You know that feeling of guilt when you’ve bought too much
food or ordered more than you can eat? I know it well!
I mean 2 for 1 on a punnet of strawberries is a good deal
right? An extra side of fries with my main meal sounds perfect when I sit down
hungry... and so it goes. Instead of always feeling bad about the subsequent
waste, I decided to be realistic, I knew that despite my best efforts this would happen again. What I did decide though is to reduce the waste.
Knowing that I’m part of the bigger picture, where we throw
away 7 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year, including
over half that could be eaten, I had to do something.
So here I list some of my day to day food-waste limiting solutions
and ideas:
- It’s amazing what you can freeze - if you haven’t used up fresh fruit or vegetables in a few days, then cut it up and freeze it (prior to this I experimented with freezing whole peppers and bananas, not as easy to defrost). I must thank my dad here who has demonstrated that you can successfully freeze and defrost almost anything – growing up this included bottles of milk, loaves of bread, cooked meat, rice and lots more!
- When eating out, take home any left-over food you can’t finish - and yes I have had some strange looks from waiters when I request they pack a small amount, but the alternative is that it gets thrown away. Also useful are friends with bigger appetites who can help you out :)
- Creative recipes – when you notice an item in your fridge has a danger of being wasted, look up recipes using this ingredient. It’s amazing how this can mix up your meal choices. Granted some of my creative cooking attempts have been better than others, hey you don’t know unless you try! Here are some recipe ideas courtesy of Love Food Hate Waste.
- Grow your own - this is on my to-do list. I’m sure that apart from tasting better and being organic, when I’ve spent months cultivating something, I will make absolutely sure none of it is wasted!
- Save water – this is an easy one. A shower timer is brilliant, making sure taps don’t leak and you use watering cans instead of hose pipes if you’re lucky enough to have a garden. Take a look at this 1 minute video for inspiration.
For even more top tips
visit the Love Food Hate Waste homepage
Ambreen
