Easy ways to cut your waste
Daily tips for reducing food waste
PREVENTING food waste is the best way to tackle it. Here are easy ways you can reduce the amount you throw out.
1. Get familiar with your fridge and friendly with your freezer
UNDERSTAND food dates – what the ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ labels really mean is vital for making the most of your fridge and freezer.
Just checking the ‘use by’ date printed on the contents of your fridge will help you to save money. More detailed information on food dates will be shared in tomorrow’s supplement.
Meat, fish and ready meals are often the most expensive things we buy, and regularly checking the dates on such perishables can help to prevent them
from ending up in the bin. Move recently bought items to the freezer if you do not think you will have time to eat or cook them soon.
Dairy products can often be forgotten. But unused chunks of cheddar can be grated and mixed with breadcrumbs for a savoury topping, or even stirred into mashed potatoes.
Use up yoghurts in fruit smoothies or have them as delicious toppings on breakfast cereals.
When you get home from the supermarket, transfer as much as you can straight to the freezer.
If you have large packs of chicken or fish, divide these into smaller portions using freezer bags.
2. Be store cupboard savvy
TRY to keep your store cupboard and
freezer stocked with a variety of the essentials you and your family love to eat. Include canned, dried and frozen goods, rice, pulses, pastas and sauces.
If you have a stock of such items, you can always rustle up a midday meal or a delicious dinner from leftovers.
3. Get your portions right
DAY after day we dish up staple foods such as bread, rice, potatoes and pasta, but often what we do not finish ends up going straight into the bin.
Use the portion calculator on the Love Food Hate Waste website (www.lovefoodhatewaste.com) to help measure out just the right amount. For example, two or three tablespoons of rice will serve a single adult, while a mug of rice will provide enough for four adults.
4. Lovely leftovers
BEING crafty with your food is a clever way to save money – and it really boils down to thinking before you throw.
With a little preparation, leftovers can be transformed into delicious meals that do not have to seem second best.
It is amazing how many meals you can get from only one chicken.
If you enjoy a roast on a Sunday, the remains of the joint can be used in everything from skewers and soups to curries and wraps.
Why not dish up a delicious risotto later in the week, or use the meat in some lunchtime sandwiches?
The bird’s carcass can also be boiled up as a stock, which can be kept in the fridge or freezer until needed.
If you have enough of the roast left, pop the items in a freezer bag and keep as a ‘ready meal’ for one.
Smaller amounts can be pureed as baby food or served as a child’s portion for lunch the next day.
Those last dregs of wine or beer can be frozen in ice cube trays and added to stews and casseroles when cooking.
If your fruit is a few days old, cut any bruises off the apples and then toss these into the pan with sausages.
and you do not have to throw out those blackening bananas. Instead, use them in baking or mash them up and then add cream to them for a superquick pudding.
5. Planning your meals
THIS is one of the most effective ways you can cut your food bills.
Start by checking your fridge, freezer and store cupboard and ask yourself what you really need.
Before you go shopping, think about what you are going to need for the week and write a list. This way, you will not shop for things you already have.
ask your partner and children to help. encourage them to share their favourite meals and think about what they would like to have that week.
Then you can work out a meal plan for the week and ensure you have everything you need – and do not buy things you will not.
How you will make a difference?
ZERO Waste Scotland is working to implement the Scottish government’s new Food Waste Reduction Plan – available to view or download from its website (www.zerowastescotland.org.uk)– to reach the government’s 2025 target of reducing food waste by a third.
a 33 per cent reduction in food waste in Scotland will result in the following benefits:
Food waste in Scotland will be reduced by 297,000 tonnes;
The average Scottish household could save as much as £437 in unnecessary food waste;
Reducing food waste by a third will cut our emissions of greenhouse gases by the equivalent of taking almost one in five of our cars off the road;
By recycling food we really cannot eat, we will be helping to generate clean energy, fertilisers for our farms and compost for gardens;
We will become more aware of the value and quality of our food, its importance in Scottish culture and its environmental impact.