Reducing Food Waste
I don’t know about you but I am terrible at remembering what it is in our fridge. My eating habits vary day to day depending on what mood I am in. We always buy tons of fruit and vegetables but we don’t always remember to eat them. Constantly finding wilted food was driving me bonkers. So we adapted and experimented with things to see what we could do to reduce our food waste, save us money and reduce packaging.
We freeze lots of stuff and somethings works and some don’t. I am going to make suggestions some of it will be standard stuff, things I don’t recommend and maybe there might be something to even blow your mind.
Simple Stuff – Nothing ground breaking
Meat – Freeze it and lift it out the day before you need it. Saves that last minute rush to cook everything as it all goes out of date the same time. If you have an instant pot you don’t even have to plan.
Frozen Veg – I know it comes in plastic bags (boo) but so does most fresh veg. With frozen I waste less as I don’t need to worry about it going off. It gives us a bigger variety in our house and is always readily available. Want to bulk up a curry or stew, toss it in and make everything instantly healthier. Without it we would eat much less veg. Just to clarify I do not mean those weird mixed veg bags blurgh. I’m talking a bag of broccoli, spinach, green beans, petit pois etc.
Frozen Fruit – Bags of frozen fruit are tons cheaper than fresh. Not that fruit lasts long in his house with B around but guarantee there is always a mouldy strawberry or wrinkled blueberry. We use these for smoothies or throw them in some overnight oats. Also great for throwing in a drink instead of ice cubes. Raspberries and lemonade sounds amazing … gin optional but also recommended.
Bananas – they are either all eaten over night or left to brown in the bowl. Well when they have been forgotten it’s not too late for them yet, there is still hope. Once again freeze them and use them in a smoothie. They make your smoothie nice and cold too. Check out the post Let’s Go Bananas to see my top 10 ideas.
Left Overs – There are three options with left over you can freeze , reheat the next day or transform.
Left Overs to Freeze – Curry, chilli or a stew type meals are great to freeze. I tend to use take away tubs and write on the top in permanent pen what it is and when we made it. Handy to have for a quick dinner so you don’t have to buy microwave meals saving money and reducing product waste. When you want to eat it pop in the microwave in the tub and heat until hot.
Transform – Rice and mash potato are good to transform into a new dish. Like my Egg Fried Rice recipe or this Mashed Potato Fritter recipe.
Possibly Mind Blowing
Homemade Frozen Jacket potatoes – we buy these in a big bag and cook them all at once. Freeze them and microwave them when we want them. Cheaper than buying microwave ones and super handy for a quick healthy lunch. Click for recipe.
Homemade Frozen Chips and Roast Potatoes – I love buying a big bag of spuds from the farmer. So much cheaper, local produce and they make so many meals. Click for the recipe on how to make your own frozen version for a quick tea.
Celery and Spring Onions – I always need these for an occasional recipe but I never need the whole pack and I don’t tend to use them often enough. So I either don’t have them in or they get wasted. Sick of having them in the fridge and not using them. I buy them, chop them up and store them in a container or bag in the freezer. When i need some I grab a handful out of the freezer and throw them in the dish and cook.
Oranges, Lemons and Limes – I love lemon water or a lime in my Pepsi max. Always have them available by freezing them. Chop them into slices or wedges, put them in a tub or freezer bag and use when needed. Chills your drink and feels a little fancier. Or if you are feeling crafty you can dry them out and use them in your home. Check out my easy no oven method.
Apples – Bashed from being forgotten in my bag , half eaten by B and left or just going off. Well lets use them. Stewed apple, good in smoothies, apple crumble or cinnamon apple cake. All delicious.
Things That Didn’t Work
Carrots – I tried freezing them both cooked and raw and they just tasted like crap.
Mash Potato – I wasn’t keen on it after it was frozen but fine reheated the next day or made into something new.
To be honest most things should freeze so give it a go. If somethings going off and you don’t want to eat it yet or your not able to use it see if you can freeze it.
Let me know if you use any of these tips and if you have any others please share. Tag me on instagram @jenjensdesignsuk
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