Have you ever had too much jam left in a jar to justify letting it go to waste, but not enough to make a sandwich? Kaysea (@kaysea67) on TikTok has an ingenious hack that solves this problem and results in a delicious treat.
The scoop
The step-by-step is incredibly simple. Kaysea takes her almost-empty jam jar and fills it with milk — dairy-free works, too, she says. Then, she closes the jar and gives it a vigorous shake before pouring the now-frothy, sweetened milk into a glass.
@kaysea67 ⚠️ Before you throw out those jam jars that still have the tiniest amount left⚠️, add in some milk of choice to make a delicious flavored milk (strawberry and raspberry are my favorites). My kids love being the taste testers for this hack! #hack #foodhack #recycle #nowaste #foodbudget #tips #strawberrymilk #reuse #recipes #rawmilk #tipsandtrick #creatorsearchinsights ♬ original sound - Kaysea
"You have a quick, easy, tasty way to make your own strawberry-, raspberry-, or blackberry-flavored milk," Kaysea says. "It tastes so good; better than store-bought."
How it's helping
Though this hack intercepts a fairly small amount of waste, a little can go a long way when small actions are added up across many people.
According to Feeding America, in the United States, people toss 80 million tons of food each year, or 38% of all the food in the country. That's equal to 149 billion meals.
When we waste food, we also waste all of the energy it takes to grow and produce it, according to the World Wildlife Fund. And when that food rots in a landfill, it produces methane, a heat-trapping gas that is even more potent than carbon dioxide.
In the U.S., wasted food creates 32.6 million cars worth of planet-warming gases. If we stopped wasting food, about 6-8% of human-caused heat-trapping pollution could be eliminated, according to the WWF.
Luckily, there are a plethora of organizations out there that can help us curb food waste. For example, Too Good to Go is an app that delivers surplus goods from restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores to its customers at a super-low price. Misfits Market is an online grocery store that sells foods deemed too "ugly" to be sold mainstream.
What everyone's saying
TikTokers took to the comments section of Kaysea's video to praise the hack.
"Smart," one person commented.
"That's such a great idea!" another said.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
