Wasted Food Tips
Want to know how we get food back onto plates and reduce food waste at home?
Here's our top tips:
First, Shop The Fridge - Wasted Kitchen Food Saver Tip #1
Every year 4.5m tonnes of food are wasted in households which sounds a lot but on average that's 1.25kg per person per week. Which means that if we all saved a bit more we'd make a huge positive impact. First off #shopthefridgefirst !
Before going food shopping check what you've got in the fridge, cupboards and freezers, think 'what can I do with it to make it a meal?'... then buy what you need, or find it in the kitchen.
Have A 'Use Me Now' Section In Your Fridge - Wasted Kitchen Food Saver Tip #2
Just like they do in the shops - pop everything that needs using in the next few days into a container in your fridge. Label it to remind yourself and then use it first.
Remember - you are more likely to use what you can see. So, put the stuff you need to use soonest at eye level! I use my veg draw for jams and pickles and put my fruit and veg in clear trays on the middle shelf so I'm drawn to it first.
Have a set of handy ‘Resurrection’ or “Nextover’ recipes - Wasted Kitchen Food Saver Tip #3
Have recipes that love and that you can pull out of the bag and use to make a quick and easy meal.
Keep key ingredients that help make these happen in the cupboard or freezer - jars/ pouches of lentils, beans and grains, chopped onion, nutritional yeast...
Press Pause - Wasted Kitchen Food Saver Tip #4
If you don’t need a meal right now then #presspause
Re-purpose anything that needs to be used soon into something that can be used later – either by freezing, pickling, fermenting or preserving in some other way.
Haven't got the time - think about passing it on via a sharing app.
If it happens regularly and it's not gluts from your garden or allotment it's probably time to think about how you shop.
Make It Easy -
We know some folks are big fans of batch cooking meals (and we love a frozen meal) but we also love choice and making what it is we fancy right then. So, instead of prepping whole meals, we pre prep some key ingredients we love that make it much easier and exciting to #createinthekitchen when we want to. The freezer is definitely your friend here!
Our core pre-prep ingredients are
Fine cut carrots, onions, celery (aka 'mirepoix') for stew, casserole and curry bases. If we’ve got tomatoes they’re chopped / grated and frozen separately and then added for more Mediterranean dishes like sauce for meatballs and pasta.
Veg & Meat Stocks / Broths
Roast veg – adds extra depth of flavour to curries and soups. Cauliflower and peppers work really well.
Chopped Onions so I just have to stick my hand in the freezer when I want some. Bacon lardons, bread crumbs, peas, fresh ginger and soy beans.
Meet Producers & Choose Provenance Over Volume When You Can.
Meeting producers and understanding what drives them and what they do will automatically make you want to waste less because you'll understand the work and the passion involved in getting your food to you. When you can, shop in places where they can tell you the names of the people who grow and make you food, where there's no signs of additives and fillers and choose provenance over volume.
Finally - think about how you can minimise the associated waste - like packaging and extra transport. Check out our Packaging & Produce Pyramids that we use to help us make decisions when we need a reminder/ bit of help!