Today, I will discuss with you how to avoid food waste in Ramadan because this is a king of other months. Allah bestows treasures of blessings in this month of Fasting. Muslim do special preparation for this. They prepare special foods and invite others for Iftaar. They perform nafli ibadaat, and sadqaat on a large scale but they ignore one thing that how to avoid food waste in Ramadan. If you have Food then this is a special blessing of Allah upon you. I suggest you the following options to avoid the wastage of food in upcoming Ramadan.
- Make menu according to the ratio of usage.
- Take food in plate according to your need.
- Store the leftover for next meal
- Share with your friends and family members as gift
- Donate to needy and poor people
- Feed your pets and other animals that food
- Use that leftover food as compost for home gardening
- Promote the the awareness against food waste
Make menu according to the ratio of usage:
It is the responsibility of mother or any family member who decides menu and prepares meal for family. They should select the ratio of food which is consumed on that day. It is also needed to avoid more dishes on the table. Prepare limited dishes of food at one time. In Ramadan, food is eaten in minimum quantity, so keep this point in mind. This trick will help you to avoid food waste.
If you will prepare more foods than to your need and this food will be wasted then this act will go under the order of Allah in Quran
And eat and drink be not extravagant; Surely (Allah)does not love the extravagant.
Make plate for you according to your need:
It is totally ethical point to make food plate for you. Anyone’s etiquettes can be judged through his plate and his eating manner. So be conscious while taking food into your plate. Take food only according to your need or you can take twice but don’t fill your plate. Make portion for every food in your plate. In this way, you will eat sufficient meal and you can avoid leftover into plate. As our Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW says:
A few morsels that keep his back upright are sufficient for him. If he has to, then he should keep one-third for food, one-third for water and one-third for his breathing.
Store the extra food:
If you have the leftover food and you think it can be consumed on next day. Then store your meal and enjoy it again. You can preserve this meal in freezer and use again when you need it. After taking out from freezer, you have to check whether to heat it in over or not.
Share your Food:
If you have extra food so share it with your neighbors, friends and relatives as a gift. It is a beautiful rule of Muslims that in Ramadan they share their meal with others. This act of sharing is also favorite in the eyes of Allah.
Donate to needy and poor people:
If you have extra food at home then don’t waste it but you can give it to needy and poor people near to you. This is obligation for you to give extra food to needy people. Allah wants you to feel the hunger of poor people by Ramadan Fasting. So help others if Allah has bestowed you the variety of foods.
Feed pets and other animals:
You can use extra foods as a feed of your pets like birds and other animals at home or any stray animal in streets. This is too much better than wasting food.
Make compost:
If you have leftover which is not edible then compost is the best recycling system. You can collect all leftovers as compost in a big size pot in your garden and then you can use it as a best fertilizer for home gardening.
Promote awareness:
Now you have learned how to avoid food waste in Ramadan. You can promote this notion into your family and friends discussion. Encourage others to avoid food wastage. You can discuss this idea with in your community and can collect all food leftovers. You can feed poor on daily basis in a better way.
How do I avoid food waste?
I follow all the above steps according to the need. I have permanent buckets under kitchen sink for peels of fruits and vegetables and I add leftover of tea etc. into that bucket. I collect all leftover in plates and save into that buckets. I don’t throw anything in dustbin. Then this bucket goes for animals like cow, hens and dogs.
Make your beautiful mind to avoid food waste as much as possible and feed others in your convenient way.
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