Mindful Plate Club

Preparing a meal takes time and effort—from planning to cooking. Serving the right portions and saving leftovers can help make it all worthwhile. Read on for tips to reduce plate waste and store food wisely.

Plate Waste Tips

Tip #1

Serve Smaller Portions

While it can be tempting to load up your plate with delicious food, sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomach. Serving yourself smaller portions is a great way to reduce food waste from your plate and a good reminder that you can always get a second or third helping if you are still hungry.

Plate Waste Tips

Tip #2

Save Leftover Food for Later

  • If you have leftover food on your plate, even a small amount, you can always save it for later. This reduces the pressure to clean your plate and can help you eat more mindfully and reduce food waste.
  • Store food in clear, airtight containers and label with a name and date to make it easier to see in the fridge and last longer.
  • Freeze leftover food that won’t be eaten within a week in airtight containers.

Plate Waste Tips

Tip #3

Tips for Getting Kids to Eat What’s on Their Plate

  • Serve children smaller portions. They can get a second or third helping if they are still hungry after the first, just as you would.
  • Teach your children about the consequences of food waste. Watching this 2-minute video together is a great place to start.
Watch Video

Plate Waste Tips

Tip #4

Tips for Picky Eaters

  • Involve children in strategies to reduce food waste, such as repurposing food scraps and freezing food for later. Check out this printable sheet for a few quick ideas for getting started with freezing.
  • If you have a picky eater, watch this fun short video for a few useful tips!
Watch Video

Plate Waste Tips

Tip #5

Repurpose Food Scraps

There are many ways to repurpose half-eaten food scraps. Watch this quick video on 10 ways to reuse leftover fruit.

Watch Video

Summary of Key Points

  1. Serve smaller portions (with the option of getting seconds!) to reduce food waste. Serve new foods to children in small amounts.
  2. Find ways to educate the entire household on how the importance of reducing food waste and ways everyone can play a role.
  3. Get creative with repurposing leftovers! See the videos above to discover new ways to use up half-eaten food.
  4. Use digital resources from the Cooking Module to repurpose leftover foods to create new recipes.

Plate Waste

Knowledge Check

Select your answers to these questions:

Question 1

What is a recommended strategy to reduce plate waste?

Question 2

Requiring children to finish all the food on their plate is a good way to reduce food waste.

Plate Waste

Knowledge Check

Question 1

What is a recommended strategy to reduce plate waste?

Question 2

Requiring children to finish all the food on their plate is a good way to reduce food waste.

Goals for Plate Waste

Instead of forcing yourself or kids to eat all the food on the plate, serve less for starters.

Try some creative approaches for picky eaters – kids or adults.

Remember, even personal plate leftovers can be eaten later if stored and labeled.

 

What’s Next?

Homepage Plate Waste Resources
The Next Stage of Food Waste