Mumsnet users share tips and recipes for using up food with Sainsbury's

[EllieMumsnet]

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‘Best before’, ‘use by’, ‘display until’…many of us are confused about what the dates on food labels really mean, and whether it’s safe to eat food that has passed the deadline. Sainsbury’s is on a mission to get to the bottom of this confusion and bust the myth that you can’t use food past its ‘best before’ date, therefore they would love you to share your top tips and recipes for using up food which has passed its ‘best before’ deadline.

Here’s what Sainsbury’s has to say: “We know that there is a lot of confusion between ’best before’ and ’use by’ dates, which is why are working with Mumsnet to dispel the myths about food date labels and to stop food from being thrown away that is still good to eat. After we found out through a previous Mumsnet thread that many of you throw away food that is past its ‘best before’ date, we created the below video to encourage people to rethink and make sure their food doesn’t end up in the bin”

Do you use the smell test on food that’s passed it’s ‘best before’ date and if it smells fine do you think it’s then it’s ok to be eaten? Have you got any easy recipes that are your go-to’s for using up food? Or maybe there are certain foods which you know will be fine past their ‘best before’?

Take a look at the video and share with us your top tips and recipes for using food which has gone past its ‘best before’ dates to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Sainsbury’s voucher.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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Slightly miserable looking veg is perfect for turning into soup! I love making soup, it’s such a soothing activity.

In the last year I've really tried hard to reduce waste at home. If it doesn't look bad or smell bad then it's worth using up even if the sell-by date is past. With stale bread, I cut into cubes and freeze, then make them into croutons to top lots of different meals. Older bananas are great for choc/banana smoothies or banana bread.

We usually use dates as a guide as to how well we have to check it! Meat we will use a day or two after their date, as long as they smell and look OK. We have an extra cold part in the fridge for storing meat and this can sometimes freeze or semi freeze it anyway.

Bananas past their best for eating straight are usually made into a banana bread. Bread used in bread pudding or made into breadcrumbs and frozen, as long as there's no mould. Herbs on their way out are chopped and frozen in ice cube trays and then popped in freezer bags. Fruit also frozen, either whole or puréed first. Chocolate (it has been known!) melted and used in rocky road or Tiffin, or chopped to use in a cake, etc. Eggs get checked to see if they float in water or not, if they don't then they will get used as normal, perhaps used in cakes or cooked through properly rather than soft boiled or poached if they're not the freshest they could be. Any packets, etc, are used as normal depending on how they have deteriorated and if the quality is still good enough.

Whilst it's OK health wise to eat things after their best before date, they aren't always enjoyable!

I tend to ignore best before dates and use my eyes and nose to test whether food is edible.

I find fruit is often softer and tastier after it's best before date and if it's a bit overripe I stew it or use it in a cooked pudding or cake.

If vegetables are a bit past their best they work well in a stew, curry or chilli.

I wouldn't use meat (for kids and DP)after the best before date but this is because I'm vegetarian and wouldn't like to smell/ taste the meat to check it was ok, I'm not sure I'd know anyway!

I think use by dates are far more important than best before - I try to use my common sense and see how things look and smell to make a decision. I am very careful around meat though and would err on the side of caution here.
What happens to out of date stuff in our house is - I eat it for lunches while the kids are at school! All sorts of weird and wonderful concoctions that I come up with - cause I hate throwing food away!

I do not pay a lot of attention to BBDs. I think that for things like fruit and veg you should use your common sense. When things start to look a bit limp then I tend to bung them in a soup. For meat and dairy I use my sense of smell and taste. If something looks ok, smells ok then I cook with it - thorough cooking though with things like mince that have a large surface area and therefore more surfaces to attract bacteria.

If I know that I am not going to use something before it spoils then I freeze it. Most things freeze well.

If it's veg it always goes well into a soup or stew as they don't need to be crisp for these kinds of recipes.

I hate food waste so much. Anything which can be frozen will be frozen. I ignore "best before". Most "use-by" dates I will go a couple of days over until it looks or smells dodgy. "Sell by" dates are for the shop, it my dh often gets put off by this.

I'll eat everything past it's best before as long as it looks and smells OK. I'm vegetarian so maybe that has some bearing.

My favourite dish for bunging tired veg in is a frittata.

I've stopped buying fish (at reduced price) when it's on its 'best before date', as it's sometimes dodgy. Even if I freeze straightaway I am finding that it has deteriorated and smells a bit minging.

All veg that's well past its 'best before' is made into soup and if not eaten straight away it's put in the freezer. I also make samosas with old veg and freeze for lunch packs. I often buy veg reduced because it's on its 'best before' to save money.

Black bananas get made into banana cake/muffins. Wooly apples or pears get made into fruit pie.

I rarely throw food away and feel guilty if I have to chuck it (ie it's too furry). I compost it so it still has its uses.
Having lived in poverty I can't forget not to waste anything.

Oh forgot, any old bread gets made into breadcrumbs, toasted and stored in a jar.

Veg past its sell by date is still lovely in soups...especially when it's chilly outside and past its sell by date fruit like bananas make really nice, filling banana bread

We're not too strict with use by or best before dates. I like to make sure that fruit & vegetables are eaten up before they are passed their best and with anything else, if it looks and smells fine then we eat it as normal.

I have a two-tier system, as I run a food business from home. So for 'real' people I have to be obsessive about dates and stuff. But for me and the DCs, pretty much anything goes as long as it looks and smells OK.

I do not usually risk meat after the use by date however I also use my eyes and nose and if it's just a day out and smells okay I will use it. I don't ever risk it for my toddler though. If I can see meat or fish is about to go out of date and we have other meals planned on those days, I quickly put it in the freezer so I can defrost it on another day and it doesn't go to waste. Older sad looking fruit goes into the blender, and veg chopped into curry or soup. Do actually doesn't mind eating out of date things like that as normal but I do. Bread is usually okay a day or two after the date if you toast it. We usually don't buy too much at once and do smaller shops instead as that means it's all more likely to get used up in time. Oh I never risk out of date yoghurt, especially with small children - just one day over the date gives my dd the runs. Dp is fine of course with his iron stomach! So I just give it to him. Nothing quite like watching a grown man eating tiny petit filous pots.

We frequently use leftover veggies, that are just past their date, in soups or stews, as it doesn’t affect the food if they are a tiny bit soft, but you don’t waste them.

Best before dates are exactly that, the quality might drop a bit but I'm not going to chuck it. As for recipes and tips - use it as before or put the item into bbc food search and it'll throw out recipients with that ingredient.

Thai Yellow Curry is great for using up bottom of the shelf veg and left over roast chicken.

Jam - I make lots of jam with any left over fruits

Freeze brown bananas, as they are great in smoothies and banana bread

Definitely use the smell test.

Old bananas - make banana bread
Veg past it's best - soup
Leftover pasta or rice - can also go in soup
Something due to go past it's date - use it to batch cook and freeze in portions
Stale bread - croutons or breadcrumbs
Anything else - think about the birds, or compost if applicable if it's too far gone

Check your fridge and freezer every day
Make sure you check dates when you buy stuff
Put oldest dates at the front of the fridge
Plan around the use by dates for your weekly menu

Thursday night is omelette night in our house. Any left over veg from our Sunday weekly shop is chucked in, as long as there’s no green fuzz on it and it’s not too squishy. Friday/Saturday we usually have takeaway/eat out, then Sunday is Big Shop day again.

We often have a fridge omelette day! Will look through the fridge and see what is nearing expiry, then let each person whisk up their preferred omelette! I am not strict with use by dates on yoghurts, cheese etc but any kind of raw or cooked meat goes straight in the bin - wouldn’t risk it.

Most stuff I don't worry about using after the BBE/use by. Milk/yogurts I'll only push a couple of days but otherwise it's the sniff test!

It makes me really cross that fruit/veg and even flowers have use by dates and some shops won't/can't sell past these although clearly safe to do so.

I love making leftovers into pies, curries and rice dishes. My favourite is chicken and ham pie - delish!

I’m always quite happy to go abut over dates. They are there with a very cautious date for supermarkets so always find there is a bit of give. If veg is a bit over and passed it’s best it can still be cooked up and blended to make a fab veggie soup. No one would ever know then what state it was in!

As a child I would turn my nose up at anything that I knew had passed it’s best before date. Now I’m paying for the food I’ve realised my mum was right about it just being a guide after all

I use over ripe bananas as a substitute for egg to make vegan cakes. They ah e to be nice and mushy for this. I can then offer cake to vegan friends and look like a super thoughtful friend

we have a pie maker and our family looove a pie so we often make our fave surprise pies! filled with bits of ham, chooped up snippets of veg, ends of cheese..and even tomato sauces we used for pasta dishes get chucked in with pepperoni and sweetcorn and ends of peppers for pizza pies..yummy