Tips & Guides

How to Reduce Food Waste: an Imperfect Foods Guide

What do you get when you gather a whole team of foodie fanatics and sustainability savants in one place? A whole bunch of ...
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Kitchen hacks galore

Tips & Guides

Small wins at home that add up to big impact for the planet.

CompostingIngredient guidesWaste-less tips
How to Reduce Food Waste: an I...
What do you get when you gather a whole team of foodie fanatics and sustainabili...
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Ingredient guidesStorage tips
So Fresh and So Green, Green: ...
We’ve all been there: you buy a beautiful head of lettuce or a box of spring mix...
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Storage tipsWaste-less tips
The Imperfect Foods Grocery St...
Storing your groceries properly is one of the best ways to make them last and st...
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Waste-less tips
But did you smell it first? Ho...
When we look at food waste in our homes, the two main causes of waste are buying...
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Ingredient guidesStorage tips
When are avocados in season?
Learn when avocados are in season so you can know where your current batch is li...
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DIYUse whatchu gotWaste-less tips
DIY Rosemary Orange Cleaning S...
When you make your own all-purpose cleaner, you never again have to wonder, “Wha...
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HolidayLeftover hacksWaste-less tips
How to make Thanksgiving Lefto...
Thanksgiving is all about an abundance of good food – and putting it to good use...
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HolidayUse whatchu got
Quick Fixes for Thanksgiving F...
Inevitably, something is going to go wrong when you’re whipping up new dishes or...
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Holiday
Imperfect’s Thanksgiving Shopp...
You can check “making a list” off your list. Our Thanksgiving Shopping List can ...
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FallIngredient guides
Everything You Ever Wanted to ...
Photo and epic carving skills by Antonio Wothe, Imperfect produce buyer. Welcome...
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FallIngredient guides
How to Cook with Pumpkins
We answer your top questions about cooking with pumpkins!
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HolidaySustainability
What To Do With Your Old Hallo...
Learn what to do with your Halloween pumpkin after the big night so you don’t cr...
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DIY
Easy DIY Coffee Candle with Up...
You can make this DIY Coffee Candle about as upcycled as you want by using spent...
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SoupUse whatchu gotWaste-less tips
How to Make a Simple and Delic...
It’s the secret ingredient that adds depth, intensity, and structure to any dish...
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FallIngredient guides
Our (Almost) Fall Produce Guide
With fall comes cozy feelings of…wait a second, it’s still August. L...
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Product spotlights
The Best Fruits and Veggies to...
It turns out that kids are more likely to eat fruits and veggies if they helped ...
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Sustainability
6 Tips for Plastic Free July
We’re passionate about reducing waste, so we’re big fans of Plastic Free July, a...
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Side
Our Favorite Veggies for Grilling
Learn about our 5 favorite things to grill and then get fired up to grill everyt...
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Ingredient guidesSummer
Our Summer Produce Guide
If you ask our produce buyers, now is the time to really get excited about summe...
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SustainabilityWaste-less tips
How to Have a Waste-Free Picnic
Packing for a waste-free summer picnic is easier than you think. The hardest par...
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SustainabilityWaste-less tips
How to Make a Sustainable Tabl...
“Tablescaping” is a real word, it’s a verb, and more important...
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Waste-less tips
How to Make the Most of Your F...
Help your flowers live stronger for longer with the help of bouquet queen, Jacki...
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DIYStorage tipsSustainability
How to Make Your Own Beeswax W...
Small swaps add up to big change, so consider trading your plastic wrap or alumi...
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DIYHoliday
How to Naturally Dye Easter Eggs
Easter baskets, at home egg-hunts, pastel-painted this, egg-shaped that, chocola...
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Leftover hacks
7 Tips for Storing Cheese Prop...
A pound of cheese takes hundreds of gallons of water to produce, making cheese w...
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Use whatchu got
Our 4 Favorite Baking Substitu...
You’re in the mood to bake something (today’s been one of those weeks) but you r...
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DIYHoliday
Instructions for Our DIY Holid...
Behold, here’s how to make our favorite zero-waste DIY holiday decorations. 
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DIYHoliday
Halloween Costume for Gardener...
Raised bed Halloween costume for gardeners
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DIYHoliday
Halloween Costume for Dogs: As...
Halloween Costume for Dogs: Astro Mutt
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DIYHoliday
Halloween Costumes for Dogs: D...
Halloween costume for dogs: dog carrot
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DIYHoliday
Halloween Masks made from Recy...
Halloween masks: pumpkin, lemon, and strawberry
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FallIngredient guides
6 Ways to Pumpkin Spice Up You...
You’ve been underestimating the potential of our Imperfect Pumpkin Spice m...
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Imperfect U
Quick Tips With Joel Gamoran: ...
In cooking as in life, knowledge is power. We want you to feel as empowered as p...
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Imperfect U
Quick Tips With Joel Gamoran: ...
They don’t teach cooking tips in school, but they really should! That’s why we t...
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Imperfect U
Imperfect U: How to Master Mea...
One of the best ways to make your meals easier and less stressful on busy weekda...
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Imperfect U
Quick Tips With Joel Gamoran: ...
How can you get the most out of your groceries? Our next Imperfect U lesson come...
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Imperfect UWaste-less tips
Imperfect U: How to Reduce Foo...
Reducing food waste starts in your kitchen and we’re here to help you do your pa...
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Imperfect U
Quick Tips With Joel Gamoran: ...
To help you make the most of your Imperfect Foods box, we teamed up with scrappy...
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Imperfect U
Imperfect U: Saving Time in th...
Have you ever wondered how you can make cooking faster and easier? We teamed up ...
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Ingredient guides
How to Cook With Nuts
When we ask food writers and chefs what ingredients every home cook should have ...
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Waste-less tips
8 tips for more delicious and ...
Nothing inspires quite as much passion, debate, and anxiety as cooking food over...
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Leftover hacksWaste-less tips
Coffee Grounds: 7 ways to use ...
Learn 7 fun and innovative ways that you can use your coffee grounds.
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Waste-less tips
This Earth Day, Prevent Food W...
Food waste can be overwhelming so we're here to empower you with easy, actionabl...
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Waste-less tips
Dive in to Sustainable Seafood...
"Fish have seasons, just like produce."
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Product spotlights
Pantry essentials with Imperfect
Learn what items you should always have in your fridge and pantry to make cookin...
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Packaging
Reuse your Imperfect Box ̵...
Learn 4 fun and creative ways to reuse your Imperfect box so it doesn’t go to wa...
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Waste-less tips
Reducing Food Waste is the Per...
Learn why reducing food waste is the ultimate New Year’s Resolution that has a b...
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Waste-less tips
Tips for Reducing Waste at Hom...
Get some chef wisdom for how to prevent food waste at home and at restaurants!
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A Less Wasteful Thanksgiving i...
We’re sharing our top tips for making your Thanksgiving meal less wasteful.
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BakingProduct spotlights
The 5 Essential Baking Ingredi...
Baking season is heating up! You may be wondering how to prepare cookies, cakes,...
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Product spotlights
Everything You Should Know abo...
Learn how to make this misunderstood root vegetable delicious with a few tips an...
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BakingDessert
5 Tips for Better Baked Goods
Learn 5 easy tips to make you a better baker today!
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Product spotlights
Waste Less Protein with these ...
Learn four tips for wasting less protein in your kitchen.
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Product spotlights
Fall Spices and how to use the...
Everything you need to know about the most common spices for cooking and baking ...
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Storage tipsWaste-less tips
Shopping Tips to Make Your Gro...
Learn easy tips for shopping and storing food smarter so you’ll end up wasting l...
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Product spotlights
Everything You Need to Know Ab...
"white-space: pre-wrap;">We answer your top questions about cooking with pumpkins!
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Unwasted podcast
Joel Gamoran Eats Scrappy
"How about we don’t make food perfect — because it’s not perfect. Life’s not per...
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Ingredient guides
Your Top 5 Cooking Questions, ...
We answer your 5 most burning cooking questions!
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Ingredient guides
How to Pick The Right Hot Pepp...
We share everything you need to know about 4 of the most common hot peppers out ...
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Leftover hacksStorage tips
What To Do With Leftovers
We share tips and tricks for having a more loving and less wasteful relationship...
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Sustainability
Everything You Ever Wanted to ...
We answer 10 of your most burning questions about recycling.
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Ingredient guides
Everything You Ever Wanted to ...
We answer your most burning questions about how to shop for and cook with spicy ...
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Sustainability
Ciara Bravo’s 6 Sustaina...
Actress Ciara Bravo shares some of her favorite ways to live more sustainably.
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Leftover hacksWaste-less tips
What to do With Leftover Condi...
Whether you’re planning to grill everything in your box this summer or just gear...
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Seasonal previewsSummer
Summer Produce Preview
Learn what surprises summer has in store for Imperfect boxes across the country!
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Waste-less tips
What to Do With Too Many Veget...
Tips, tricks, and recipes for using up 5 of the most common vegetables that that...
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Composting
3 Composting Tips From a Compo...
Learn 3 tips for composting from zero waste expert Kathryn Kellogg of
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Combatting climate change
10 Ways You Can Support Bees t...
Learn about 10 ways that you can help support the bees that are the unsung heroe...
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Storage tips
How to Clean Out Your Fridge: ...
10 steps for a perfect fridge clean out that will leave your kitchen feeling cle...
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Product spotlights
Getting to the Root of Root Ve...
We team up with a chef to answer our community’s top questions about cooking wit...
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Ingredient guides
Vegetable Wisdom Straight from...
Chef Abra Berens shares some useful kitchen wisdom on how to cook with root vege...
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Waste-less tips
Cooking Tips for Busy People: ...
Learn some tips for saving time in the kitchen so can fit delicious meals into y...
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Ingredient guides
Flavors That Love Each Other: ...
We spill the sweet secrets of pairing spices with all of your favorite fruits an...
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Ingredient guides
How to Cook More: Cooking Oil 101
We break down everything you need to know abou...
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How to Buy Less: Understanding...
Ever wondered about the difference between “best by,” “use by,” and “sell by” da...
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Use the whole thingWaste-less tips
What the Fork: Citrus Peels
Learn why citrus peels are a delicious and underrated ingredient that we can all...
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Ingredient guides
Citrus 101
Get the lowdown on all of the delicious varieties of citrus that winter has in s...
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Everything You Ever Wanted to ...
We share our top tips for taking better care of your knives so you can stay shar...
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Ingredient guides
Baking Fats 101 – The Bi...
Our big fat overview of cooking fats!
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Leftover hacksWaste-less tips
4 Steps To Use Up Your Thanksg...
How to navigate the sea of Thanksgiving leftovers like a pro.
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Leftover hacksWaste-less tips
How to Turn Holiday Leftovers ...
Learn how you can turn your Thanksgiving leftovers into an amazing brunch or three!
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Ingredient guides
What the Fork: Fresh vs. Dry H...
Learn which herbs you should buy fresh vs dried and get some practical tips for ...
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Ingredient guides
Root Vegetable 101
We demystify all of the many root vegetables that fall and winter bring our way.
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HolidayLeftover hacks
What To Do With Your Old Hallo...
Learn what to do with your Halloween pumpkin after the big night so you don’t cr...
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Ingredient guides
Your Squash Cheat Sheet
Eating seasonally during the colder months means learning to love squash. Here i...
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Everything You Ever Wanted To ...
We share our top tips for using a knife like a pro in the kitchen and de-mystify...
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SoupWaste-less tips
How to Make the Most of Soup S...
We’re dishing out all of the soup knowledge that you need to make the most of th...
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What The Fork: Broiling and Br...
We set the record straight on broiling vs brûléeing and outline why you should a...
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Ingredient guides
What The Fork Do I Do With Pom...
We demystify the regal pomegranate, teach you how to open it quickly without sta...
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Lunch
Level Up Your Lunchbox!
Guest author Elaine Westcott shares her tips f...
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Leftover hacks
How To Make the Most of End of...
Learn our top tricks for preserving the last of your summer fruit for the delici...
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Use whatchu gotWaste-less tips
How to Make Jam at Home
Everything that you wanted to know about making jam at home.
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Ingredient guides
Kale Yeah: How to Love Kale Again
We teach you how (and why) to massage, season, and love your kale!
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SoupUse the whole thing
How To Turn Your Corn Cobs Int...
Learn how to turn your corn cobs into a sweet and delicious broth!
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Ingredient guides
How to Cook Radishes
Learn 4 tips for cooking delicious radishes at home!
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Waste-less tips
How to Use Stone Fruit Like a ...
Learn some kitchen secrets for turning your stone fruit into delicious desserts ...
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Ingredient guides
12 Easy Ways to Get Your Famil...
Follow these tips and your family will be eating more healthy fruits and veggies...
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PartnershipsWaste-less tips
Cooking Ugly With Chef Anna Po...
We sat down with Anna Posey of Elske in Chicago to chat about how she thinks abo...
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PartnershipsWaste-less tips
Cooking Ugly With Chef Tom Car...
We sat down with Chef Tom Carlin of Dove’s Luncheonette in Chicago to learn abou...
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Ingredient guides
4 Tips for Cooking Excellent E...
4 tips for making more delicious eggplant dishes at home!
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Storage tipsWaste-less tips
How to get the most out of you...
Our handy cheat sheet for making the most of your fresh herbs this summer!
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Use whatchu got
How to Build a Dinner Tablescape
Learn how to use Imperfect produce to decorate a table from our friend Christian...
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SustainabilityWaste-less tips
4 Tips For Going Zero Waste
Practical advice from zero waste superstar, Kathryn Kellogg of Going Zero Waste.
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Partnerships
How to Practice Mindful Eating...
teaches us to how to practice mindful eating and why it matters more than ever i...
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Tips for Cooking With Kids!
Tips on how to get kids excited about cooking from Chef Andi Davis, aka “The Sal...
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Ingredient guides
3 Tips on How to Cook Artichokes
3 tips for turning this bizarre-looking, prickly flowers in to the stuff of Medi...
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Waste-less tips
How to cook like a Zero-Waste ...
6 ways to apply chef tricks in your kitchen to waste less food and cook more del...
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Storage tips
How to Dry Your Leftover Lemon...
Learn how to get more out of your lemons and waste less by drying the peels!
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Storage tips
How (and Why!) To Freeze Your ...
Learn how to keep your extra onions from going to waste by freezing them!
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Sauces and dressings
Dress to Impress: How to Make ...
How to ditch the plastic bottles of sugary dressing from the store, and whip up ...
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Composting
Composting 101
An overview of how to turn your fruit and veggie scraps, peels, and cores into h...
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Use whatchu gotWaste-less tips
5 Tips for Waste-Free Meal Pla...
Less waste starts with a smarter meal plan!
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Ingredient guides
How to Cook with 5 Lesser-Know...
When it comes to fruits and veggies, there are no strangers, just friends that y...
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Waste-less tips
Turn Your Citrus Peels Into a ...
Citrus peels don't have to go to waste and cleaning your kitchen doesn't have to...
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Waste-less tips
Everything You Wanted to Know ...
Learn the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about fermentation!
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Waste-less tips
Waste Less Food, Save More! Ho...
The easiest way to waste less food, save money on groceries, and become a better...
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Ingredient guidesSide
Bye Bye Bland Bowls: 5 Easy Ti...
Farewell obligatory, bland brown rice! Up your brown rice game with these easy k...
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Holiday
3 Ways to Give Less Wasteful G...
3 ways to give thoughtful holiday gifts without wasting rolls of wrapping paper ...
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Everything You Need to Know Ab...
We're taking the expensive and stressful guesswork out of buying a knife this ho...
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Ingredient guides
Imperfect’s Guide to Coo...
Fresh herbs are essential to cooking delicious meals with seasonal produce. Here...
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SoupWaste-less tips
Stock Tips: How to Turn All Yo...
Make an investment in more flavor and less waste with these market-tested, kitch...
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Ingredient guides
“Help! I’ve got to...
Whether you mistook 2 pounds of chiles for 2 chiles during customization or just...
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Ingredient guides
Cook With Your Coffee!
In addition to being a delicious beverage in your cup, your Imperfect Sightglass...
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Leftover hacksWaste-less tips
How to Pickle Everything in yo...
Pickling is a quick and easy way to give new life to your produce, use up excess...
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Ingredient guidesWaste-less tips
Flower Power! A summer love st...
Why nothing says "I love you but dislike food waste" quite like a bouquet of flo...
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Ingredient guides
What do I cook with THAT?
So you got an unfamiliar vegetable in your Imperfect box...Now what?
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10 Essential Kitchen Tools for...
There are a ton of kitchen gadgets and gizmos on the market so we thought we'd w...
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Ingredient guides
Our Top 5 Must-Have Ingredients!
Get these 5 ingredients in your pantry and enjoy delicious, versatile meals no m...
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Leftover hacksUse whatchu got
In Search of the Perfect Sunda...
We reveal some of our kitchen-tested tips for turning the straggler veggies from...
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Ingredient guides
5 Tips for Better Roasted Brus...
Our definitive guide to making the best roasted Brussels Sprouts on the planet.
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Holiday
5 Tips for an Imperfect Valent...
Valentine's Day is around the corner so we're sharing our top tips to make a rom...
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Winter
5 Tricks To Avoid The Winter C...
Free yourself from repetitive winter meals with this helpful guide from your fri...
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Ingredient guides
What the Fork: Persimmons
We finally clear up the difference between Fuyus and Hachiyas, because let's fac...
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