Can I just GENTLY encourage you to visit your fridge and stick stuff in the freezer if you've overbought

[LaurieFairyCake]

Apparently we waste £600 a year per family of food

I've just seen a thread where someone threw yesterday's tatties away so it prompted this

If you've overbought please visit your fridge and freeze it - most items can be frozen (even the ones that don't say it on the packaging mostly can). In particular milk freezes well if you've bought too much.

flowers for all.

I always find it interesting to monitor the amount of waste in my house, so that I can improve the situation. Otherwise it’s just easy to not notice, and that includes freezing things, especially if they are close to their use by date.
It also gets over the ‘bored eating this now’ period. Freeze it and rediscover it a month later.
We get through January on eating up and storecupboard foods.

Yes, I accidentally ordered an extra bread sauce and extra cranberry (fresh) sauce. I've frozen both to have in a few weeks.

I try really hard to not waste anything.

It’s a mindset, my children have inherited it. Leftovers, creative cooking, thinking before you buy...once it becomes a habit, it’s easy.

Laurie sorry but I don't understand the concept of 'extra' bread sauce.... no such thing in this house.

More seriously, my DD drives me up the wall with her wastefulness. She spots a 'use by' or 'bbf' and chucks it in the bin. If a potato has a green bit or a sprout on it she won't eat it... I've never poisoned anyone yet, and make a point of using everything possible at the end of the week - generally on a pastry tart and chucking mozzarella on top, which everyone loves.

You could just use up stale bread to make bread sauce. I am trying to identify what we waste and cut down on it - seems to be yoghurts!

We have been through the fridge today and had a weird dinner of random stuff but it was lovely and I'm confident there will be little waste now (that being what may be left on plates but the dog will happily take care of some of that) . I learned my lesson after last year and mainly bought cupboard and freezer stuff, fridge stuff was bought in small amounts and topped up as and when. The amount of rubbish from toy packaging has been horrendous though. I've recycled it but still

That's an interesting point allegreto on an ethical living board. I don't every buy bread sauce for example. manufacture... mass cooking, chemicals, packaging etc. Stale bread, milk, cloves, onion and bay leaves is all that is required.

Thanks for the timely reminder, I will freeze the fresh cream chocolate log that goes out of date today

(Can't eat it as we also have half a black forest gateaux that needs to be finished....yum!)

I've got too many parsnips. Need to see if I can freeze them.

Hear hear. I always over buy at Christmas to an extent as I'd rather have too much than too little. BUT, we throw nothing (or minimal) away and I love being creative with left overs. Cooked meats can be frozen or put into sandwiches & then frozen. Cream can be frozen too. Single cream as it is and double cream if it's whipped. I ignore pretty much all use by/best before dates.
Can't wait for tonight's bubble & squeak!

You can freeze parsnips.

I've never had stale bread
It's made usually with white bread which I don't buy (I buy rye/heavy seeded)

Can I ask what you all use to wrap/store food in the freezer?
Suddenly seeing my trusty ziplock bags in a new light but I’m not sure about the alternative

It's my new year resolution to be less wasteful. We throw away so so much food, especially as DP has some weird compulsion to stock up on everything. For example he will buy 2 packs of biscuits and 2 multi pack of crisps, but then he is really obsessive over use by dates and bins them. Drives me mad,

I was really shocked on Boxing Day at my husband’s aunties. She did a buffet for 8 of us and massively overcatered. She then said she would just bin it all!! I took a load back home with us for lunch the next day where it fed 6 of us easily including a whole cheesecake. Though there was still loads left. I did gently suggest that next year she bought a bit less and could freeze and eat leftovers for lunch the following day.

I more or less manage not to throw anything away and even veg peelings get fed to the chickens. I freeze anything that will go off and make soup/fry ups of leftovers.

Parsnip soup is lovely too

Odds and ends of cooked or raw vegetables get made into fritters here. Grate / finely chop, add flour (any kind) egg / milk (or chia seeds, or nothing if you're vegan), offs and ends of cheese, ham, salami, some spices, herbs, curry paste, nuts, seeds, yoghurt, whatever you have or fancy. Shallow fry in small spoons full.
Freeze and use with a dip for packed lunches.
Uses up even the tiniest portion of eyes, dry end of cheese, o e slice of bacon etc. The permutations are endless,so every batch is different.
Curried parsnip ones are great, PP with spare parsnips!

Veg not eyes bit of a strange autocorrect!

I do not waste that much. Any dinner leftovers I take to work as lunch the next day.
Some days we have 'bits and bobs' = any bits that need using up - 1 pie, 1 sausage roll, 1 scotch egg etc. My boys love it. I add to it, cook some chips for eg, and make a meal.

I think throw away more salad that I hadn't noticed had gone off, rather than anything else.

Similar to oblomov I love leftovers for lunch the next day!

We're currently working our way through the freezer which has fairly random things in it, but it's a challenge I enjoy. We had a sausage, pesto and tomato tart the other day with sweet potato fries!! Delicious!!!

Frozen cheese is especially good. If grated it can be used straight from frozen and is great in nearly everything !!

I second frozen cheese, my Christmas leftover lot is grated and in the freezer. I prepared onions, leeks and mushrooms and put them in too. Leftover mash also freezes well in a tupperware. Also, tomatoes on the turn, quarter these and freeze, to augment your next pasta sauce.

Duchess with the mash do you simply mash the boiled potatoes or can you freeze mash even if it’s got milk and/or butter added?

Mash can be frozen once its prepared. I would recommend you freeze it in small portions so that you can easily use smaller amounts.

Thank you ^