Simple ways to save on Food waste

10 Tips to Save Food Waste

My partner always take the mickey out of me because, as you will soon discover I am full of useful tips!! (Or not so useful as he thinks) It was last year some time and I was watching Jamie & Jimmy’s Friday night TV programme – Friday Night Feast. They were talking about how much food goes to waste and the most common reasons that we waste food as a nation.

1. How it looks – People expect things to look a certain way in the supermarket and if they don’t, surprisingly people won’t buy it. So for example, if that apple has got knobbly bits on it, or if that cucumber is a funny shape it rarely makes it onto our shelves as people will not buy it !

2. Household waste  – lettuce, greens and soggy fruit being the most popular to throw away at the end of the week

3. People buying too much food for what they actually need and what they will use.

According to The Guardian, in 2015 the UK alone threw away £13 billion worth of edible food, an estimated 7.3 million tonnes!

I can’t help but feel a bit sad about this – for the farmers, for the environment and for all the hard work that goes on in between! I have really made a conscious effort in the last 12 months or so to watch how much we ‘consume’ and any little ways that I can save waste and help recycle. My favourite thing as you know is when using meat I try and make use of everything – I save the fat for cooking with and use the bones for stock. I have even started keeping my coffee grounds…. I know this sounds weird but mixed with coconut oil it is a great natural body scrub! Try it. In fact check these guys out https://optiat.co.uk/ I recently discovered them at Fare Healthy and was really interested how they recycle coffee grounds to make their products! Fab.

Anyway, as small as they are – here are a few of my top tips for saving on waste.

1. Soggy fruit – this can be anything that looks as though it is not at its freshest but there is still some life in it yet! Soggy berries, mango, kiwi etc – chop them up, add them to a container and freeze them to use for smoothies! It is a great time saver, no one cares what they look like in a delicious smoothie! If you have leftovers make them into Lolli pops!
2. Herbs, chilli, and garlic – we’ve all got that shelf in the fridge where we find an old dried bit of chili or garlic or some leftover herbs! Grab an ice cube tray and pour in some olive oil, chop up your mixture of garlic, herbs and chilli and add them to the oil and pop in the freezer so you have an easy to hand flavoured oil for tasty dishes. It also works with butter – rub the herbs, garlic and chilli into butter then cut into rounds – keep in the freezer. Next time you are cooking a steak you can grab one and pop it on your steak for a gorgeous buttery kick!
3. Limp celery – poor old celery gets a bit of a bad reputation but it is a key ingredient to lots of soups, sauces and stocks! When it is looking a bit limp stand it up in some water for 2-3 hours and voila it’s back to life!
4. Ripe bananas – no one in our house likes ripe bananas – it’s all about the green ones! Ripe bananas are great to chop up and place in a bag or tub in the freezer – either add them to smoothies, make banana cake or simply leave to warm for a few minutes and then mash up for some tasty sweet banana ice cream!
5. Stock – I make gallons of this stuff a week and to save any of it going to waste I pour it into moulds or ice cube trays so that I can just grab a couple at a time out of the freezer to add to a tasty soup, stew or even dishes like cottage pie for some extra flavour and goodness!
6. Berries/ Currants – any berries will do – whiz them in the blender and you’ve got yourself a natural, no added sugar puree or compote to pour over your yoghurt / granola / pancakes in the morning for a bit of goodness !
7. Trimmings – keep any carrot /onion/ celery trimmings and add them to your homemade stock for extra nutrients and minerals!
8. Peel – cucumber, lemon, orange and lime…. Add them to ice cube trays and pour in some water.  Add the ice cubes to your water to give it a fruity or fresh flavour!
9. Zest – grate the zest of lemons and oranges and add them to your homemade chocolate to give it a bit of a zing!
10. Scraps – come the end of the week we always have a random combination of bits and bobs – half a pepper, half a courgette and a block of cheese? Grate them all up into portion sizes and when you need a quick breakfast or dinner they are great for throwing into an omelette or as a topping on your pizza!