How much food do you throw away?

[Alexaj]

Not much. This last year (covid) has really made me think about how we can save food and money.

Bread can be frozen.
Peppers you can chop up and freeze.
Bananas we freeze when they start going bad and use in smoothies or banana bread.
Buying frozen veg (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas) and fruits (berries) instead of fresh.
Freezing meats - we freeze chicken, beef, pork etc.
Freezing fish.

If I notice things are going bad then I will think of a way to use them up. Stuff like spinach can be thrown into a smoothie. Potatoes can be made into fries, mash, roasted, soups, hash for breakfast, etc.
If we have parsnips we will throw them into a soup if we haven't used them all.

Meal planning is the biggest thing though. You are less likely to waste food if you plan in advance. We cook maybe three times a week and none of the meal goes to waste. Leftovers can be frozen or eat at lunch time, especially now we are at home.

Things like tomato paste and canned tomatoes can also be frozen if any are leftover. .

If I have yogurt that is going to go bad but I won't eat in time then I will bake some muffins or sweet loaves which require it.

There is always a way to use things, sometimes you just need to think outside of the box.

You sound like me! Definitely advocate buying frozen fruit and veg in the first place (it's fresher anyway) and sticking any leftover fresh fruit and veg (yes, veg too depending on what it is) into a smoothie.

 

[DuckDuck]

I try not to throw anything. I grew up hungry so I really can't bear waste . I freeze everything. ..even extra gravy if I make too much .. I used to freeze cheese but I worked in an after school club and got told off for it so now mentally I use up everything in the fridge before it turns

 

[openbook1]

Not much. This last year (covid) has really made me think about how we can save food and money.

Bread can be frozen.
Peppers you can chop up and freeze.
Bananas we freeze when they start going bad and use in smoothies or banana bread.
Buying frozen veg (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas) and fruits (berries) instead of fresh.
Freezing meats - we freeze chicken, beef, pork etc.
Freezing fish.

If I notice things are going bad then I will think of a way to use them up. Stuff like spinach can be thrown into a smoothie. Potatoes can be made into fries, mash, roasted, soups, hash for breakfast, etc.
If we have parsnips we will throw them into a soup if we haven't used them all.

Meal planning is the biggest thing though. You are less likely to waste food if you plan in advance. We cook maybe three times a week and none of the meal goes to waste. Leftovers can be frozen or eat at lunch time, especially now we are at home.

Things like tomato paste and canned tomatoes can also be frozen if any are leftover. .

If I have yogurt that is going to go bad but I won't eat in time then I will bake some muffins or sweet loaves which require it.

There is always a way to use things, sometimes you just need to think outside of the box.

 

[coconochanel]

Not so much now as I changed how I shopped...
I stopped buying packet of six yogurts as I never seemed to eat all of them.-so now I just buy two individual ones
I stopped buying full cucumbers as it just got thrown- I buy half now so there is no waste
when it comes to sliced meat I like Sainsburys little 60p packets as its just enough to eat within a few days.
I normally buy a packet of six cobs then freeze some and just take them out as I need them.

 

[Notorious PIG]

I’ve gotten much much better at reducing food (and money!) wastage. In my 20s I did nearly all my food shopping at M&S, and let around a third of it expire/go bad and chuck it out.

These days I accidentally let the odd cheap veggie go bad, the odd couple of carrots or bit of leftover cabbage, a few potatoes. I estimate around 10 per cent waste and it’s almost never ever meat and eggs or dishes I’ve cooked. I also shop in Lidl and specialist international grocery stores, where I find the quality is very good at very reasonable prices.

 

[Blowers]

Try to throw as little away as possible, usually though it's things like salad leaves, chicken carcass or potatoes which haven't been used up and they go into the recycling bin.
It's handy having a dog too though, he'll get the leftovers

 

[DanaScully]

I'm trying my best to only buy what I plan to eat. I keep my bread in the fridge and it lasts ages and doesn't go hard or mouldy. If I've eaten the majority of something I don't mind as much, but I hate throwing away food that's not been touched.

I live alone so I buy large packs of things, halve them, fridge one half and freeze the other half, then defrost when it's needed.

 

[Ab Fab]

I try not to over buy on fresh food , I freeze things before they go off and find meal planning a big help

 

[Warpaint]

I try my best not to throw hardly anything away. The things I struggle with is bread (although not as much now they've made smaller loafs) veg and salad. Also stuff like meats and chilled ready meals I sometimes forget about. I stopped even buying pints of milk as I used just end up wasting it (unless I know I'm going to be mostly in all week)

I'm not one to be obsessed by sell by dates but with fresh stuff I tend to be on the ball so I don't end up forgetting about it. I'm sure we've all had those discoveries at the back of the fridge moments when something has been accidentally pushed back and forgotten about.

 

[Allthatglitters666]

Very little gets thrown here. Probably just the occasional potato or wilting veg.

 

[AlanBanan]

I always buy too much as I’m still in the mindset of thinking I live with someone and that I have visitors daily. But I very rarely throw out food. If I notice I’m not gonna eat it in time or if I’m just not gonna eat it. I give it to my neighbours or give it to my dad as my brothers live with him and they’ll eat it.

 

[1001 others]

No waste here (chooks and Labradors help with that). I try to recycle things where possible - e.g., tealeaves on my daphne plants and egg shells mashed up and re-fed to my chooks (it's good for them). If I make too much of something I'll freeze leftovers.

 

[openbook1]

Oh another thing I do which some will scoff at, I keep bananas in the fridge. I leave a few on the counter for my husband who likes them really ripe but keeping them in the fridge makes them last longer. Same with avocado - let it brown a little to soften then put in the fridge until you'll use it.

 

[Ohchristmastree]

Almost nothing, if anything fresh is getting close to going off I make soup with it. Potatoes and onions are great for an onion soup. We definitely had a time when we weren’t this organised and food would be thrown away all the time but we really made an effort to get on top of our food shop, make a list, stick to it and we seem to have things under control. Great thread suggestion.

 

[Alexaj]

Very very little. I have a dog and pet chickens so they usually get any leftovers.

Bread - 99% of the time it goes to one of the pets, 1% I make croutons and freeze, or blitz for bread crumbs.
Veg - I have a 'stock' container I have in the freezer where I put peelings and other bits of veg. Then when I want stock I'll add water and heat.

 

[Causewaygal]

Virtually nothing as I but most of my food from a vegan meal prep service or in individual portions. I’m not great at eating so this way means I don’t end up throwing lots of stuff away

 

[Whatsitallabouteh]

I throw out very little. I hate food going to waste as many poor souls in the U.K. have to rely on foodbanks, disgusting in 2021.
Maybe the odd potato or onion but thats about it. I try to freeze food as much as I can.
I buy frozen veg. Im sure I read somwhere that frozen veg is more fresh as it's frozen soon after it's been picked rather than sitting in the supermarket for a day or two.

 

[Gembo]

We used to be terrible before the pandemic, we’d do our weekly shop but then end up treating ourselves to a meal or two a week out or meeting up with friends last minute or my husband would have to work late and so I’d just eat cereal instead of making a meal. It was really bad but the lockdowns have really focused us on that and we don’t really waste anything anymore, I’ve also really tried to shop smart and buy things on offer or from wherever it’s cheaper as I realised that we were wasting food and money. Hoping I can keep this up when life returns more to normal.

 

[hypoharpy]

We used to waste a fair bit but have been doing a shopping list and have saved a lot of money, hardly throw any food away and are more creative with meals.

 

[Emoji]

We really try not to throw anything out and use it up before it goes off. Meal planning helps a lot with this.
We tend to only throw out salad leaves as they don’t last too long. When we buy a bigger house with hopefully a bigger garden, we’d like to grow our own vegetables.