Can we have a chat about what food/s you most frequently throw out from your fridge and how they could actually be used up?

[Mintyy]

I'll start:

Creme fraiche - I buy this to go in a chicken paprika casserole thing I do, but then can't think of another way to use the other half pot within a week.

Sweetcorn - the dc like tuna sweetcorn (ick!!) in wraps and sandwiches but again I only need half a tin. So the other half festers in the back of the fridge until it grows blue mould someone realises and chucks it.

Coleslaw - never eat the whole tub

Olives - ditto

Grapes - similar

Apples - quite often the apples end up going wrinkly

Potatoes - omg, I have thrown away so many potatoes and now we have full blown potato plants growing out of our compost bin

Some sort of dessert/cheesecakey thing?

Tiramisu

Not sure if there's enough left for tiramisu . Must remember to buy more next time.

I do however have some leftover lekuchen from Christmas and some stewed rhubarb in the freezer...hmmm....sounds like it could possible be a cheesecake?

That sounds like a truly incredible cheesecake. Maybe a trifle.

Well, I'm not sure what to call it, but it was good! I crumbled the lebkuchen in a bowl, added a dollop of mascapone and put the rhubarb on top. Delicous!

Success

DH is quite obsessed with not throwing away stuff so I do try hard and we don't waste much, plus my kids never stop eating so we tend to run out more than we end up throwing stuff away.

Hummus, I need to start freezing it as DD2 and me only eat the ocassional teaspoonful. Soft cheese does get overlooked sometimes too.

Fruit and veg pretty much always get used up, except potatoes because I buy economy bags as they are so much cheaper per kilo, but they always end up sprouty in the cupboard. I have found a good potato soup helps to use them up but freezing mash had never occurred to me before, will try that.

I started buying frozen peppers, mushrooms and sweetcorn, which works out cheaper than fresh I think, and also easier as you can just chuck them into stirfry or bolognese etc.

I never keep meat in the fridge usually, always frozen, but once I forgot about a whole gammon joint at the back of the fridge (dangerous as it has a long date) and it went off. I nearly cried

I have the same problem as many with potatoes. I cook, mash and freeze them in plastic tubs - I save spread tubs for the purpose. I also freeze peppers, they're fine for cooking. I even freeze overripe bananas and use them in banana cake. My most frequent waste problem is with mushrooms that have gone slimy in the fridge.

My mind boggles at households that allow hummus to go off. . Never lasts that long around here.

So many good ideas here and I'm glad to see leftovers being used so well.

At the risk of self promotion I have written a book "The Leftovers Handbook" giving ideas and recipes for over 450 potential leftovers. I think (and hope) it will really help.

www.amazon.co.uk/The-Leftovers-Handbook-Ingredient-Inspirational/dp/1908974087/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381265920&sr=8-1&keywords=the+leftovers+handbook