November 9, 2013, admin, Food, Sponsored Posts, , 0
Did you know us Brits waste 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink every year and what’s more, over half of this ‘waste’ could have been eaten! Shocking isn’t it. It is reported that this waste costs an average household approximately £700 a year.
I am all too guilty of throwing food out when I could have done something with it. Since becoming a full time Mum I do try and think more about the leftover food we have and, having a little more time, I am able to do more with it.
If you have plenty of food storage boxes there is no reason why you can’t keep leftovers to use the next day or even to freeze for use at a later date.
So, here are a few ideas for those leftovers:
1. Lunch - The easiest, and most obvious, thing to do when you have a large amount of leftovers from tea is to pack it up in suitable food storage tubs and the family can take it to work or school the next day for lunch. Obviously this only works with some food. I find chilli, soups and stews work really well reheated for lunch the next day.
2. Potatoes - I often make far too much mashed potato and really thought I should get around to doing something with it. Big Mr A showed me how to make potato croquettes so now whenever I have enough left over I keep it in the fridge and make croquettes with it the next day.
3. Fruit - Fruit is the one thing I am all too quick to throw out. I am OK if I have over ripe bananas as I love making banana bread, however, other fruit I am not so good with! Now the winter is here I am going to make sure I start stewing and freezing any leftover fruit to make crumbles with. If you like smoothies (yuck!) this is another great way to use up any leftover fruit.
4. Freeze it - Cooking in bulk can be a great way to save time, and money. I often buy bigger packs of things like mince so that I can make a big batch of Bolognese/chilli then freeze half ready for another meal. If you label up the storage box with the date you can make sure you eat it up and don’t end up forgetting about it!
5. Don’t go shopping - Why not once a month/every 6 weeks have a good sort out of your cupboards and freezer and make something for tea from whatever you have in? It could be a great way to come up with a delicious new meal and not cost you any extra!
I hope this has helped give you some ideas as to what you can do to help avoid so much food waste. Do you have any top tips to share?
