I’m a professional chef – these five food hacks will save you time and money in the grocery store

YOU can save time and money by using a few simple tricks shared by a professional chef to bring food to the table instead of the trash.

Instead of letting your food rot, you can prevent waste by transforming old cabbage, zucchini, berries, leftover chicken, and apples into delicious meals.

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Chef Alison Mountford has made a name for herself on TikTok as a self-proclaimed food waste expert, amassing 36,000 followers as she shares tips to revive rotting, and in some cases slimy and moldy, veggies and leftovers.

In one of her viral videos, Alison saves a black, moldy head of cabbage by removing the outer leaves before cutting off the most rotted section of the produce.

She peels another layer of the cabbage and just like that, the cabbage is good as new. Alison then creates a meal with the “fresh and delicious” vegetable by adding spice mix to the cabbage and topping the roasted pieces off with buttery breadcrumbs.

“Cabbage lasts forever and it’s so good,” the chef said. “We only wasted a few leaves instead of an entire head.”

She uses a similar method with a slimy zucchini that appeared beyond repair. She peels the skin off of the vegetable before slicing it into small pieces to roast in the oven.

“By the time I washed it off and cut it into coins, it was beautiful on the inside!”

Alison also has a trick for getting the most out of your berry snacks.

“Do you know the low-waste way to eat strawberries?” the chef asks her followers before popping an entire berry – greens and all – into her mouth.

“If the greens are Young and fresh go for it!” she advises in the caption.

“If they’re older or this just doesn’t make any sense to you just pluck them off with your fingers, no need to lop off a quarter of the fruit!!”

Another type of fruit that can be better utilized is old apples. Alison says that even though they may not taste the freshest, apples that are months old can still be eaten if they’ve stayed in the fridge.

Because they might not be sweet after so much time, Alison recommends using old apples in apple crisps, pies, applesauce, or any other ingredient in baking or cooking.

The chef uses her food waste ideas in her own life too, in ways like making sandwiches with leftover chicken.

“I’m a chef who helps people reduce their household food waste either to save money or save the planet or just because throwing food away feels good,” the chef has explained.

To save your leftover food, there are more hacks to keep your fridge fuller for longer.

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