One of my biggest pet peeves is food waste. See a perfectly good vegetable go to the bin is a crime honestly- especially when there is so many ways to use it up, or even save it for later.
Therefore over the years I’ve learnt a few handy tips to rescue those wilting veggies, packets of meat coming up to their due date, and that loaf of bread you’re never going to finish in time. With the help of To Good To Go, I’ve complied some useful advice that will save you wasting money and saves you from dealing with mouldy food!
Don’t over buy!
Might be an obvious thing to say but the easiest way to reduce waste is to reduce the amount of food you buy! Use up what you have before reaching for your shopping bags; when shopping, stick to a list, that way you won’t buy anything to be left sadly at the back of the fridge.
Batch cook
If you are making a traybake, purposefully cook that little bit more to make yourself tomorrow night dinner, or a couple lunches for the week. Same rule applies for big meals like ratatouille (here’s a handy recipe if you want to make one), chilli con carne and curry. My rule is that anything goes with these dishes, so throw in any vegetables that are looking slightly sad. Once cooked and cooled, divide up into tuber-ware and freeze. All of a sudden you’ve made your own ready meals for a fraction of the price and a lot less waste.
Serve yourself some Soups
Soups are THE most versatile food on earth. Made way too much for your traybake? Throw it in a soup! I’ve seen apples, swede, and beetroot before so I’m pretty sure anything goes. If you don’t have a blender just chop your veggies into small pieces and just have yourself a no-waste stew.
The best basic recipe code:
- Cut up any vegetables you have,
- Roast in a tray at 180•C until squishy,
- Add to a pot with a stock cube, and mixed herbs
- Add enough boiling water to cover
- Simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Blend up and keep warm until you are ready to serve.
- Once cool, box up portions and freeze!
I personally love using tomatoes, onions, garlic, celery, peppers and chilli in mine. Adding some lentils in when simmering for a thicker consistency or watering it out for a thinner consistency. No tomatoes on hand? Just use a tin of them!
Familiarise yourself with your fridge
Yes, there are some things that can exist in or out of the fridge depending on how your parents raised you. In my opinion ketchup and other condiments belong in the fridge but you do you. But potatoes, garlic and onions don’t need to be in the fridge. Keep them separated in a cool dark place and they’ll be fine. That way you’ll have more room in the fridge.
Same can be said about plastic packaging. Vegetables are a little like humans- they sweat! So if you keep them in their plastic packets, that moisture will cling to the produce and encourage mould. Therefore un-bag veg when you get home, and store them in see-through containers so you know what you have left.
If you’ve cut up any vegetables, keep them submerged in cold water in the fridge and they’ll will retain their freshness and crunch. Great for meal prepping those cheap healthy snacks. Change the water every few days to ensure that they don’t spoil.
Embrace the Bread
Don’t keep bread in the fridge! It will encourage it to turn stale. If you’ve bought a whole loaf and know you won’t eat it all just store it in the freezer. To revive in a jiffy, microwave or toast it.
And this applies to all types of bread and pastries and even cookies and cake. Store these in bags in individual portions and when you’re in want of a sweet treat, pop on a plate with a splash of water, and microwave at 30 second intervals until thawed.
Or else, if you’re in a glut of bread, use it up creatively:
- Eggy bread or french toast: both sweet and savoury variations.
- Tear up and bake till crispy for a crunchy texture on traybakes and salads.
- Bread and butter pudding! Which after you’ve made can go in the freezer for later on!
- Blitz up a slice or two to add a crunchy top to your pasta bakes and macaroni cheese!
All hail the freezer
The freezer is your salvation, and not just for the pizza and chips you bought. I use it for practically everything! Any meat, fruit or veg that is coming up to their best before date can go in there. It’s best to portion up before you freeze so that you can thaw what you need when you’re ready to cook. Veg can be added straight to the pot when you’re ready to use, but for meat, make sure you let it slowly de-frost!
Another option to save yourself the hassle of remembering expiration dates: just buy the frozen option! These products don’t have less nutrients than the fresh version and are perfect ways of cooking with your five a day.
Another hack? I’m glad you asked. Those curry pastes, pestos and herbs can all be portioned up into ice cube trays and frozen for later. Save yourself have having to deal with fuzzy jars and have yourself a bag of flavours cubes on hand!
Creative cooking
At the end of the day, a bit of creativity will always reduce your food waste. Here are just three recipes that will use up thosebits and bobs and make something delicious that can all be frozen so you won’t be making waste:
Eggs cup on the go:
Crack 6 eggs in a bowl, mix with as much cheese as you want, salt and pepper. Chop up any sort of vegetable you have lying around into small cubes (peppers, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and peas go really well but freestyle), and if you so wish, meat. Combine everything then pour into oiled muffin tins or baking pan. Bake at 180•C until the eggs are cooked though.
Now you have healthy eggs cups/frittata!
Banana bread
Mash 3 brown bananas with 75ml vegetable oil, 100g of sugar and stir in 225g plain flour, 3 tsp baking powder and any add ins you want – I recommend chocolate, but spices, raisins and various fruits are all welcome. Pour this into a lined tin and bake for 30-60 minutes at 200C until the cake is cooked all the way through. Cool and enjoy! Slices of this can also be frozen and defrosted when you want.
Any thing goes Curry
Chop up 1 onion and as much garlic as you want and sauce in a pan Add some tomato paste, curry cubes and fry until fragrant. Dice up any veg you have lying around – the staples should be 1 carrot, 1 pepper, 1 chilli, but feel free to add in cauliflower, boiled potatoes, aubergine, courgettes, peas, runner beans, tomatoes, butternut squash, spinach, broccoli (aka anything you have!). Stir this through with a tin of tomatoes, a can of coconut milk, a stock cube, and another can of water. Optionally add chickpeas and lentils and simmer until all the veg is cooked through and the vegetables are softened. Cook any meat you want to add – chicken, halloumi, paneer, tofu, quorn, lamb, beef etc – in a frying pan with some more curry paste and add to the pot as well – either when it is simmering down or at the end. Once reduced down, serve with rice, naan, wraps, etc or as it is. When it is cooled down completely, portion up and freeze for later.
Words, photos and recipes by Ellen Hollingshurst (@a_bakingmess)