Reducing food-waste is something that I feel passionate about: the amount of consumable food thrown away each day is shocking.
So here are my top tips for reducing food waste and learning to love your leftovers:
- Plan your meals;
- Shop from a shopping list;
- Buy fruit and vegetables from a local market instead of the supermarket: they tend to stay fresher longer;
- Consider tinned and frozen alternatives: here is my blog about which are best;
- Make your freezer your friend: if in doubt, put it in. I freeze lots of leftovers in individual portions – they make great lunches.
- Split packs: I always do this for ham, bagels, bread, rolls and chicken portions as we don’t tend to get through the whole packet in a week. I also freeze coconut milk (many recipes only call for half a tin) and leftover cheese (especially at Christmas);
- Learn how long leftovers last in the fridge:
- Cooked meat: 3-4 days
- Vegetables: 3-4 days
- Gravy: 1-2 days
- Open pack of ham: 3-5 days
- Parma/ Serrano/ prosciutto: 2-3 months
- Soups and stews: 3-5 days
- Hard boiled eggs: 7 days
- Pizza: 3-4 days
- Cooked sausages – 7 days
- Love your leftovers: have them for lunch! Leftover vegetables make a tasty omelette or a delicious soup; hard boiled eggs and ham make a delicious salad and leftover cooked meats and gravy make a great pie filling.
Make 2021 the year that you reduce your food waste!
