# How food experts stop groceries going to waste > Sustainability researchers and food scientists share the practical habits they use at home to eat what they buy. - Title: How food experts stop groceries going to waste · TIME - Summary: Sustainability researchers and food scientists share the practical habits they use at home to eat what they buy. Food-waste experts use strategies like… - Keywords: food waste, sustainability, grocery shopping, meal planning, leftovers, shelie miller, jonathan deutsch, brian roe, university of michigan, drexel food lab, ohio state university, news - Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/16/13-habits-food-waste-experts-practice - Author: Angela Haupt - Published: 2026-10-16T14:21:12.308+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: food waste, sustainability, grocery shopping, meal planning, leftovers, shelie miller, jonathan deutsch, brian roe, university of michigan, drexel food lab, ohio state university, news ## The gap between plans and reality Even food-waste experts buy groceries they never use. Shelie Miller, who studies sustainability at the University of Michigan, describes the temptation of fall squash without a plan. > It's fall. I'm feeling the fall vibes. ## Make a kitchen-sink potato Miller bakes a potato once a week and tops it with leftover vegetables and small portions from other meals. Her husband guesses what will be on it each week. > I always call it a garbage potato, or maybe it's better to call it a kitchen-sink potato. ## Give broccoli stems a second life Jonathan Deutsch, a professor at the Drexel Food Lab, peels broccoli stems to reveal the tender interior, which he calls one of the most delicious vegetables. He air-fries them with the florets. > The same care and love that went into the florets went three inches lower into the stem. ## Plan second uses before cooking Miller and her husband decide what to do with leftover ingredients before they start cooking. Half a cabbage might become rolls or soup. This extends the menu and reduces waste. > Getting comfortable with all the different ways you can prepare different ingredients really helps extend the menu. ## Check what you have first Deutsch starts by checking his kitchen before deciding what to buy. He looks for canned tuna, beans, or frozen chicken to build a meal from what he already has. > Instead of generating more waste that you have to deal with, you're taking surplus food and you're making it into new things that you want to eat. ## Keep apples in the fridge Brian Roe, a professor of agricultural economics at Ohio State University, keeps apples in the refrigerator rather than on the counter. He rarely loses one to spoilage this way. > I'm an apple kind of person. ## Shop your freezer first Miller and her husband check their freezer before deciding what to buy or cook. They discovered they had lunches covered for a week and portions of tomato paste they had frozen. > It just goes into the abyss of a freezer. ## Freeze soup flat to save space Miller's husband freezes soups and liquids flat in zip-top bags on a sheet pan. Once frozen, they stack like folders, taking up less space than bulky containers. > It ends up like these little folders of soup. ## Keep a stock bag in the freezer Deutsch saves onion trimmings, mushroom bits, and herb stems in a freezer bag. When he makes stock, he has a head start. He is selective about what goes in to control the flavor. > Stock is like magic. ## Make leftovers worth eating again Roe uses an air fryer to reheat restaurant leftovers, making them tasty and crispy. He stores leftovers in a way that makes him want to use them the next time. > That makes things kind of tasty and crispy again. ## Ask AI before buying more Deutsch suggests using a chatbot to find recipes for ingredients you already have. Tell it how much time you have, what equipment you are using, and your comfort level in the kitchen. > Make me an easy recipe with these ingredients. ## Respect the protein Miller explains that animal products have a larger environmental footprint than plant foods. She and her husband serve smaller meat portions and use meat as an accent to the meal. > Respect the protein. ## Calculate what guests will eat Roe uses the Guest-imator tool from Save the Food to estimate how much to prepare for a gathering. He tries to calculate what guests will actually eat rather than overbuying. ## Plastic matters less than food waste Miller studies plastic packaging but uses zip-top bags to freeze soup. Her research found plastic packaging accounts for less than ten percent of the environmental footprint of most foods. > When you look at the environmental impacts of food waste versus a single-use plastic bag, the food waste is the much more important thing. ## Compost what you cannot eat Miller collects food scraps in a metal pail but does not see composting as a substitute for eating the food she buys. She focuses first on using what is in her kitchen. > A lot of folks think, well, hey, I'm composting, so it's OK to waste food. ## Key takeaway Food-waste experts use strategies like planning meals before shopping, repurposing leftovers, and storing food strategically to reduce what they throw away.