Ways to stop wasting food

by Charlie Peverett in At home on 09.07.08

Ok, everyone - the game’s up. Headmaster has spoken. We’ve all got to stop wasting food. No more tipping it into the houseplants or popping it into your trouser pockets. Everybody’s got to eat up.

Ah, poor Gordon. When you’re PM, it’s hard to say anything about how people ought to live their everyday lives without sounding like, well, without sounding like you’re telling people how to live their lives. Although to be fair, if households are throwing out an average of £8 of food a week, during a credit crunch and an environmental crisis, then perhaps we do all need a stern talking to.

So, for anyone whose grocery bill and/or conscience is giving them grief: a few ideas for prudence on the food front.

Use what you’ve got

Yup, revolutionary - but in this internet age, meagre remainders may just take you on a voyage of discovery.

Years ago, when faced with an improbable fridge-load of wilting lettuces, I tried lettuce soup. It remains one of the most surprisingly tasty things I’ve ever eaten.

Now inspiration is but a click away: try these rescue recipes, or insert your ingredients (not literally) into the trusty Cooking By Numbers site.

A measured response

How much is enough? A major philosophical question, perhaps best tackled elsewhere. But in terms of food, even those of us who’ve been cooking for years can struggle to use the right amount, and end up chucking away excess pasta or rice.
Step forward the portion calculator, a rather nifty tool that does the sums for you. Job done.

Standby foods

If you’re a weekly shopper, the inside of your fridge probably starts to look rather sad five or six days into the cycle. That’s the moment it’s most tempting to go out and splurge on cheese and ready meals.

But by making sure you’ve got good store cupboard stand-bys it’s easier to eke out the week’s shopping, and avoid the expensive ‘inbetween’ shops.

Eggs are your friends - with fried rice, in an omelette (plain omelettes, correctly seasoned, are seriously underrated) or maybe scrambled with some leftover herbs or Worcester sauce.

Make room in the freezer for an extra loaf of sliced bread and you can take out slices for toasting or for sandwiches without defrosting the whole thing. Same goes for a pack of pitta breads. A spare portion of butter or pint of milk might be the crucial ingredient you need for a final, fridge-scouring meal of the week.

Don’t underspend

No, bear with me. If you do your food shopping online, it’s easy to check how much you’ve spent before you get to the checkout. All the better for spending less.

But if one frugal week you underspend on your weekly budget, consider using the remainder on store cupboard stuff, or other household items. That way you can keep your stocks up and avoid the budget-blowing ‘run-out-of-everything’ shop later on.

For lots more on throwing less, see the rather brilliant Love Food Hate Waste site.

IMAGE by Flickr users JasonRogers and ximenatapia