge herself, to eat more fruits and vegetables by doing just that: eating the produce from root to stem. That idea is where her cookbook, 'PlantYou: Scrappy Cooking,' comes in.
'In my opinion, it's undeniable that we could all benefit from adding more plants to our plates,' Bodrug said. 'As a society, we're so focused on protein. But in reality, more than 95% of us don't meet the daily recommended intake of gut-friendly, chronic disease-reducing fiber. Where does fiber come from? It's not in meat. It's not in dairy. It's in plants.'
Compared with processed foods and pantry staples, Bodrug concedes that plants can be more challenging to select, store and put to good use. But it's not impossible, she added, and it's well worth the effort for the wellness and financial gains you'll accrue.
With food costs continuing to rise — between 2% and 10% per year from 2022 to 2024, according to the USDA — it's no wonder that 69% of Americans admit that higher food prices stand between them and a healthier diet. But keeping grocery spending in check and eating a healthier diet need not be at odds. The tips ahead about how to maximize your produce spending are proof.
'The lowest hanging fruit when it comes to reducing our food waste is actually just being more careful in our planning,' Bodrug said. 'Don't bring food into our home in the first place if we're not going to eat it.'
Free meal planning apps are handy, but there's no need to get fancy, Bodrug said. 'Simply take a piece of paper, write down a grid that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day of the week, and draft a rough outline of what you think you're going to eat for each meal.'
When possible, brainstorm more than one way to use certain staples such as grains, proteins and vegetables so you can batch prep to save time.
That meal plan can act as your guide as you write your shopping list. But don't head to the store or fill your online grocery cart quite yet.
'Before you even head to the grocery store, shop your fridge, freezer and pantry. Before I implemented this practice, I'd often go to the grocery store; I'd think, 'Oh, I need to grab a bag of oats,'' Bodrug said. 'Then I'd come home, and there (are) four half-used bags of oats already in the pantry.'
Check your current stock for any items that are part of your meal plan and trim anything from the list that you already have in ample supply.
'Not only can you save on groceries by being more mindful about the food that you're bringing into your home, but you can also make that food then go (further) for you to extend across more meals. This translates into even more savings,' Bodrug said.
One of the easiest ways to maximize your grocery dollar is to use every part of the produce you buy. For example, when you purchase a head of broccoli, you're paying for the weight of the florets and stalks. If you're tossing the stalks, 'you're just throwing money down the drain,' Bodrug said. (A recipe below demonstrates one way to put those sturdy stems to great use.)
'Other things like radish tops, carrot tops and beet tops can add plant diversity and flavor to your diet. Throw them into salads and pestos,' she said.
It can be helpful to have three or four staple meals that you enjoy eating that can also be customized to feature what you have kicking around in your fridge at the end of the week, Bodrug said. In her book, she calls these 'kitchen raid recipes.'
'You don't need the book for this, though. Think about curry. You have the base sauce that you can make every week, then add any bean. Or pasta. You can toss all sorts of veggies into a pasta sauce,' she added.
Pizza, grain bowls with your favorite dressing, and tacos are all fantastic and flexible options, too.
'I never suggest that people eat spoiled food, but in North America, we've become really fixated on best before dates. These are not expiration dates,' Bodrug noted. They're just a recommendation from the brand about when quality might begin to decline slightly.
In other words, there's no need to follow the rules strictly and dump your milk if it was 'best before' last Friday.
Of course, the fresh fruits and vegetables we buy don't have any sort of date listed, so Bodrug recommends using your eyes and sense of smell to search for signs that they may be off before throwing away or composting your food.
'If there are signs of mold or spoilage, it's too late. Get rid of it and move on. That still happens to me, too,' Bodrug said. 'I still have waste, but if we're being more mindful about what we buy, we're going to have less waste over time, which really adds up.'
After you use the florets in stir-fries, salads or roasted vegetables, save the stems to make crunchy vegetable 'fries.' 'In addition to the broccoli stem, this recipe only calls for four more ingredients,' Bodrug wrote on her website. For an extra layer of flavor, feel free to 'add spices, nutritional yeast, hot sauce, or liquid smoke to the almond milk and flour batter,' she added.
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total cooking time: 30 minutes
● 3 broccoli stems
● ½ cup all-purpose flour
● ½ cup unsweetened almond milk or other milk of choice
● ¾ cup breadcrumbs, panko or seasoned
● ½ teaspoon salt
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, slice off the tough outer layer of the broccoli stems. Cut into fry shapes and set aside.
3. Set up a breading station with two bowls: Mix the flour and almond milk in one and add the breadcrumbs to the second.
4. Working one piece of broccoli at a time, coat with the flour and almond milk mixture and then the breadcrumbs. Place on the lined baking sheet and repeat until all broccoli pieces are coated.
5. Bake until the broccoli stem fries are crispy, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt to taste and serve with a dipping sauce of choice.
Karla Walsh is a Des Moines, Iowa-based freelance lifestyle writer with more than 16 years of editorial experience.