If you want to save money, time and the environment, and you’re sick of putting food in the bin, you’re in the right place! Learn how to reduce your food waste and reap the benefits.
Here in the UK, around 60% of the nation’s total food waste footprint is generated in people’s own homes. This equals around 4.7 million tonnes every year. It’s a major problem, but one that we all have the power to change. A few simple and small adjustments to our habits in the kitchen can make a huge difference.
Why is food waste a problem?
Throwing away food is harmful to the environment, wastes money, and is also counter to the Jewish value of bal tashkhit – avoiding unnecessary waste and destruction. The 13th Century Sefer haChinuch states,
“It is the way of the pious… they never destroy even one grain of mustard in the world and they are upset by any destruction that they see.”
Food waste that goes into your bin and is sent to landfill will generate methane as it breaks down. This is a potent greenhouse gas that accelerates climate change. The effect of decomposing food waste in the UK is equivalent to around 25% of road traffic emissions!
According to WRAP, an average UK household of four people wastes around £1,000 on discarded food every year. Reducing food waste is one of the fastest and easiest ways to save money. Then you can spend it on something more enjoyable instead!
Why does food get thrown away?
There are many reasons why some food will end up in the bin.
A significant amount of food is wasted because it has gone off or passed its ‘best before date’ and been discarded. You can easily avoid this by better planning and keeping a closer eye on what’s in your fridge. And remember that while food should not be eaten after ‘use by’ dates, ‘best before’ dates are more of a guide. Food quality may begin to decline after the date, but it is still safe to eat. Use your common sense rather than automatically throwing out anything that’s reached its best before date.
Another large category of food waste is food which wasn’t eaten, as too much had been prepared. This covers both what was scraped from plates, and also any leftovers that ended up in the bin. By cooking and serving smaller portions, and planning to use up leftovers, we can avoid or reduce at least some of this food waste.
Unavoidable waste
Of course some waste will always be unavoidable. If your freezer fails, of course you should throw away anything that has thawed! Likewise if you drop food on the floor, it’s going in the bin. But there are plenty of strategies that you can adopt to help reduce your food waste. I’ve outlined some of them below.
Ways to avoid or reduce food waste
Here are some ideas to help you avoid or reduce food waste in your home:
- Check the fridge before you shop!
By keeping an eye on what you already have, you can buy only what you need. This will help you avoid over-buying or duplication, which can lead to excess food being binned. - Plan your meals and shop accordingly.
This doesn’t have to be a rigid, day-by-day menu, by any means. I have a loose, flexible plan for the week’s meals, which incorporates all the produce currently in the fridge. I can switch around the order if any of our fresh produce is looking a bit ‘eat me now!’, or even change the menu entirely. But it does usually mean that nothing is left languishing. This approach has definitely helped us to reduce the amount of food we throw away because it hasn’t been used in time. - Factor leftovers into your planning.
For example, consider whether any dinner leftovers could become a future lunch, and buy less ‘lunch’ foods as appropriate. Keeping excess food to a minimum is a great way to avoid having to throw food in the bin.
- Keep an eye on use by dates.
Put newer items to the back of your fridge or cupboard, to help you to eat things in order. You may also like to designate one part of your fridge for short-dated items to use up first. You can then easily prioritise them when cooking or planning. - Freeze for the future.
Pack any leftovers into single portion containers and freeze to make quick and easy homemade ‘ready meals’ for later. I also like to slice and freeze part-used loaves of bread before it’s too late. That way I can just grab a slice and toast from frozen whenever I need to. Bread is one of the most wasted foods, so this simple tactic can definitely reduce your food waste footprint.
- Turn stale bread into breadcrumbs or croutons.
If it’s too late to freeze your bread in slices, whizz into breadcrumbs or cube and toast to make croutons. You can use these straightaway or freeze them for future recipes. - Save scraps for stocks and soups.
Add clean peelings, stalks, vegetable skins and offcuts to a box or bag in the freezer, then use them to make flavourful stocks or soup bases when you have enough. - Get clever with recycling leftovers!
You can easily stretch sauces and stews into soups – add some leftover pasta or rice to bolster it if available. Add leftover cooked veg to salads or lunchboxes. And turn overripe or already cut up fruits into smoothies, or top with crumble and bake for a quick, scrumptious dessert.
Below I’ve also gathered together recipes and ideas for using leftovers, turning potential waste food into treats, and generally keeping food from the bin. I hope you find them useful!
Delicious recipes to help fight food waste
Despite our best efforts, sometimes we end up with odds and ends that are past their prime, half-used packets that are hanging around, or leftovers that no longer look appetising. Here are some ideas to put them to good use, and save them from the bin! Let’s fight food waste, one delicious dish at a time!
Savoury recipes include:
Cheese and onion quiche with fennel seeds
This quiche is a great way to use up odds and ends of different cheeses – choose tasty hard cheeses for best effect. The caramelised onions and fennel seeds add a wonderful flavour.
Challah panzanella salad
Use up your stale challah in this flavoursome summery salad, made with ripe tomatoes, herbs, and cubes of toasted bread. Perfect for a light Sunday dinner!
Queen Esther’s Toast
You can knock up these simple Purim fritters with just milk, eggs, and stale bread or challah. They make a perfect dessert or breakfast with fruit or syrup, at any time of year!
Spanish omelette
Leftover cooked potatoes make a delicious Spanish omelette. This recipe also calls for courgettes, but you can use just spuds, or any other leftover veg you happen to have on hand.
Coronation potato salad or tangy potato salad with herbs
If you boiled too many potatoes, it’s a simple job to turn the remains into a deliciously tasty potato salad!
Full Jewish breakfast
Leftover cholent? Two-day-old challah? Sunday mornings will never be the same once you put your Shabbat leftovers (plus a few extras!) to work in the Full Jewish Breakfast! This hearty cousin of the Full English will set you up for the day.
Sweet recipes include:
Easy muesli cookies or double chocolate muesli cookies
I can’t be the only one who finds open bags of uneaten muesli at the back of the cupboard. These recipes transform it into sweet, crumbly cookies that will soon disappear! And they’re almost healthy enough for breakfast.
Fruity dark chocolate tiffin
This is my favourite way to use up odds and ends from the baking cupboard. If you have random dried fruits, nuts, bits of chocolate, half packs of biscuits etc, and it’s all getting a bit out of hand… Mix them up and you have a fantastic teatime treat!
Healthier fruit crumble
You can use whatever fruit you have – apples, pears, plums, berries, peaches… And simply bake them under a layer of delicious crumble for a no-waste dessert. If there’s an excess of milk that you can transform into custard to pour over, then so much the better.
Banana flapjacks with apricots and chocolate
One of our favourite ways to use up brown bananas! Swap the dried apricots for raisins, cranberries, or whatever you have, and enjoy these delicious oaty bars for breakfast, at teatime, or just as a snack.
Banana Bonanza! The guide to using overripe bananas
If like us, you always find one or two bananas are spotty and brown before you’ve finished the bunch, check out this guide to using them up. You’ll find plenty of recipes for cakes, scones, pancakes and other treats, and information on storing or freezing your overripe bananas for later use, too.
More top tips?
I’m sure you have your own ideas and top tips for reducing or avoiding food waste, so please comment below with anything you think I’ve missed. Let’s work together to reduce food waste, save money, and help the environment!
And for more information on how to fight food waste, visit WRAP. You’ll find loads of resources in their “love food hate waste” pages.
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