Salads
How to Reduce Kitchen Waste with Lomi
Prep
5 minutes
Yield
3 -4
This watermelon salad recipe is an easy way to use up leftover watermelon and it's the perfect summer salad.
As someone who spends the majority of my time in the kitchen, it’s important to look at ways I can reduce food waste. Did you know that 43% of food waste in the U.S. happens at the household level? The idea that so much food goes to waste when there are so many people who don’t even have access to healthy food breaks my heart, so it’s important to me to do my part to help reduce waste.
How do I reduce kitchen waste?
Take Inventory
First things first, it’s important to take inventory of what I have available in my cupboards, fridge, and freezer. One of the biggest causes of food waste for many people is overbuying, forgetting what you have to eat, and letting it go bad. By knowing what you have, and using it to make your meal plan for the week, you’ll be able to use up what’s in your cupboard, save money, and eliminate waste.
Meal Plan
One of my biggest tips is to make sure you meal plan for the week. Sit down each Sunday and map out what your meals will look like each day, and make a grocery list based on that. Many people don’t do this and then end up roaming the aisles at the grocery store and buying a bunch of random things that don’t go together. This causes overbuying and waste. By meal planning and sticking to your grocery list, you’ll buy less, and only purchase what you need to make nutritious meals.
Food Storage
Being mindful of how I store my food is also a big one. If I have, say meat, in my fridge that I don’t think I’ll eat by the expiration date, I’ll freeze it for eating at a later date. I’ll wash and store my fruit and veggies properly as soon as I get home from the grocery store to make sure they stay fresh the longest, and if I have an abundance of something that’s going to go bad, I look at recipes with those ingredients so they don’t go to waste.
Composting
Lastly, composting for me is a must. I have the Lomi Bloom composter from Lomi and it’s seriously one of the best things in my kitchen. Lomi Bloom reduces my waste footprint and also rewards you for getting rid of your waste the right way, all while tracking your impact. What’s really cool about this composting device is that it’ll make you money. That’s right! Every time you run a cycle you’ll earn points which you can redeem for free products from Lomi and other brands. Once your composter is full, you turn it on and in just 4 hours you’ll have nutrient-rich plant food from your kitchen scraps. From the dirt created, you can use it in your garden or for plants. It’s eco-friendly and you’ll say goodbye to stinky compost bins or garbage cans in your kitchen.
These are some of my biggest tips on how I do my part to try and lower kitchen waste. What are some of the things you’re doing?
Bonus! Check out my recipe below to help you use up some of the fruit and veggies in your fridge.
Reduce Kitchen Waste | Watermelon Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups watermelon
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbsp chopped red onion
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 mini cucumber, sliced into rounds
- 1 cup feta cubes
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup green olives
Instructions
- To a blender add all of the dressing ingredients (lemon juice, watermelon, garlic clove, minced red onion, chili flakes, salt and olive oil) and pulse / blend until fully combined and smooth.
- Add the cucumber slices, feta cubes, sliced red onion and green olives to a medium-large mason jar and pour the watermelon dressing over top. Put a lid on an gently shake the jar to make sure everything is coated.
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy as a topping on bread; on fish; or an a part of an appetizer board.
Video
Notes
- Add the marinated olives, feta, onion and cucumber to a Cheeseboard
- Try using the watermelon dressing as a dressing to a favourite green salad instead of marinating vegeables
no one can ever say you’re not creative! haha
hahah thank you so much!