Wasting food? I think not!

[dexterdoglancashire]

There has been lots of stuff published in the papers recently about the general population wasting food and basically, throwing away most of the food stuffs that they buy.
Methinks this certainly isnt the case amongst the Vine members!
Has anyone got any tips/hints on using leftovers and the like?
Bernie

[SarzWix]

I heard that story on the radio news, and it made me stop & think. Because we do actually throw quite a lot of food away - we have 3 kids, 2 of whom are very picky indeed. So we're not really throwing away stuff that hasn't been used at all, altho I'm ashamed to say that does happen sometimes, but half platefuls get scraped into the bin regularly at the end of meals. The alternatives are; to not even try & get the kids to eat different stuff, or to have WW3 every meal time trying to force them to eat stuff they don't want. I dunno, it's a tough one.
There's a lot to be said for buying daily what you need for that day's meals. Unfortunately, we've lost our local butcher, greengrocer etc. and we're left with Sp@r, Co_op, a deli and several sandwich shops... not conducive to shopping for fresh foods!
That's a big reason for getting the lottie - you only harvest what you need and leave the rest growing, so there shouldn't be a reason for throwing stuff away.

[Two_Sheds]

people cook way too much, which gets wasted ... I do freeze any extra, but the freezer is so small.

[Alison]

Try not to waste any food and what we can't eat for some reason either gets composted in the garden (or in the wormery) or, if not suitable for that gets put in the bokashi bin. It's disgusting how much people waste both from a financial and environmental point of view. It also gets me how many people with kids will cook them different meals and let them be downright faddy (and loads of adults are no better) - when we were kids we ate what was put in front of us and knew it so soon learnt to get on with it. It's fair enough that people don't like certain things and we certainly weren't perfect as kids but we were expected to be basically consistent with our likes and dislikes. As one of the earlier posts said, at least us on this forum are more aware than some of food issues so at least that's part of the battle!

I find it helps to plan the weekly shop around what I'm going to cook then I don't buy extra and don't have to think too much on a daily basis - a big help to me when my brain's fried after work!

[Two_Sheds]

It does help to plan meals around what you've already got in the house/garden, rather than thinking "what do I fancy tonight"

[Flummery]

Yes, as Two sheds says, a 'Ready, steady, cook' attitude helps. You make a meal with what you have so don't buy too much on a whim. I also think that older people waste less. I was a baby boomer child and was brought up to believe that waste was sinful because the starving people of the world (it was China in those days!) would be grateful for it. I am also of the 'undoing knots and saving string' generation. Younger people have been brought up differently (by my generation so I should take some blame!) to think that if you can afford something then no need to make do any more. We are now starting to reap the harvest of wastefulness and desposability.

[Snadger]

Yes, as Two sheds says, a 'Ready, steady, cook' attitude helps. You make a meal with what you have so don't buy too much on a whim. I also think that older people waste less. I was a baby boomer child and was brought up to believe that waste was sinful because the starving people of the world (it was China in those days!) would be grateful for it. I am also of the 'undoing knots and saving string' generation. Younger people have been brought up differently (by my generation so I should take some blame!) to think that if you can afford something then no need to make do any more. We are now starting to reap the harvest of wastefulness and desposability.

I used to say to my kids " There's starving kids in Africa who would be glad of those bread crusts" To which they always replied " Well, send them to them then!!!!"

PS When I eventually get my chooks waste food will be a thing of the past!

[Flummery]

I used to say to my kids " There's starving kids in Africa who would be glad of those bread crusts" To which they always replied " Well, send them to them then!!!!"

Oh yes, I tried that one too. Got told off for being lippy!

[Alice]

It's a good point DDL but I do know we do waste food and I hate it. I try to plan ahead and freeze any surplus cooked food but sometomes I do put things in the fridge for later in the week. After 2 days I say that's been there forever and throw it out. I asked my sister how long she kept food in the fridge. She said if it didn't have a beard she ate it. Maybe it's just me, but after 48 hours I bin it.
Does anyone have a good source of info on how long things will keep. Cooked potatoes ? If it's the day before yesterday I bin them. Is this sensible or wasteful ?

[smallblueplanet]

Oh Alice, just 48 hours in the fridge seems a bit wasteful. We're veggies so unless its eggs I keep stuff until its furry! Lol or quite a few days.....when we were kids we'd just pick out the blue bits on the bread and eat the rest (same with cheese)!

[Alison]

I work on the principle if it smells OK and isn't furry then it's fine, don't pay any attention to sell by dates. Would be more careful if I was cooking for somebody with a low immune system but we've both healthy and never suffer unless we eat or drink too much and that's something quite different!

[JanieB]

Having worked in a food distibution warehouse, I know that a lot of the sell buy/ eat buy dates are absolute bunkum. They are there to comply with the governments "safety" rules.The warehouse I worked for imported, packed and distributed dried fruit and nuts. Ignore the fruits for now. Nuts are a very seasonal food. Mostly produced in the northern hemisphere so only available fresh in season. They are also one of the few foodstuffs that can be stored cheaply and safely for a long time.

Brazil nuts cannot be farmed. They are picked from the forests and an absolute rule is that they are NOT picked from the floor. They have a specific harvest time. BUT when you buy your packet of brazil nuts from the supermarket it has a sell/eat buy date of a maximum of 3 months. Those nuts may have been in the warehouse, in a sack for 0 months to 2/3 years. The date on your pack only reflects the date it was put in its placcy bag.

I work on the principle that if it smells and looks OK go for it. (I also take the fur off jam and soft cheese). Why does that happen nowadays, it never used to. Also, the idea behind bacon was that it kept from one season to,the next, but it now goes off in less than a week!!!

[Paulottie]

Wasters.

I was always told that fish, rice and house guests shouldn't be kept for more than 3 days.

We have two children, who are expected to finish their meals and say 'thank you' before being excused...A bit old fashioned to some, but then respect for the food and provider should be encouraged in this wasteful world. Sooner or later, given the strain on the planet, resources will be scarcer and more expensive. Thrift may even be a survival technique one day.

Nothing is wasted here. One of the advantages of using fresh food and a flexible imagination is that any leftovers will just get re-heated or rehashed the next day. Or, if we struggling for inspiration... it goes on pasta or into the wok. Our French Grandmother is fantastic at reusing everything and anything- don't think she's ever read a sell by date in 90 years... Her belief is that you shouldn't put cooked potatoes in the fridgenever saw the difference myself, but we humour her.

Obviously, you should use your nose and probably avoid reheated or badly stored shellfish. Another tip is that chickens go off from the bones out- cut the meat off if you are at all worried. The date stamp thing is a farce and I'm not sure if this wasted food figure included what is thrown in the locked bins at the back of the stores.

If there are any peelings or morsels ..we also have 2 chickens, a guinea pig, a compost heap and a stockpot. Throw food away? No, nothing is wasted here.

I guess this is all difficult to fathom for the ready meal culture. Supermarkets and their lifstyle marketing have the nation salivating to their bell like so many of Pavlov's dogs...'Oh, but its so cheap and easy'....'I don't have time to cook'...but the depressing thing is that it is not enough for the enlightened to say smugly..."Oh well, a fool and their money are easily parted."

Intensive farming, plastic packaging and ludicrous food miles are not only cruel, obscene and a sickening shame; They are destroying the planet.

I am no prophet of doom but wake up and smell the fair trade coffee people. We can't go on like this, the years of famine approach.

[Flummery]

After all, penicillin is just mould. Got to be good for you!

In my University vacations I used to work for a company that made exceedingly good cakes (it says here!) They had a single production line and packed for 3 companies, their own, M&S and a local chain of bakery shops. M&S sent in their own food inspectors. When the product coming down the line met their spec (eg the right shade of golden brown, the right amount of jam or cream etc) the line was stopped, the packaging changed and the cakes became M&S cakes. The use by date on these was 10 days from date of production. When their order was filled we stopped, changed the wrappers again and wrapped either for Mr Exceedingly or the local baker. LB had a use by date of a fortnight. Exceedingly Stale had a use by date of 3 weeks. This was all the same cake!

I never take much note of dates but of the condition, feel and smell of the food. It is the conscience and quality control of the seller that dictates the use by dates after all - not the condition of the food.

[everdream78]

My personal favourite use of leftover chilli.....

Mash some spuds, spread over top of chilli, sprinkle with cheese and grill

Et voila!! Chilli shepherd (as we call it!) yum yum yum

I, too, have a wormery and two compost bins so nothing gets wasted here. I recycle everything I possibly can and invested in those hemp bags from Tescos (6 of them and I've never used a carrier whilst doing the monthly shop since!)

Every week, my wheely bin is never more than a 1/4 full - makes me angry when next door's is overflowing and there's black bags next to hers too - I took a peek once (what a scutter I am!) and most of it could've been recycled