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Community Corner

Cut Down On Global Food Waste and Benefit Your Local Farmers Market And Your Waist Line

Food is being wasted on a global level.

It’s been estimated by the United Nations that approximately a third of the world’s food supply is being wasted. This is a rather astronomical estimate considering the central role that food plays in so many different places around the world. Food is of particular importance to the fitness enthusiast. Not only does nutrition affect performance, it also affects the way you look and feel during the course of your day. For those individuals looking to lose weight, a restriction in calories is almost always implemented in their nutritional strategies. How can you limit calories and avoid contributing to the global food waste?

First: buy a chest freezer. A chest freezer will allow you to purchase food in bulk. This is particularly good because it will help you avoid restaurants and other places that serve up too many calories per dish. If you have plenty of available healthy food at home why eat out? By the same token, owning an appliance like this will save you some cash. Purchasing in bulk will reduce the overall cost of an item per unit. Take this opportunity to stock up on lean meats and other protein rich foods so that you have enough of a food base to make your own healthy dishes.

Second: visit your farmers' market. Marlborough has a great farmers' market. A place like this offers you great vegetables and other produce that is locally grown. Typically the goods found in a farmers market haven’t been processed like their grocery store counterparts. A good nutritional rule to follow is sticking to unprocessed foods. If you don’t recognize it in nature, you probably shouldn’t be eating it. Contribute to your local economy and help stave off inches on the waist line by eating locally grown foods.

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Third: learn portion sizes. Use appropriate portion sizes when cooking your meals. If you’ve taken the time to find good quality foods you won’t want to squander them by constantly making too much. Alternatively, you can also make large batches of a single meal and portion it out accordingly for the rest of the week. If you decide to go this route, why not host a food party and have friends and family swap dishes? You’ll learn some great recipes and keep your diet clean.

Food is a terrible thing to waste. We don’t typically think of it as a natural resource but it truly is. Make smart nutritional choices, support your local economy, and reap the rewards of nutritional responsibility. By doing so you will also cut down on global food waste and contribute to better global health.

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