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Learn more about how to plan meals, store your food and get creative with your leftovers because edible food doesn't belong in the Green Bin.
Practice proper meal planning to buy only what you need
Plan meals, use grocery lists, and avoid impulse buys. This way you’re less likely to buy things you don’t need and that you’re unlikely to consume.
Buy exactly what you need. For example, if a recipe calls for one lemon, don’t buy a whole bag. Instead buy loose produce so you can purchase the exact number you’ll use. Likewise buy grains, nuts and spices from bulk bins if you only need a small amount.
Check the refrigerator. Next week’s meals get their start in the refrigerator. See what needs to be used up and then think of a meal to make with those items. Check your pantry for the rest of the ingredients and add missing pieces to the shopping list.
To preserve freshness and nutrition, use perishables like seafood and meat earlier in the week and save staples like pasta and rice for later in the week. Some greens, like kale and chard, will stay fresh longer than others.
Lean on frozen ingredients. Frozen foods have nearly all the nutrients and sometimes more than their older fresh counterparts.
Cook and freeze. Soups, stews, casseroles and lasagna can all be made in large batches and then frozen and defrosted when you need a quick dinner.
Eat what you buy
Use it all. When cooking, use every piece of whatever food you’re cooking with whenever possible. Use vegetable and meat scraps in homemade stocks.
Produce doesn’t have to be tossed just because it’s reaching the end of its peak. Soft fruits can be frozen and used in smoothies; wilting vegetables can be used in soups etc.
When you’re reheating, take out only the portion you plan to eat. Do not heat up the whole tray of lasagna if you’re just going to have one serving. If you don’t finish the serving, compost it.
Understand date labelling. There are different kinds of date markings, depending on the product. The most common terms are "best-before" dates, "packaged on" dates, and expiration dates. Knowing what these terms mean will help you understand the labels, which in turn will help you make informed choices about the food you buy.
Eat refrigerated leftovers within 2 to 3 days or freeze them for later use.
Food should be refrigerated within two hours of preparation. Even though it may seem energy efficient to let food cool down on the counter before sticking them in the fridge, there can be a risk if they are left out too long. Refer to these Food Safety Tips on how to cool and store your leftovers safely.
Compost any cooked food left out at room temperature for more than two hours.
Practice FIFO. It stands for First In, First Out. When unpacking groceries, move older products to the front of the fridge/freezer/pantry and put new products in the back. This way, you’re more likely to use up the older stuff first.
Store food properly in the fridge. They don’t call it a produce drawer for nothing. Learn how and where to store specific products in the fridge and they’ll likely to keep longer.
Store things properly in the freezer. How and where you store products in the freezer makes a difference in how long they’ll last.
Keep it covered. Tightly cover your leftovers to minimize contamination from the air and to prevent drying out your food. Refer to these Food Safety Tips on how to cool and store your leftovers safely.
Get creative with leftovers
Eat leftovers! Brown bag them for work or school for a free packed lunch. If you don’t want to eat leftovers in the days after they’re cooked, freeze and save them for later.
Think “ingredients” not leftovers. Turn extra pasta or cooked vegetables into a frittata. Blend cooked vegetables with a can of whole tomatoes and create a veggie-packed sauce for pasta. Create burritos with leftover cooked rice, meat and vegetables. The possibilities are endless.
Split the dish. If eating out, split the dish with a friend so you don’t waste half of your oversized meal.
Take home leftovers. Even if you’re not splitting meals, those portion sizes don’t have to be wasted. Ask for a takeout container or better yet, bring your own reusable container.
Share. Made a quadruple recipe of lasagna? Gift it to friends, family or neighbours.
Compost what's left
Always put food waste in your backyard composter or Green Bin, NEVER in your recycling or garbage.
Backyard Composting
Backyard composting is a natural process where micro-organisms, worms and insects found in the environment break down kitchen food scraps and garden waste and turn it into a dark, nutrient-rich soil called compost.
Backyard composters are available for sale through the Region of Durham. They are also sold at some garden centres, nurseries, and hardware stores throughout the Region.
Getting started with backyard composting
How do I backyard compost?
Step 1: Setup Backyard Composter
If you are not building your own backyard composter, assemble your backyard composter according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Place the backyard composter in a sunny, well-drained location that is easy to access.
Remove any grass underneath the composter to invite worms, insects and micro-organisms and improve the drainage, speeding up the composting process.
Step 2: Add Organic Waste
Cut acceptable organic materials into smaller pieces before placing them into your composter.
Layer your organic materials. There are two main types of organic materials you can feed your backyard composter – “browns” and “greens”.
Alternate browns, which are the carbon-rich, dry waste materials, such as dry leaves, from your yard with greens, which are the nitrogen-rich, wet waste from the kitchen and grass clippings. Ideally, have a three-to-one (3:1) ratio; three times as many brown materials as green materials.
Step 3: Turn, Turn, Turn
Turn the pile every few weeks with a pitchfork or shovel to mix materials and introduce more air.
Step 4: Keep Moist
Keep compost material moist like a damp sponge, not soaking.
Step 5: Harvest and Use Compost
Finished compost should be dark and crumbly and have a pleasant earth-like smell.
Use it on your lawn or garden as a natural fertilizer. Compost helps nutrients and organic matter return to the soil.
Compost may be ready in a few weeks or six months or more, depending on how you manage your composter.
The composting process will slow down during the winter, but the pile will become active again in the spring as worms, insects and micro-organisms naturally speed up the break down process.
What can go in a backyard composter?
“Browns” (Carbon-Rich Materials)
Dry leaves
Old potting soil
Straw
Twigs and branches
Woodchips and sawdust (from untreated wood)
“Greens” (Nitrogen-Rich Materials)
Coffee grounds and filters
Flowers
Fruit and vegetable scraps
Garden plant trimmings
Grass clippings
House plants
Tea bags and leaves
Weeds (before they seed)
What should not go in a backyard composter?
Diseased or insect-infected plants – put these out for seasonal curbside yard waste collection.
Dog and cat feces – put these in your green bin for curbside collection.
Eggs, meat, bones and fish scraps – put these in your green bin as they can attract animals.
Fatty foods and dairy products (e.g. cheese, butter, oils) – put these in your green bin as they can attract animals.
Plastics and metals – put recyclable plastics and metals into your blue box for curbside collection.
Weeds with mature seeds – put these out for seasonal curbside yard waste collection.
