A mom on TikTok shared a simple way To reduce food waste and save a little money: Freeze your fruit.

Marie-Jeanne (@thatonemomsaid) knows that sometimes the products you buy at the store can “go bad faster than you can eat them.” Instead of throwing it away, why not extend its shelf life and put it in the freezer?

@thatonemomsaid

Budget hacks when you’re trying to minimize food waste!

♬ original sound – Mary Jane

“Almost any produce can be cut up and frozen,” she says. said.

The scoop

This kitchen hack is rather simple. Keep an eye on the condition of your refrigerated products and, once you notice that they may have gone beyond the typical consistency you enjoy, put them in the freezer. With some fruit and vegetablesyou may need to cut leaves or select moldy pieces. This can extend the shelf life of products and reduce the amount of food going to landfills.

You can use frozen fruit in smoothies, yogurt parfaits, homemade popsicles – the list is endless. Who knew you could freeze onions for meal prep? Did anyone say frozen lime juice cubes to avoid wasting lime? If you want to go further in reducing your carbon footprint, you can reuse bags you place your frozen products there.

How it works

Giving your products another life rather than a quick death in a trash can is a small but powerful change for the environment.

When food is wasted, all the resources needed to produce it – water, land, energy and labor – are essentially wasted. also get lostaccording to the United Nations. When food waste ends up in landfills, it cannot decompose properly. This emits methanecontributing to gas pollution which warms the planet.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, landfills are the third largest source of human nature methane nationwide pollution; food waste is responsible 58% pollution from landfills. The EPA estimates approximately 40% of food is wasted.

Even the biggest companies are working to reduce their waste. Meal kit provider HelloFresh has taken steps to prevent food wasteworking with organics supplier Denali to repurpose inedible food into compost and animal feed.

What is the most common reason you end up throwing away food?

I bought more than I could eat

It went wrong sooner than expected

I forgot it was in the fridge

I didn’t want any leftovers

Click on your choice to see the results and express your opinion

What people say

“We do this too,” one commenter said. “It’s a great way to preserve produce!”

Easy, simple and effective.

Join our free newsletter for easy-to-use advice save more And waste lessand don’t miss this nice list simple ways to help yourself while helping the planet.