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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If I find myself with things that are approaching their use by date I will try to incorporate them in a batch cooking recipe so that I can them freeze it for days when I don't feel like cooking - or in the cause of the recent Beast from the East I'll have plenty of dishes in the freezer to heat up without having to run to the shops

Pretty much anything almost on the turn or looking squishy can be roasted in the oven then blended into a soup of some kind!, and I’ve found some interesting and new recipes by doing a “fridge soup”

I grate cheese and freeze in small bags - useful for sauce, etc.

I mostly ignore these dates and use my nose and eyes to judge if the food would be ok or not past it's date.We make smoothies with the fruit and soup with the vegetables.

I use bread that is going stale to make bread and butter pudding or use it as breadcrumbs for making home made cicken nuggets or coated fish!

i freeze on best before date that way no waste

I add any left over veg, particularly the left overs from the various pre-prepared veg bags we have had that week, to a tin or carton of soup. It makes a lovely chunky soup with extra veg and uses up anything left in the fridge. Win-win!

I only really check the dates on meat/ fish.. I will freeze veg or just use anything that is looking tired with pasta / curry / omelette. Omelette is my favourite way to use up things, even cheese, cream etc, all goes in!

We are very used to eating food that is months and sometimes years past the best before date.
As long as it looks ok and smells ok we use it. Most of the time it's fine sometimes it isn't quite as good as it would have been if used earlier.
Dried foods like lentils and rice and pasta can go on for ages as long as they are stored correctly and kept dry.
In fact we have several shops near us that only sell food that is past the best before date and of course this saves customers lots of money.

If it looks and smells ok I would definitely eat it straight away otherwise would freeze it

I generally go by look and smell. And if anything’s looks a bit past it I just shove it in a curry or a stew! As others have said fruit is always good in a muffin. I think I’ve made just about every fruit flavour muffin! Strawberry muffins are the best though.

For us it all depends on the product. For meats we tend to stick to the dates, but for vegetables if they look and smell ok then we make pasta sauce or soup.
I am more cautious now as weaning a 7 month old, so it's a balance between being safe/cautious and not wasting too much.

We never have anything left in house that is even remotely near use by date as husband is a giant gannet. Ds is following in his (greedy) footsteps it seems.

i used to be ridiculous with dates and would end up throwing good food away. I was scared of giving the family food poisoning. I'm more relaxed now and never had any poisoning so far! Fruit I'll try and bake a cake or pudding if it's going soft. Veggies I'll make up a soup. Meat gets frozen asap.

I go to quite elaborate lengths to avoid food waste (sometimes even buying extra things in order to use up one ingredient). I honestly feel really cross when I end up throwing something away.
Having said that, I am quite liberal with best before dates. If it looks and smells right, then I figure it probably is right. I'm a bit more cautious with meat, and sometimes I only feed particular out of date food to my husband and I rather than the children, but generally I think best before dates are way too cautious.
The only foods where I am careful is things like coleslaw or houmous - only because I have accidentally eaten a mouthful of these when they were at the 'fizzy' stage, and it was repulsive I never want to experience it again.

I never throw anything away unless it is walking out of the fridge itself. An omelette is a great way to use things up

Wraps and frittata tend to use up small bits of left overs or veg about to go off. Having a big freezer is key!

If we have bread that needs using up I’ll freeze it and then dd has it toasted in the toaster straight from frozen for breakfasts. I also sometimes stick old bread in the food processor to make breadcrumbs to freeze and stick on a veggie bake or something with some cheese to give a nice crunchy tooping. Savoury bread and butter pudding is also a favourite with dd for dinners.

Sometimes if I have a lot of eggs that need using up quick I make meringues with the egg whites and gateau Breton with the yolks. Both can be frozen (meringue roulade is really good after being frozen).

We sometimes have lots of veg going a bit old and I either make a veggie bake or soup. Soup is so easy as I just fry onion and garlic in oil, add some veggies and stock and red lentils and simmer then blitz. Dd loves cheese scones as a side to go with it.

If we have lots of milk to use up I sometimes make custard or we all have a hot chocolate! Yoghurt needing using up makes a snack with mashed banana .

Lots of bananas going over I use the sugar free banana flapjacks from the mumsnet website.

Fruit a bit soft is good for blitzing in a smoothie or stewing.

Veggies are often fine for WEEKS after their BB date, I can't believe there are people who chuck them out. I use them up in soups and veggie curries or chillies.
Obviously meat can just go in the freezer until I'm ready to use it.
Bread - just toast it. Or make it into breadcrumbs and put in the freezer.
Eggs - omelettes or make meringues
Fruit - put in a crumble

We use bread past best before all the time, usually lasts about a week longer. And when it starts going dry we just have toast. If milk goes a day or two over then I just do the smell test lol. Any veg thats past its best before gets chucked into a pan to make a stew or soup

I never look at use by dates on fruit or veg, I think they should just remove them as others may waste less. Meat I freeze if not used. Most things you can use common sense with and your senses usually tell you if somethings off.

I always do the float test on eggs rather than the date on box.
To help use up left overs, such as half a pepper, last spring onion, wilting brocolli to the last few slices of ham or chorizo I make an omelette and chuck it in. Or in pasta.

I wouldnt use meat if it smelt or looked off,if its texture and smell is ok then i will use it. I buy a lot of yellow sticker foods (reduced because of the best before dates) and freeze it, It's perfectly fine.
I usually dont have any bread left over but if i do i make bread and butter pudding or make bread crumbs and freeze them for when i need them.
Any wizzled vegetables i have lurking in the fridge i use to make vegetable soup. Same with any sad looking fruit, they get used in my sons protein shakes and protein bars.

It depends on the product. Once fresh meat, fish and eggs are over their best before date I really don't want to use them, regardless of smell. Yoghurt, cheese and milk are examples of foods I would judge by sight and smell. Vegetables too, though I'm much more wary of using bagged salad leaves after a day or so.

I often eat food past it's BB date and use by date - and I'm still here!