To ask if you waste a lot of food..

[IsItSummerYet2018]

So I try so hard not to. I meal plan etc. And I've tried to consciously not buy random stuff like BOGOFS because I think it's a good deal only not to be eaten

But..
I still bin soo much food. Eg
When I peel spuds for mash I peel too many.. But worry if I don't there won't be enough.. Is there a golden rule to how many to peel lol
Bread.. I seem to bin loads. Today I binned a whole loaf I brought on Saturday?.
I meal plan but often it comes to that particular day and either something crops up so we eat different or eat out.. Or I just don't fancy it.. Then in that case I cook for everyone else but I'll eat cereal.. But my portion then goes in bin
And don't get me started on the fruit and veg..lol
I think my mind set is all wrong but I'm so stuck in my ways.

Can’t you just make an extra large portion of mash and reheat leftovers next day, rather than chucking the rest?

I am guilty of wasting fruit though. Veggies are fine but I just don’t ever seen to find fruit as appealing at home as I do in the supermarket.

Luckily I’ve just started weaning DS, so I’m actually using the extra fruit and vegetables.

That's a good idea. However none of my lot will eat really heated food...
Fruit sometimes we go through loads. Other times I'm. Binning 4/5 lots of unopened fruits

You know you can freeze a lot of this, right? Bread is easily frozen. Many fruits, cut them up and freeze for pies/smoothies etc. And whenever I don't want a portion or two of something, I put it in the freezer and label it for a night when there's only one at home or whatever.

Make a cottage pie with it - once it’s been baked with lots of cheese nobody will know it’s been reheated

I also find I get a lot of waste if I shop at Aldi/Lidl. Not sure if it’s regional but the food always seems to be mouldy or overripe whenever I go to cook it (vegetables specifically).

Only when my husband shops/cooks. I always play everr get stuff that doesn't go off for ages or stuff that I know we will be able to eat. It means I have to shop twice a week instead of once but I don't mind. My husband on the other hand just buys whatever he fancies without no plans to eat it and then is surprised when I don't drink any of his protein shakes or I can't put together a meal out of kale, Stilton and chocolate truffles.

If I think a loaf isn't going to be used I freeze it or make breadcrumbs from it.
I buy fruit in rotation e.g I buy apples and oranges or grapes and bananas but not all four at once.
I buy tinned pears.
If I have left over mash I add mashed carrot and cheese to make a pie topping.

Tesco frozen mash! It's the best one.

But yes to everything else. Good intentions, but cba cooking etc.

Cook the extra spuds anyway, freeze the mash. Or keep the spuds in cold water, then use a day or two later? They're good boiled then fried.

Just freeze the bread, don't throw it!

Veg etc makes good soups.

No, I used to bin more but felt really guilty about it so I make a conscious effort now to avoid food waste.

I think what you say about mindset/being stuck in your ways is true. For example, we all tend to want to get everything we need in one big shop rather than do multiple trips to the supermarket. Understandable of course, it's nobody's idea of fun. But without careful planning you find bread goes stale and veg goes past its best. Salad veg in particular- the amount of people I know who complain they're always throwing it out without having used any! Nowadays we'll do our "big" shop but fresh items like salad, bread, milk, some veg etc we buy as we need so it's used same day/next day.

Also planning meals and packed lunches helps. So if we're doing say salmon, baby potatoes, roast veg one evening we'll have leftover veg in a pasta dish the next evening. Leftover pasta from dinner goes to pasta salad the following day. I suppose I'm saying leftovers but in reality we make sure we cook extra to use it up and ensure there is enough left to put into another meal. I think it really is about changing your mindset and just thinking more about what can be done with leftovers or food getting past its best rather than absentmindedly binning it.

Bananas that are a bit ripe make good banana bread. And if you freeze the bananas first then use at a later date the banana bread will be even better!

Leftover mash and veg I turn into bubble and squeak (not the original recipe). Other veg or any meat into either a casserole or soup. If theye won't eat reheated food just don't tell them . Let them believe you are boiling spuds for mash! I even save fuel costs (I was brought up in a very poor house) by batch cooking ie if I am making sausage and mash I cook loads and use the rest 2 days later in a casserole.

Do you have a decent sized freezer? Most stuff will freeze eg peeled bananas/ fruit to make into smoothies, a lot of prepped veg (eg chopped onions, peppers), herbs, mash, cooked rice, bread, milk, grated cheese, fish etc. Just make sure you have a clear out every so often!

What do you or DH have for lunch? I plan to have leftovers for lunch and make dinners that can be reheated for the next evening so we don't have to cook every night. I made curry on Monday which did for tea on Tuesday and my work lunch on Wednesday. I cooked tonight and it will do lunch and dinner tomorrow.

Fab tips. Especially the Tin pears. I love them never think to buy them.
And cottage pie is a great idea for the leftovers.
With the leftovers or not fancying it has been more since being pregnant as I fancy it when I plan it. Then it comes to the day and I want something different.. Normally cereal? Weird.

As of tomorrow I am going to freeze leftoves especially things like chilli. Bolognese. Stew etc.
I never cook for just one.. We've never eaten separately as our shifts etc all work out the same. But even if meant there were 3/4 separate but different portions of something in freezer it would still be an easy dinner one eve.

rule of thumb for mash is one large russet per person.
your freezer is your friend. soft apples or other fruit? make sauce/compote and freeze. carrots going soft (wash peel top and tail) then grind and freeze or cut and freeze. dry bread can either be seasoned and baked into croutons or used to make tray bake French toast (which you soak overnight in milk and eggs and cook in the am...the yummy brown sugar and butter is on the bottom).
cherry tomatoes going soft...freeze those and use in any recipe....
i'm too cheap to throw out "good" food

No, I used to be terrible (as in binning steaks that were one minute past their sell-by date), but for the last 15 years or so, I've been the opposite.

I make stock from bones, save cooked potatoes and veg to make veggie burgers later in the week, covered in breadcrumbs that I make from stale loaf-ends.

I've always got bottles of leftover pancake batter (toad in the hole), stock (soup, risotto), passata (pizzas, quick pasta sauce) and so on in the fridge.

I juice apple cores, dry leftover herbs and anything I can't use gets composted or fed to the chickens!

I love cooking which helps, but I just can't stand wasting food these days. It's not even a financial thing, I just prefer not chucking stuff away!

Dp takes sandwiches and stuff for lunch.. I suggested leftover but he said the microwave at work is disgusting and don't heat properly.. No one cleans is after themself so that's out the question lol

DS either takes a sausage roll and a snack with fruit or buys lunch at school (as its not cool. For sandwiches aparantly lol)

This might sounds like a faff but the only way I avoid wasting food is to shop every day just buying what I need or want for that day.

There's a Tesco metro by my office so I walk there every day. It's a bit more expensive but there is hardly any choice which has I love as I find big supermarkets overwhelming.

Loads of great tips. Mine is stop peeling your spuds for mash, just scrub them and cook them with the skins on, much nicer mash :)

Love the ideas.
Once baby born and on solids so much will get used to be blended down.. My DS ate all of that homemade as well so it's ideal.

First thing in the morning I'm making space in freezer. Going to list what I have to use up. Then write these ideas down

I'm then same it's not the financial thing. But I swear this week alone I've probably binned half a black bag of food. And for some reason it's bugging me more than it ever did before

That's a pretty lame excuse. I microwave at work in a lidded container in microwaves of variable quality. He just doesn't want the effort so you are lumbered with the wifework and guilt. What about your lunch?

Really ill try that with the mash the weekend thanks.

It's in a greasy garage.. It's black and disgusting. Only the two apprentice out of the whole work force use it.
Once he took a leftover Chinese. It took 10 min to heat thro..
The others don't care tho.. Cast iron stomachs lol
He makes. His own lunch etc so its not a job for me to do ( which is fab as I hate making lunch boxes)

I'm. On mat leave..i tend to have lunch out with friends at mo. If. I was at home generally a toastie or something..
When I was at work I did sch hours so had only a 20 min lunch break. So was lazy and was a biscuit and a Cuppa. :/

I live alone and when I order online, yes. I dont have a big freezer so even if I batch cook I can't freeze much and vegetables don't last long