Five Food Savvy Resolutions
What resolutions are you making this year? Why not make a New Years Resolution to do your bit for the environment by cutting down on food waste – one of the best ways to combat climate change and save money too!
Believe it or not, if food waste alone was a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of carbon emissions globally! It contributes hugely to our environmental footprint because so many resources go into growing, processing, packaging, storing, transporting, etc. Nobody wastes food on purpose, but there are some easy things we can do to eat everything we buy. Using up all of your food will save you money on your food shop too! Did you know the average family of four could save £60 a month?
Here are five resolutions to bring your food waste right down:
1. Plan your meals like a pro
Meal planning helps to reduce food waste, as you’ll only buy the things you need. Remember to save some space in your plan for eating out, enjoying leftovers or having a fridge or freezer forage. Plan ahead and then only buy the food you and your family need. If you want to take it one step further, download a meal planning app, such as Mealime, to do the work for you. Or use our handy meal planner.
2. Portion out rice and pasta perfectly
Get your portions right and both your purse and waistline will thank you. Plan whether you want just the right amount for the meal your cooking or if you want leftovers. We’ve got more leftover recipe suggestions than you’ve had hot dinners.
This everyday portion planner from Love Food Hate Waste shows how much food you need for each person, each meal. You can always make double and freeze half to make your food and money go further.
Pasta = 75 grams (dry) adult portion, for spaghetti one portion is the same width as a £1 coin.
Rice = 75 grams (dry) adult portion, or about half a tea cup.
Good to know: Cool cooked rice and pasta quickly (ideally within one hour) and store it in the fridge in a sealed container. Reheat until piping hot and eat within 24 hours for rice, two days for pasta. For more information on how to store rice, read these 5 simple steps to safely freezing rice.
3. Love your leftovers
Bread, cooked pasta and rice, salad, and leftover meals are the most wasted foods in Norfolk and Suffolk. But never fear, Food Savvy has got you covered with lots of great recipe ideas.
Bread can be toasted, made into bread crumbs, croutons, or have some fun and try a new recipe like panzanella or fattoush. Croissants and buns make luxury bread and butter or summer puddings and while we are talking sweet treats, have a go at a bread and butter pudding
Egg fried rice is one of the nation’s favourite takeaway recipes. What’s more, it’s a perfect home for leftover rice, and odds and ends of lacklustre veg. It’s a food waste buster, what’s not to like?
Leftover pasta can be brought back to life with one of our five simple recipes, all using five ingredients or less.
Turn leftover meals into a delicious meal the next day. This chicken pie is versatile to help make use of what you have including leftover veg from a Sunday roast.
4. Get to know your labels and eat more of the food you buy
This one is an easy win! Use by dates are about food’s safety and are the most important date to remember! Foods can be eaten (and most can be frozen) up until the use by date, but not after. Best before dates relate to the quality of the food, not its safety. The food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best in terms of texture or flavour.
Find out more about food labels and how they work with specific foods here.
5. Make your freezer your best friend
Are you friendly with your freezer? Almost anything can be frozen safely, without losing nutrients or quality.
Nearly one third of all food produced is wasted*, but freezing is a great way to save it - in fact, families could save up to £250* a year from using their freezer more! And it’s better for the environment too.
Freezing is an important tool when bulk cooking and meal planning. Extend the life of your leftovers, by pressing the pause button on them spoiling by putting them in the freezer. And, simply pop ingredients in that you might not be able to use by date in the freezer. Here are 15 freezer-friendly foods you might not have known about to get you started!