Reducing Food Waste.....and saving money.

spaceylou

There seems to be a number of threads at the moment with references to saving money/cooking on a budget/wasting less food and so on so I thought it might be useful to start a thread with everyon'es tips and ideas for reducing food wastage and in the process saving money and doing our bit for the environment. I'll start it off with a few tips I have:

1. If I have fresh herbs that are starting to turn, chop them up and freeze with a little water in ice-cube tray. You can add the frozen herbs to whatever you are cooking, the water melts and the herbs are intact.

2. Make lettuce last longer by putting it in water, (like you would flowers). This way a head of lettuce lasts far far longer than if you just stick it in the fridge.

3. If you have bananas that are gone brown, made banana bread or banana muffins (I can post recipes if anyone interested).

4. When you bake something like banana bread or any similar sweet bread, cut the entire loaf into slices, and freeze them in portions (or alternatively half the loaf if you'll eat half of it while it's still fresh). Then you can take them out of the freezer as you need them rather than have your baking going stale. Also works for batches of muffins/scones etc.

5. I am yet to come across a vegetable that can't be the star attraction in a soup - so no matter what is starting to wilt, a batch of soup can be made either to eat or freeze for eating later.

nesbitt

As everyones household set-up, food preferences, budget and time constraints will be different my overall advice is as follows:

Food Shopping

1. Plan your meals for a period of time ahead. That could be 2/3 days, a week, a fortnight whatever suits your lifestyle.

2. Makes shopping list(s) from your meal plan, having checked your stock already in cupboards, fridge and freezer.

3. Be prepared to shop around a bit if you want to save money, divide your shopping list, between, Lidl, Aldi, Tesco or Dunnes, local butcher, local veg market etc. Some people don't mind doing this for others its a chore and prefer to shop in one of the big supermarkets and no where else. Try it and see if you save money and eat better;)

4. Where possible, do not bring kids with you when shopping, I know easier said than done sometimes, but be warned they are very susceptible to impulse pressure purchases and named brand advertising...

5. Stick to your list.

6. Don't go shopping when you are tired and or hungry.

7. Do buy 3 for 2 if you use it, if not just don't waste your money or storage space.

8. Every so often, when time allows, go to a large supermarket when it is quiet and basket in hand have a browse, check prices and offers and do a sensible bargain hunter shop, but be balanced and don't get carried away. This is also a good way to know where to get best value on certain items that say you can't get in Lidl or Aldi for example.

9. If money is really tight, only go Lidl or Aldi, and then do your butchers shop. I have found this the cheapest way for us to get by some week.

I like to cook, feed a family and at present am on a restricted budget. However I now eat better for a lot less money than in the past by changing my routine and attitude to shopping.

Storage

Use good storage containers, for grocery items.
Clip up bags of food with food clips or plastic clothes pegs.
Use zip lock bags for freezer items that you want to be able to access but then return to the freezer. Ordinary freezer bags for other items are grand and way cheaper.

I know this is rather long post, but after your mortgage, rent or car loan for most average folks the food bill is one of the biggest outgoing that you routinely face so doing it better is in my view worth it.:)

jhynes2009

If I have fresh herbs that are starting to turn, chop them up and freeze with a little water in ice-cube tray. You can add the frozen herbs to whatever you are cooking, the water melts and the herbs are intact.

Thanks Spaceylou I love this tip...Brilliant!

Also if you have leftover wine (a rare thing to happen I'm sure!!!) pour it into an ice-cube tray and freeze it, then use it in casseroles, stews etc!

The Sweeper

I actually find that planning too far ahead is one of the main things that feeds my bin.

I buy too much stuff in, and plans change and suddenly I'm eating out tonight, and so the leftovers in the fridge get a bit too old, and the unfrozen meat that was supposed to be cooked is pushed a day further towards spoiling, and the veggies wilt that bit more.

Since my household is cooking for one, I have to make sure of the following:

Cook meals that you KNOW you'll eat more than one night in a row - for me this is chili (night one with rice, night two in wraps with guacamole, refried beans, melted cheese and handfuls of rocket), thai green curry with lots of vegetables - happily eat that two nights in a row, or small roast chicken with boiled spuds on night one, night two pan fry cold chicken with cold potatoes, some butter and some anchovies, night three make stock with the remainder of the carcass and throw any salvaged chicken into it along with some fresh veg.

Don't overshop. Cans and packets last ages - stock up on those, but only buy enough meat and veg for the days where you know you'll be home. If you don't buy it, you won't bin it.

dudara

As I'm either cooking for myself (when in Amsterdam) or for myself and my partner when at home, i don't really buy more than 2-3 days worth of groceries at a time.

I have the luxury usually of being able to visit shops on a regular basis, so that allows me to shop as I need. TBH, when I went on a big shop in the past, I ended up throwing out a fair amount of stuff.

dxhound2005

There was a campaign on food waste by the EPA a few weeks back but it didn't get much publicity.



http://www.epa.ie/news/pr/2010/name,30454,en.html

Darkginger

If your freezer is big enough, buy fruit and vegetables when they're in season, and then blanch and freeze in portions. Seasonable food is always cheaper - and if you grow your own, you can save a lot of money by preserving it. Buy rice, pasta and potatoes in the largest size you can find - always cheaper, and they don't go off (well spuds don't if stored in paper bags in the dark, anyway). If anything sprouts before you eat it (garlic, onions, spuds perhaps) try planting it and see what happens

Make a habit of making stock from whatever you can - use prawn shells and off cuts from fish to make fish stock, roast leftover bones from lamb joints, use your chicken carcasses. Stock freezes, or can be used as the base for a soup, risotto or stew the next day.

Compost whatever you can, and use it on your veggie garden or windowbox (nearly everyone has room for a few lettuces in the summer).

Try not to buy ready-grated cheese - it only takes a few minutes to grate your own, and it works out cheaper. The same goes for pre-mashed spuds, chips, grated carrot and so on. You may incur extra electricity costs for boiling the potatoes before mashing, but they still have to be heated, don't they?

Sometimes it's a false economy to buy cheap mince, because a lot of it is fat, and runs off during cooking (or fails to run off, and sits there in your dish, making it slimy).

Regarding herbs - I noticed this week that Centra have started selling frozen coriander and basil - at €1 a pack (think it's an introductory offer) - so I stocked up! Much easier to just use what you want from the pack and put it back in the freezer. Also, Lidl have dried porcini mushrooms on offer at 99c a pack - I bought loads!

Sliced bread freezes well, and you can just take out a few slices at a time, if you don't get through much bread. I toast it from frozen - means the loaf lasts longer.

If space and location allows, invest in a couple of live chickens, and feed them your wilted veg etc. You get great eggs in return!

spaceylou

Darkginger I would love to have chickens and space to grow stuff but sadly my 'garden' is about 1 metre wide by 1.5 metre long, entirely covered in concrete and shared with the next door neighbour!!!

I am interested however if anyone has any ideas for herbs that can be grown in window box that won't get much sun (all the windows are north/ northeast facing).

Darkginger

I've got a windowbox outside my north-facing, windswept front door - rosemary is doing well in there, so is thyme. Chives are still hanging in there (not exactly flourishing, this'll be their 3rd year), and the sage died!

the beer revolu

I often wonder about the economy of making homemade stock.
I always do it - I freeze bones until I have enough to make a big pot then make soup or reduce the stock and freeze it as cubes.
I love having homemade stock but it must be cheaper to buy cubes of those stock pots, considering the energy used to make stock?

spaceylou

Darkginger wrote: »

I've got a windowbox outside my north-facing, windswept front door - rosemary is doing well in there, so is thyme. Chives are still hanging in there (not exactly flourishing, this'll be their 3rd year), and the sage died!

Thank you, had thought of rosemary because it seems invincible - I swear the stuff in my mum's garden actually thrived in the snow when everything else died!

But shall also consider thyme which is quite nice - now to get me a window box.

And correction to my earlier post, 'garden' is actually closer to 1.5metres x 3 metres - but still pathetic and concrete!

mike65

My saving method is straighfoward - I don't buy more than 4 days worth of food and shop twice a week. I also ignore best by and use by dates as they are ludicrously conservative. Just keep it in the fridge.

The Sweeper

Absolutely agree on the best before and use-by dates. If you opened a packet of chicken fillets a day before their use-by date and they stank, would you eat them? No you wouldn't. Subsequently it makes zero sense to open them a day after their use-by date, find they don't smell and the texture and colour are fine, but throw them out anyway because they're a day past their use-by date. Ludicrous is right.

nesbitt

The Sweeper wrote: »

Absolutely agree on the best before and use-by dates. If you opened a packet of chicken fillets a day before their use-by date and they stank, would you eat them? No you wouldn't. Subsequently it makes zero sense to open them a day after their use-by date, find they don't smell and the texture and colour are fine, but throw them out anyway because they're a day past their use-by date. Ludicrous is right.

I agree, one of the first tests for freshness is 'follow yer nose'... After that if you have been sensible in storing the food and follow safe food guidelines you should be able to make sure food is fresh and safe to use.

nesbitt

http://stopfoodwaste.ie

Some good advice on here too....:)

kenco

The Sweeper wrote: »

Absolutely agree on the best before and use-by dates. If you opened a packet of chicken fillets a day before their use-by date and they stank, would you eat them? No you wouldn't. Subsequently it makes zero sense to open them a day after their use-by date, find they don't smell and the texture and colour are fine, but throw them out anyway because they're a day past their use-by date. Ludicrous is right.

Agree The Sweeper and Mike65 100% here. Always check the best by dates and if in a butchers ask as sometimes they dont show it.

Also on the tip front if you are doing an online shop (did one recently) dont buy lots of meat, veg, etc as inevitably they are very close to the best buy date. I was fuming when I had to through out some meat and stir fry from the last online shop (never again for such items)

Molebert

Bringing back this old thread to share my favourite what to do with brown bananas tip.

I slice them and freeze in plastic bags and then use them in smoothies or milkshakes. The frozen banana adds a texture much like ice cream and makes that morning smoothie well tasty without having to add any sugar at all

olaola

Spatchcocking chickens - use the spine you remove for stock (I've loads of chicken spines in the freezer) If roasting the chicken, use the carcass for soup/stock. Or if you want stock - boil up chicken wings, then use the wings for eating - I use Frank's hot sauce.
Buy meat in large batches from the butcher, get good freezer bags and portion them when you get home. There really is no excuse for meat to go to waste, it freezes so well. Similar with rashers, I use a few, then roll each one up individually and freeze them - so I can defrost one at a time.
Avocados, buy early, use late. They're much cheaper when they're hard - so buy them and keep them in the fruit bowl with your bananas, so they'll ripen quicker.
I keep chillis in the freezer - use them straight from frozen.
Keep your sliced pan in the freezer, it can be toasted from frozen, or if you're making sambos for lunch - they'll be perfectly defrosted by the time you want to eat them.

Dinkie

1. Make your own.
You can make a huge batch of sweet chilli sauce for less then the cost of 2 bottles in the supermarket. Likewise for jams (if done when in season), garlic butter, chutney, pickles. In fact a whole host of condiments. And they taste sooo much better.

Same can be done for biscuits (put the dough in the freezer in batches and take out when you want something), flapjacks and if money is really tight - tortillas and pitta breads can be made with flour and water - and still taste really good.

2. Grow your own. Herbs can be grown on a window sill. So can spinach and mixed lettuce. The seeds will cost about 1.50 and the compost about 1.00. You can have months of produce for this small amount of money.


3. Aldi super 6 is a god send. So cheap for getting your weekly vegetables.

4. Pork fillet and mince are the king of meats. You can get a pork fillet for about E5. Both meats absorb flavours and the the number of things you can do with them is amazing.

5. Starting using lentils / pulses. Very filling and cheap.

6. Start shopping in your local asian market if possible. Everything is soooo cheap there comparted to other shops. And the veg/fish is really good quality.

I'm known among my friends for never buying anything full prices (from clothes to food). I'm also about the only one of my friends that am not deep in debt (apart from the mortgage).

pickarooney

Keep the ends of unfinished baguettes and make Klose/Knödel with them. You can make a batch of filling accompaniments for practically nothing.

Honey-ec

1. If you buy those 3-packs of peppers and find that you use one and then end up throwing the others out, dice the ones you haven't used before they go off and freeze them in sandwich bags. You can throw them straight into bologneses/chilis etc. without having to defrost.

2. I'll probably be tarred and feathered for saying this, but you can refreeze raw meat, as long as it has been defrosted safely in the fridge in the first place.

3. If you grow your own herbs and find yourself with a surplus at the end of the season, make pestos & infused oils.

4. Same goes for chilis - rather than letting them wilt on the plant, pick them, string them up by the stem and let them dry in the kitchen for a few weeks. You can then blitz them in a blender for chilli flakes, drop them whole into oil to infuse and best of all, once a dried chili sounds like a maraca when you shake it, the seeds are ready to be harvested and planted (or put into a fancy envelope and given as gifts, which I did this Christmas).

5. And this is going to sound ridiculous, but if you go through as many tins of tomatoes as I do in a year, it really makes a difference: Buy whole tinned tomatoes instead of chopped. They're generally 10 - 25c cheaper per tin. Then, when you need them, tip 'em into a wide bowl and take a potato masher to them for about 30 seconds. Another advantage to this is that whole tomatoes are generally of a better quality than the ones they use for chopping.

And this isn't a food tip, but if you've had your oven on, always leave the door open once you've finished with it. You've paid to heat the oven, so you might as well let the residual heat heat your kitchen for half an hour...

TequilaMockingBird

I tend to buy the large bags of potatoes (cheaper), if they start to turn I make a big batch of potato cakes and freeze, they're the only way I have found to use them up that is as nice re-heated. Dead handy then for a quick meal, even just with cold meats and salad.

corblimey

Dinkie wrote: »

1. Make your own.
You can make a huge batch of sweet chilli sauce for less then the cost of 2 bottles in the supermarket.

I go through this stuff at a rate of knots, any recipes?

angeldaisy

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

I tend to buy the large bags of potatoes (cheaper), if they start to turn I make a big batch of potato cakes and freeze, they're the only way I have found to use them up that is as nice re-heated. Dead handy then for a quick meal, even just with cold meats and salad.

do you have a recipe for your potato cakes, mine always fall apart..

TequilaMockingBird

angeldaisy wrote: »

do you have a recipe for your potato cakes, mine always fall apart..

I don't have a recipe as such. I just play it by ear.

Mashed potato
Finely chopped onions
Flour - (half cup to 2 cups of mash maybe?)
Lots of salt and loads of pepper
Chopped parsley

Roll out, with lots more flour for dusting, fry in medium hot pan till browned - don't shake them around too much. Cool and freeze.

I freeze them in 6's in those chinese takeaway tubs with a layer of tinfoil between them, handy to take out two and chuck in the microwave.