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

Potatoes: buy loose potatoes, exactly how many you think you will need for the meals you plan. So, you stand there and go, "Okay, four to have boiled with chops, two for the curry, and six for mash on the shepherd's pie" or whatever, then you buy only those. Cause it's not as if you're going to get to the potato sack and find someone's absentmindedly eaten the lot, and it's no hardship to buy potatoes at each shop.

I'll find the link to a great cabbage recipe, I love straight forward cabbage with a bit of salt and butter but if you need something a bit more tempting this recipe is lovely

Freeze houmous? What shop bought stuff?

The left over grapes are usually the shriveled ones that fell off the branch. Ds eats his own weight in grapes so percentage wise it's a tiny amount.

Overripe kiwis in yoghurt or muesli ( guess who is tasked with eating up shitty fruit in this house...)

Courgette makes an ace 'pesto' I grow them and get the usual glut. I grate them and fry off with loads of Garlic and chilli. You can then mix this into pasta with some cheese. This courgette mixture also freezes well. ( leave out spicier ingredients if kids are involved obvs)

By jove, you can freeze hummus!

Kelly, if you shop at Tesco, they do little multipacks of three tiny packets of pate. They're more expensive per gram, but you can take your time eating them.

You can make yoghurt with a surplus of milk too.

The only thing we really throw away is condiments that have got down to that last horrible bit and occasionally mouldy bread, but tbh 9 1/2 Times out if 10 that doesn't happen either

lovely unhealthy cabbage.

Cheese freezes or like root veg keep it in a cool dark place and it just matures more.

I freeze everything...
I must add we do have chickens who eat a lot of on the turn bagged salad and wrinkly tomatoes and festering cucumber.

I'm going to steal your apple recipe, iK8 , brilliant idea!

I sometimes make a big batch of houmous and freeze in 100g portions.

Onions and spring onions, chop and fry off then freeze. Chuck them into sauces straight from the freezer.

Green peppers I use to make curry. The sharper flavour works much better in curries than the red or yellow. Or just buy them loose.

Coruskate - no way!? That's made me stupidly happy!

Loose peppers are so expensive you're better off buying mixed bags and chucking out the green ones

You're right little . Strangely, I'm a little freaked out by eating my own lettuce, not sure why. But I need to do it. We do grow cherry tomatoes in summer, I do eat them, but am a little freaked out by it... Stupid, I know....

Milk - it can be frozen. Sometimes I make white/cheese sauce and freeze. Good stand-by for macaroni and cheese.

Sometimes I have pesto that goes off. Shop brought, could I freeze that?

Buy frozen sweetcorn instead of tinned.

I had no idea you could freeze olives. What about jars of antipasti veg? Can they be frozen?

Lettuce can be stir-fried! I found this out yesterday. It's delicious quickly stir fried with garlic, chilli, ginger, and a soy, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil dressing.

Creme fraiche makes great smoked salmon pasta

I use courgettes sliced with a peeler instead of pasta

Tesco brussels pate multipack. There's a low fat one too.

I'm strangely nervous about freezing stuff.
I'm sure my life would be improved greatly if a could embrace freezing stuff.
Anyone know where there's good can/can't freeze info?

Green peppers here too. It is still cheaper to buy the multi pack than to buy red ones individually at 80p ish each. Green ones are minging and I have 4 wrinkling away in the fridge just now.

Use hummus in stews casseroles and curries and soup ( especially carrot) as a thickener,
make dhal with it , dollop on baked potatoes ot hot toast , take it to work with celery and carrot sticks..

Re creme fraiche

Add to mashed potatoes instead of milk
Stir into sauteed mushrooms and garlic for yummy pasta sauce
Serve a dollop with mixed berries and a dusting of sugar
Make a creamy sauce and freeze to serve with chicken

In our house it's fruit that gets chucked - bought cos I feel I should eat it but in reality I'm not a big fruit eater