In collaboration with Love Food Hate Waste.
Regular readers will know I am a huge supporter of preventing food waste in the home. My No Waste Food Challenge linky is in its fifth year and I am constantly amazed by the creativity of the tips and recipes shared by my blog readers.
I am absolutely delighted to announce that we have now teamed up with the Love Food Hate Waste campaign for a six-week campaign to help reduce the amount of food waste we generate at home.
This Lent, why not join us with the 40-day food waste challenge, develop some new lifelong habits and help save a few pennies (up to £60 per month!) in the process!
Shocking Food Waste Statistics in the UK
In the UK in 2015 alone, £13 billion of edible food was thrown away from our homes. In total, 7.3 million tonnes of food was thrown away, which if prevented, would have the environmental benefit of taking one in four cars off the road.
This is a shocking statistic and one that you and I can have a direct influence upon. Food waste prevention begins in the home.
Your food is grown for you, not your bin. It does its job best when it’s on a plate ready to be enjoyed. Saving food saves money and helps to slow down global warming and deforestation. Reducing the amount of food that ends up in the bin also means you can say goodbye to unnecessary packaging waste. If we all make a few small changes and start using up the food we buy, together we can make a big difference.
2017 is our year of action. Join us with the 40-day food waste challenge this Lent! Why not give up binning food instead?
Love Food Hate Waste
Love Food Hate Waste is a consumer charity campaign aimed at helping people reduce food waste at home. Their website is packed full of tips and tricks for preventing food waste at home and saving pennies as a result.
The 40 Day Food Waste Challenge
With Lent around the corner (1 March – 13 April 2017) many people will be making a conscious choice to change a certain behaviour for the better. Usually, this is associated with giving up a food vice like chocolate or alcohol, but Love Food Hate Waste wants to make Lent 2017, and beyond, a more meaningful one. Why not give up food waste instead?
Each week of the challenge has a different theme with seven daily practical tips and challenges to help keep you on track. These themes are:
1st March (week 1) Meal planning – when’s this for?
8th March (week 2) Storage – where should I put this?
15th March (week 3) Fridge focus – how do I make the most of my fridge?
22nd March (week 4) Portioning – how much should I use?
29th March (week 5) Food labels – what does this mean?
5th – 13th April (week 6/7) Leftovers – what can I do with my ingredients?
From the start of Lent, the Love Food Hate Waste campaign page will provide lots of helpful content to inspire and remind us that they every small change we make can result in a big impact.
Sign up to the challenge and you will receive email communications with additional content and support to help reassure you that you’re on the right track.
>>> SIGN UP TO THE 40-DAY FOOD WASTE CHALLENGE HERE! <<<<
Pancakes for Shrove Tuesday
Lent kicks off every year with Shrove Tuesday, aka Pancake Day, the traditional feast day before Lent commences on Ash Wednesday. Traditionally, foods such as butter, eggs and fat were discouraged from being eaten during the fasting Lenten season, so these ingredients were used up beforehand to make pancakes or other rich foods. A perfect example of food waste prevention practice!
PANCAKE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
Cottage Cheese Crepes from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
How to Make Oven Cooked Pancakes by A Glug of Oil
Gluten Free Banana Bread Pancakes by Celery & Cupcakes
Fluffy Coconut & Quark American Pancakes by Supergolden Bakes
Courgette & Dark Chocolate Chunk Pancakes with Maple Yogurt by Veggie Desserts
Butternut Squash and Carrot Pancakes by Rough Measures
Turmeric & Black Pepper Brunch Farinata by Kellie’s Food to Glow
Vegan Chocolate Chip Scotch Pancakes from Tinned Tomatoes
Monster Pancakes by Fab Food 4 All
Polish Apple Pancakes by Little Sunny Kitchen
Lemon & Moringa Pancakes by Plate to Pen
Easy Gluten Free Coconut Pancakes by Emily’s Recipes & Reviews
GIVEAWAY
For the next seven weeks, my No Waste Food Challenge linky will team up with the Love Food Hate Waste ‘Give Up Binning Food Instead’ campaign. As my own linky offers a £25 Amazon Gift Card prize, this means there will be 7 weeks of giveaways to correspond with the weekly challenges, and the linky itself will last from the 1st of March until the 13th of April.
HOW TO ENTER
For your chance to win a £25 Amazon Gift Card enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Come back and tweet about the giveaway every day for more chances to win!
TERMS & CONDITIONS
This giveaway is open to UK entries only. Entrants must be age 18 or over. The winner will need to respond within 30 days of being contacted; failure to do this may result in another winner being selected.
The prize is offered and provided by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary. The prize is to win a £25 Amazon Gift Card. There is no cash alternative and the prize is not transferable.
There is no entry fee and no purchase is necessary to enter this giveaway.
The promoter (Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary) reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice.
Entry into our giveaways will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.
If you need some help using Rafflecopter, here’s a quick clip to show you how. Rafflecopter will pick the winner at random from all the entries received. I will be verifying entries. Any automated entries or those who have claimed they have made the mandatory blog post comment and really haven’t will be disqualified. It’s mandatory! Please make sure your comment is eight words or longer or Google views it as spam and this negatively affects my spam score. All entries with comments fewer than the mandatory 8 words will be disqualified and deleted.
Closing date is midnight (that’s 00:00 hours, 12 am on Monday night/Tuesday morning) on Tuesday 7 March 2017 (GMT). The winner will be announced shortly afterward.
This is a paid post in collaboration with Love Food Hate Waste, although all thoughts and opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to do what I love: mess up my kitchen and share recipe stories.
Pancake image source: Shutterstock.
Chunky Vegetable and Sausage Soup
i feel cook only as required..Great article
hadn’t heard of the challenge but will look into it.
Best tip is to plan ahead. Meal planning as opposed to going with the flow helps prevent waste. You can plan consecutive days that use leftovers on day 2 to ensure they don’t get wasted.
we have a dog so don’t get much food waste.
We plan a meals a week ahead. I try not to be tempted by the BOGOF offers.
Make a weekly meal list and stick to it and only purchase food needed for the planned list.
Absolutely. i’m so sick of waste and also sick of spending money on food!
Buy products that don’t go off so easily – apples can last all winter if stored properly
This challenge is new to me, as a family of 6 we don’t waste an awful lot but it’s nice to get some more ideas
I’m not taking the challenge as I tend not to waste food much, My best tips are to freeze up leftovers and clearly label the food!
I’d never heard of this before today but because money is fairly tight we always try to be a conscious as we can about waste and make many meals from leftovers to make sure we throw as little away as possible
I’d definitely like to have a go at this challenge, I hate wasting food!
I had never heard of the challenge but with 3 dogs we never have any waste. Fantastic prize, thank you x
I hadn’t heard of the challenge but I make my leftovers into things like curry or bubble and squeak and offcuts go in the dog
recycle recycle and recycle as much as you can, or try to buy fruit that isn’t packaged!
I’m trying to make soups out of waste veg and I’ve started a compost bin!
I’m trying to do the 40 day challenge 🙂 My tip is to check the fridge/cupboards before going to the supermarket to ensure I don’t duplicate things I already have.
I’m definitely trying to do the challenge- we’ll see how it goes 🙂
meal plan meal plan meal plan! works wonders x
I make a meal plan and buy what ingredients I need for it and left overs are normally frozen if possible. I use to be quite wasteful with food but I try to use everything I buy now and the meal planning works for me X
I’m not taking it but it is a great idea, maybe I should think about doing it!
I had not heard of the challenge before today but would love to try it! I make meal plans for the week before I go food shopping to try and reduce waste. Thanks for the giveaway
Freeze leftovers immediately rather than saving for later and ultimately chucking out
Buy less, make a list and only buy what you need.
I always freeze leftovers – hate waste.
We always do our best to use up everything and not waste food. We were once staying in a self catering lodge with two other couples so took turns cooking. I made a big pan of chilli and portioned up the leftovers for the next day in the fridge. My friends couldn’t believe it but it was instinctive to me- why throw away good food? Needless to say on their cooking days anything that wasn’t eaten was thrown away, including an entire freshly made salad that would have been fine for a few days in the fridge!
Plan ahead, eat leftovers and appreciate what you have!
I don’t have any food waste other than teabags, orange peel etc as I only buy what I am going to use.
Only put small portions of food on your plates. It is easy to add more rather than waste it. You can then put even small amounts of leftovers in the freezer and save til enough to make a meal
I hadn’t heard of the challenge.
This is a fab idea…..I normally buy my fresh produce every 2-3 days that way I find I’m not wasting as much and only buy what I need
I hadn’t heard of the challenge before today, but we are quite careful about food waste. We tend to freeze leftovers where possible, or use them for lunches the next day.
I always freeze leftovers then use for another meal
My guinea pigs love eating all the veg leftovers like carrot tops and the ends of carrots.
we try and recyle the waste
Meal plan meal plan meal plan! Do a shopping list and only buy what you are going to eat! It’ll save you money and waste!
Get into a routine where you buy only what you need – little more often rather than the “Big” shop.
PLAN YOUR MEALS FOR THE WEEK TO REDUCE WASTE! I also frequently go into shops later in the day and get as much reduced stuff as i can! 🙂 it lasts for ages in the freezer! we use a halogen cooker most of the time as well; uses less power than an oven!
I’m a wee bit late to this but it sounds like a great initiative – am going to join in and look at tis more when I get home from work
Really useful, wish more people knew! we have a meal-plan to use left-overs following night,,,,
I’m not officially taking part but i’m full of interest after reading up about it
Anything that get’s leftover goes to the dog or the chickens. Nothing is wasted.
I try to plan the meals for the week and stick to my shopping list. If there’s any leftover veg I make soup for lunches
I have started already as had some chocolate pancake mix left over so baked it in the oven the same way I make yourshire puddings and it came out delicious. My daughter loved it. Anyway, in terms of being more frugal with food I try to only cook what I need and freeze the rest.
we don’t waste anything, I don’t do a meal plan but I do buy food with meals in mind , we keep our bread in the freezer and only thaw out what we want each day.
Leftover veg can always be made into soup or pies or added to omelettes, possibilities are endless once you start really thinking about it
Only shop after you’ve eaten, as it’s amazing how a little hunger pushes up the food bill!
Make meal plans. Order online. Use odds and ends of fruit and veg in smoothies.
Always just get enough food for the week when shopping plan each daily meal before you go
I don’t usually waste food thanks to Pinterest and the various recipes you can find on there for livening up leftovers! Pretty much my go-to if I have a bunch of odds and ends to get through.
mix compatible leftovers and freeze for extra standby meals
PLAN YOUR MEALS FOR THE WEEK TO REDUCE WASTE
trying to use all my leftovers
i always try to be careful with food shopping and do not buy anything that i really do not want.
I’m not taking part in the 40-day challenge. My food waste prevention tips for fellow readers is only purchase what you’re going to use don’t be tempted by buy 2 for X as its not a good deal if it ends up in the bin.
Use leftover food the day after and dont throw away
I loathe wasting food, so always plan the week’s meals in my head I do batch cooking at the weekend so we have quick to prepare food ready for weekday evenings, which always helps and I try to freeze what I can.
I definitely will. If you do end up saving left overs from a meal, refridgerate and take to work for lunch, a lot less hassle, a lot less money and a lot less waste.
I will definitely try to use left overs in more dishes for future dinners
Buy bread and freeze it, use your leftovers
I like to make soups with any left over veg in the fridge each week, it’s a great way to use it up
I try to freeze surplus veg we have cooked in plastic containers. I buy woopsy veg, cook it then freeze it. I got a cabbage for 7p. I am a bit sloppy with dumping food though
I like to google recipes with any left over ingredients every few days
great article, inspired me to think of my food waste
I find you can make a delicious soup from almost any leftovers.
I’m trying to cut back on waste by using leftovers, we have at least one meal a week made from them
We avoid waste by using a weekly meal plan
I only have myself to cook for so I only cook what I can eat and I can honestly can say I never leave any food on my plate and never throw food away. I find the thought of waste so obscene, considering how many people go hungry.
This is a great idea. Thank you for sharing!
Whenever i buy a loaf of bread I freeze it and just take out as much as I need
I like prepping food and freezing: chopped carrots, chopped onions, spinach, potato wedges. Anything that I know I’ll like to cook at some point but dont want to risk going off.
We always buy sensible amounts for the number of meals we need eah week. That way we have very little waste food.
We really try to do this all year round, I love the slow cooker, it is a joy to chuck loads of bits in there and call it a curry or a stew….I get orange reduced sticker madness sometimes and buy up loads of reduced priced stuff, but I can always freeze it x
shop from a list,only things needed for next few days
I am going to stop wasting as much food by freezing leftovers or making another meal out of them next day.
its a great idea im not taking part however as i food shop for meals daily and really dont have any wasted food plus i eat what i fancy on that day, it is annoying when i want a snack though as there arent usually any other than fruit 😉
I am taking on a slightly different challenge by taking one item from my house every day for 40 days and then donating them to charity. As far as food waste goes plan recipes and quantities in advance and avoid impulse food buys if you don’t have a planned meal in mind.
I’m a confirmed yellow label shopper – I buy reduced supermarket produce on its sell-by date and use immediately, freeze or store in the cupboard. This cuts my shopping bill down to a fraction of what it would otherwise be and I don’t waste anything! I find Waitrose, Marks and Spencers and Sainsburys are the best, often reducing items down to pennies.
I’ve started chopping vegetables in bulk and freezing them as I find at the end of the week I was throwing so much away. Now I’ve always got ready veg in the freezer and we waste alot less.
cook and use what you need
im not but i think its a good idea i try not to waste anything i use broccoli stalks and cauliflower outer leaves to make a soup
We never throw away anything, scraps of veggies go into a freezer bag, that we use to make broth. And everything else goes into compost.
I can’t afford to waste food. Why would people buy or cook more than they can eat?
I make food in bulk at the start of the week and put portions into the freezer to have later on
I am personally taking the challenge so it will be fun to see the results
I’d love to take the 40 day challenge! It sounds so worthwhile and a greay way to cut down on food waste.
Save – and actually eat – leftovers
dont waste food
I have no freezer so I very carefully plan my meals. I also make any leftover veg into soup.
No, I never waste food anyway and I teach the kids not to as well.
I tend to measure out all my meat portions before hand so nothing goes too waste, and when cooking a meat joint, the remainder gets used in sandwiches and curries.
Think this is a great idea. We are quite good at not wasting food, think everyone should be encouraged not to.
I don’t waste food anyway. I also have 2 wormeries and a compost heap.
I will try to keep up with the challenge. I have a large family so I tend to limit waste by using in another dish as much as I can.
i love this idea! i always try to freeze stuff so its not wasted as I HATE throwing food away!
great idea – ill try this 🙂
With your sunday lunch, roast extra veg than you need & use these on monday to make wraps , soups or to use in couscous
we try and limit what is wasted
We do waste a lot of food, I notice that it is getting harder to find decent dates on supermarket food so we end up throwing things away, the challenge is a great idea and I may look into trying it
My husband and I have often discussed how we can keep from wasting food. Thanks for the good advice!
What a wonderful idea, will definitely try this!
I’d love to take part! I’m an avid gym-goer so I always meal prep anyway, but for anyone who hasn’t tried it it’s the best thing you can do for your diet! It helps you prevent food waste and it makes you understand what nutrients you are receiving too 🙂
i’ve not heard of this challange, but sounds interesting
Having a lightbulb moment at Christmas and realising that freezing veggies not used – whether they can be frozen uncooked (leeks) or just a quick boil and cool down – you than have some of the best veggies for flavour in your freezer…
Keeping leftover xmas dinner ingredients and then making a pie with a ready bought puff pastry topping – some of our favourite meals!
we are pretty good at keeping it low but i look forward to some leftover ideas!
I’m not currently trying this but is an interesting idea!
|’d never heard of this challenge before, definetly worth looking into to!
No I will not be taking this challenge because, to be honest, there’s hardly any waste in our household. I plan all our meals in advance and only buy what I need
Wow this is just an amazing thing to give up for Lent! It’s so sad to see so much waste whether its at shops or family members I know. Definitely going to do this for lent
This is a really great post. I hate wasting food, more importantly, I hate when my kids waste food. Especially when I think about all the families that need food. I strategically pan my grocery list so that I can repurpose some of the things I have already cooked. And I family who does that as well.
I prepare one meal a week using all the leftovers from the previous meals and including leftover veg etc in the refridgerator. Carrots that are going a little soft and spring onions that are a little dried out can help make the most tasty meals.
Not yet but I am seriously considering it
Freeze leftover food and date it .
The challenge is a brilliant idea. I’m definitely going to try it. I find freezing everything works wonders for helping me not waste food. I’ve recently started freezing double cream in ice cube trays. I often use cream to cook with but found I rarely used up a pot before it went sour. Now I can just put a cube or two into soups or sauces without feeling guilty about wasting any.
a brilliant challenge, I always check the fridge and cupbaords before writing my shopping list, if I have items nearing their use by dates I decide how to use them and write down any extra ingredient I need for the dish. I find this keeps our food waste down alot.
I’m signing up now! We always try to batch cook, freeze and label. Anything our toddler doesn’t eat we save for the next day if possible. We also have a worm composter.
This challenge is a great idea. We don’t like to waste food and cook to the proportion needed for each meal. Agree that planning is key!
put leftovers in soups and meal plan
I’ve signed up. Today with so many options for using excess or unwanted food there’s little excuse for letting it go to waste. I’ve always hated seeing food just binned.
This is a great program! I’m so passionate about eliminating food waste. It feel like a sin to do so. I save all my scraps to make stock or feed my chickens. Meal planning is key too! Thanks for doing this.
Food waste prevention is such an important subject that is often entirely neglected. I’m trying to throw away as little as possible but I also think that supermarkets, cafes, restaurants etc should sign up to have all the food that they can’t sell anymore but is still good donated to charities. It’s important to raise more awareness. Thanks for sharing this post!
That;s a great challenge and those pancakes all sound amazing!
I hate wasting food. It is so great that others are learning how to stop wasting!
You’re smart to break this down into one new habit each week as otherwise it would all be overwhelming & get lost in the sea of good intentions.
What a great challenge. I think in the US we tend to waste far too much and could easily at least be more aware of what we are wasting.
I absolutely love this idea. I feel awful every time I have to throw food out.
make your freezer your friend, I cook from scratch and often have food left over so freeze whats left and have it in a week or two for dinner or for lunch
I love this campaign! I completely agree that the food waste situation is horrible and really needs to be remedied! I always try to use everything that I can!
I’m going to give it a go I’d say to write a meal planner and stick to it when doing The shopping
I freeze anything we are not going to eat there isnt much you cant freeze I juice fruit and veg. That was my new years resolution waste less
I do weekly meal plans and any leftover food we use for lunches the next day or make into soups
I never waste food, I have a real thing about it, I always stick to a shopping list and make sure I only buy what we really can use, planning menus in advance helps.
I think challenging yourself during lent to do anything is a wonderful idea.
sometimes we don’t realize what we are wasting can be treasure for someone else. world is suffering from hunger crisis. we should learn a lesson from those countries who are suffering from hunger .
im not doing the challenge but I find using leftovers to make meals the next day works well – like leftover chicken put into pasta with a sauce
I’m not taking the challenge but we have very little food waste.I always fill the fridge with the things that need to be eaten first at the front.
Never forget you have a freezer – perfect for saving food from the bin.
No but i would love to
What a great challenge. We have been trying to live a greener waste free life, we really need to do this also.
I hadn’t heard of it but it’s a great idea
i didn’t know about this challenge.Looks fab. I hate to waste food. if theres leftovers, they either go in the freezer or gets eaten the next day x
My tip would be if you’re single living on your own, don’t bother with buy one get one free on perishables unless you know you can and will freeze it. It will probably go off before you can eat it and you will end up throwing it away.
What a great campaign! I like all your tips and pretty much follow all of them now.
I’m up for the challenge and hope others will do so as well. It’s so important for our environment!
Being honest, no, i havent been aware of it.
im up for this! very challenging!
What a geat message!! I love the idea of wasting less, it is crazy how much food we can waste.
this is a very interesting article! we’ve been wasting a lot of food in our home! ill definitley find a way to avoid that! this helps me a lot.
I haven’t heard about the challenge but we rarely throw food away. All veggies that need using up get thrown in the slow cooker and turned into soup and any left overs that aren’t used in the next meal tend to be frozen too
I’m not taking the challenge but I do compost as much as posssible
Shame so much food is wasted in home, restaurant, grocery stores. Rules need to change
such a great post to rely on! ive been wasting a lot of food! didnt know about this before! very nice idea
These facts on food waste are shocking and so sad when you think of hunger issues throughout the world. We try to trash as little as possible, while recycling and composting as much waste as possible.
Love this initiative! It is always harder than it seems but SO important! Great challenge!
I love how easily this challenge is broken down! So often changes surrounding food and sustainability overwhelm me because of how much is involved but this is so easy to get started on! Thank you!
What a great idea!! No waste for Lent!!
WE do not waste food these days its to damm exspensive
no im not taking the challenge but i do try my best with food wastage by planning meals and eating leftovers
no but would like too x
I love this! I hate when we end up wasting food. I try pretty hard to meal plan/ use or freeze left overs so that it doesn’t happen.
I waste very little, but if I waste it once I think twice about buying it again.
I absolutely detest wasting food,it makes me feel awful, I am vegan so i can easily eat leftovers the next day or the day after without worrying.
I stick completely to my shopping list and will eat veggies raw if need be, i juice a lot and chuck most things in the juicer and can easily blanch and freeze veg.
I’m not taking the challenge but I will be using up the left overs before buying more food 🙂 x
ive not actually heard of it but we meal plan and also freeze alot of food
We always take care not to waste food! We plan meals and shopping and take care to use everything. I find the figures for waste really awful but not really surprising. People have busy lives and sometimes just don’t care that much. But it is so much more important than just the money being wasted! arghhhh!
I find meal planning the best way to less waste
We’re taking this challenge! I think getting properly back on top of meal planning is going to be the key for us.
I don’t take part but over the last year or so I have tries to reduce our food waste more and more. It never is a lot but any food waste is to much in my opinion. I try to meal plan and also I find I have less waste if I shop in different places and online instead one big shop at the supermarket. There I can be to tempted to buy things we don’t really need
We’re really good and rarely waste food. When we buy meat, we bag it into portions and freeze them so we only ever take out what we need. If we have veg left, we do a stir fry or bake cakes if we need to use eggs by their sell by date.
We meal plan every Sunday and only buy what we need – that way nothing goes to waste. It’s good for your waistline, too!
The best tip I can give is to plan meals carefully! By planning our meals, we avoid wasting food…
This sounds like a very cool idea and a great thing to do for lent. Being more conscious of what we do and our behaviors especially as regards waste is a good thing.
Meal planning has been one of the ways we try to cut down on food waste, aside from buying groceries once a week and only stocking up on non-perishable items such as flour, rice and noodles. I also try to plan meals so that if there are left-overs then I can use those left-overs for the next dinner or lunch.
The amount of food that gets wasted by individuals is heartbreaking! This is a great idea for a lent campaign.
We don’t like wasting food. The way to avoid this is by not over cooking or have left overs.
I’m not taking the 40 day challenge, we always try to reduce waste by using it in different recipes.
It is true. Such a great amount of food is wasted. Between foods going bad in the fridge to leftovers that no one eats.
This is really awesome! It’s so nice that you’re participating in this challenge. I think it’s important that we keep track of the food in the house so as not to waste any.
I am all about supporting this movement. I think it’s important that we don’t waste food especially with hunger being one of the biggest issues that we have right now.
i seriously never waste any food – i buy what i require and never nothing over! it is tempting to go mad in a supermarket but just stay wise and use common sense and you should not waste much at all!
I noticed we were always throwing out food, so I decided to plan out my meals. Now we hardly throw out food! It’s crazy how much perfectly good food goes to waste in this way!
| diaryofasouthernmillennial.com
Don’t throw out any leftovers. Once cool, cover and store in the fridge until the next day, when you can put it all together with some seasoning and make tasty “bubble and squeak”, or something similar depending on the ingredients.
I try to be as thrifty as absolutely possible with ALL of our family’s food. One way I do this in particular is to take any left over veggies from dinner and freeze them in a large container. It takes quite a while to fill up, because I use the largest container I have and then throw in what normally gets thrown away, such as a few spoons of peas, any leftover carrots, green beans, cabbage, etc…just anything really.
I never ever buy “boneless” meats, if at all possible. I buy bone-in meats and then debone them once I get them home, freezing the cutlets and bones/scraps separately. The bones come in handy for flavoring in beans, soups and stews. Which brings us back to the large container of veggies.
Once that container is completely full, I thaw it add, add some of the meat and bone scraps and have a complete meal made solely from what would otherwise have been “waste”.
It’s an ongoing revolution at our house 🙂
We do a meal plan for the week so that when we go to the super market we only buy what we actually need and then things not need to be thrown because theyve gone off so often.
We are very aware of wasting food and throughout the years we have picked up many tips and tricks to making the most of the food we buy. We write a menu for the coming week before we go shopping and stick strictly to the items on the list. Any leftovers from meals are used for lunches the next day. Working for a major supermarket I see the shocking amount of waste we generate as a fairly small supermarket and it’s very disheartening. If we all pull together and do our bit we can create change,.
We don’t waste food because we know the value of it and the hard work we do just to earn and have something on the table to share with one another.
To cut back on waste I now chop up all the veggies I’m using such as carrots and what I’m not using I have all prepped and ready and put in the freezer ready to go for a later date
It is an ambitious prospect that can be achieved with a little planning. We work on making this possible when we can.
I like to plan out my meals and always look in the fridge each day to choose what t eat so that it will avoid waste. I think buying little and often, as you need things, rather than big shops avoids waste too.
Yes, I will just to remind my family, I am already so careful with food wastage in our house but some other family members are not
wow, I’m from the US but this is really something to think about.
So worthwhile -its rare I throw anything away
I mainly batch cook freeze and just simply plan what I’m going to be cooking of baking -sounds so simple -wish everyone would do it
i always try not to waste food but this is a really good idea . thanx for sharing
think before you buy
We always plan our meals to ensure we eat up food – even if its gone a bit out of date
Its been our new years resolution to cut down our food waste – so far, so good! we wasted so much in the past. Great post!
Great point, well put! 🙂
I used to buy food twice a month on a Saturday and I realised that a fair amount of what I was buying was being thrown away, either because it went out of date or I craved other foods and I didn’t get around to using it.. I have since started to plan a night or two ahead in terms of meals and stick only to that, it has made the world of difference, not only to my fridge and the amount of food being left in it until it is no longer able to be used, but also to my finances.. so much cheaper.
Plan meals at the start of the week before you go shopping, then you only buy what you need. Check those cupboards before you go!
I hadn’t heard of it before seeing this article but will definitely be giving it a go
buy less!!!
We generally try and use any leftovers the next day, we have found that you can put almost anything in an omelette 🙂
My main waste reducing tip is freezing food, meal planning and not getting sucked into buying more because of offers.
It’s not something I knew about, but your blog post has certainly gave me cause for concern. I will be looking into how I can reduce my waste, so thanks.
its a great idea but I dont follow the challenge Im afraid. I would recommend using the leftover from last night for salads and curry’s or alike.
I havent heard of this before but enjoyed reading the artticles. however I do feel that I waste vety little in the way of food
I admit, we waste a lot of food in this house. We’re working on it though. I try to finish the leftovers even though I want to toss them.
Freeze leftover herbs in ice cube trays.
My tip is to meal plan and shop online so you’re not tempted to grab anything you don’t need.
This is a great idea, I work hard to use up everything in the fridge, but am guilty of stockpiling dry goods which then go past their date, I need to get a better system for that!
We are! My tip would be to avoid making more food than you need unless you’re going to eat it tomorrow or freeze it for another time 🙂
Prep all meals for the week
Plan the meal ahead so you buy the right stuff
My food waste tip is to freeze or put cooked food in the fridge to eat the next day or so.
Because I cook at home for work I really have to be mindful of waste because of the quantities and costs involved. But I can definitely do better. I will sign up to the challenge and see how I can better my goal of as near a no-waste kitchen as possible. At least I will try. So pleased that you are involved in this worthy campaign, Elizabeth. 🙂
It’s a great idea. I’m pretty good when it comes to food waste but I think I might pop in to “Fridge” week and hopefully also pick up a few freezing tips. I’d love to be able to pick up supermarket bargain veg and freeze but my few attempts haven’t always been successful.
Use the smallest trolley or basket at the supermarket, else you’ll feel compelled to fill it with impulse purchases.
It really is scary how much food is wasted. We are making such an effort to waste less this year.
Yes I am. I avoid wasting food by not getting carried away buying too much food just because it is on offer. I stick to a list and only cook/make what is needed. The rest is put in the fridge or freezer and used next time
I hvae become more aware of food wastage at home. Already being careful meal planning and using leftovers. Its amazing how much savings can be made just being more organised. The internet is a Good source for recipes and ideas to use up leftovers.
What you dont use at tea time take to work the next day with added salad or veggies etc
The food waste problem in the US is terrible as well. I know so many places are banned from even donating food because of regulations, so the food just goes bad instead of going to people who can use it and appreciate it.
Without a doubt i waste too much food, must do better. It’s those buy one get one free offers in the supermarket, i end up buying things i don’t want or need.
Only make as much as you and your family will eat. If there are left overs save it for the day after is possible
Great tips thanks, I’ve not signed up yet but I must! My tip is to use lots of scraps to make a veggie broth and then freeze into ice cubes.
Totally agree with this campaign:I always try to not waste food,planning meals and when possible using my kitchen weight scale.
Not done this before, may try it but I’m pretty good with having not much waste.
It kills me to waste food knowing how many people in the world are hungry. This is a great initiative, congrats!
I am with you, Helene! But your work with Aid for Friends is a good way to provide food for those less fortunate than you.
I haven’t done this but i’m definitely going to give it a go
We’re not taking part officially but we’ve recently started to make a concious effort not to waste food.
So much food is wasted in our house. I’d love to try the challenge but I fear we’d fail miserably. We are cutting down and buying as and when we need now rather than a big shop because I think with a big shop we tend to waste food.
We waste too much each week. I love love this idea and think it’s a great thing to do during Lent. Thank you for sharing!
only get food you really need
I hadn’t actually heard of it before now. Sounds like a great idea though. My husband is always complaining I waste too much food!
I waste very little food, we make meal plans, use leftovers the following day and anything left after that goes to the family pets.
I’m not taking the challenge but I do admire the ones who are taking it
Great campaign, we waste very little food as all meals are planned and budgetted for but there’s always room for improvement!
What a great post. In my house, we hate to waste food. I try to plan out each week so that we use everything up.
I do a weekly meal plan and check my fridge first so I can use up any leftovers.
I’m looking forward to your series of posts. I think we all have to try harder. I’ve been trying to just buy what I need lately so I use what I have.
Make meal plans and lists. Serve sensible portions and freeze leftovers.
This is an amazing challenge. I am definitely going to talk to my husband about implementing this during Lent!
I hate when people waste food! In my house, I always make sure that we eat everything. So many people starve to death and it’s awful because people take food for granted (at least in my country). I’ve seen so many restaurants and food chains throwing food away… It breaks my heart! Great post and such an amazing initiative!
Well done!
I’m totally up for this, it really is shocking how much food is wasted not only in the UK but all over!
Wonderful idea. I agree that planning is key, and so is paying attention to rotating the food that one has on hand.
Such a great article! I hate when I see food waste, Usually what we do at home (since we cook colombian food) we just save the things we didnt eat and the next day we make the popular colombian “calentao”
I love this so much; I’ve been working to reduce our food waste since I saw a billboard saying that a single discarded egg wastes 55 gallons of water. I signed up and hope to participate in the link party soon! Such an important topic and a forgotten skill.
A great initiative. I think meal planning certainly helps, and left-overs can often be added to curries, pasta sauces or pies.
I’m totally in sync with this campaign. It’s shocking to me how much food is wasted – not only because of all those in poverty in our country, but also the environmental cost of producing food just to have it thrown away. I recently posted a recipe for bread pudding that’s a great way to use up stale bread, and I think one of the ways to tackle this issue is to help people to learn how to use leftovers effectively.
This is excellent. Like you I hate to waste food and try to re-use the re-usables LOL! But I am certainly looking for ideas to improve as I know I can do better. So will be keenly coming around here to get more input / inspiration.
This is an awesome challenge to take any time of the year, but now is definitely the perfect time to kick it off! I’ll look to see if I can find a program doing something similar in the States.
Great idea for a lent campaign. I hate food waste and am continually shocked at how much just gets binned.
Great article!
We waste A LOT of food in our house. I know it’s bad and we definitely need to stop wasting so much.
I have been reading up a bit about food waste and I must say I am thoroughly shocked, even at the amount I waste. I aim to do much better
Such a great initiative to reduce the shocking amounts of food that is wasted. It is absolutely scandalous. I love that the movement to reduce the waste is gathering apace, from Hugh FW’s campaigns to Olio app. My town even has the UK’s first community fridge where people can give and take surplus foods. I’ve signed up for the challenge!