Tips for wasting less food this Easter

Easter offers the perfect opportunity to think about making the most of the food we buy, and Shropshire Council is offering tips and advice on how to waste less at this time of year. 

Each year in Britain we throw away around £12 billion worth of good food and drink from our homes, and the Easter holidays are no exception. 

Shropshire Council is urging people to think about the ways they can save money and food at this time of year, providing the following ideas: 

• Hot cross buns are often on special offer, and it is always useful to have them in the house for when unexpected visitors call.  Hot cross buns freeze really well – if you buy them in a pack, a good tip is to break them apart before freezing them.  That way, you can defrost just the number you need.
• Lots of people will be planning a roast lamb dinner at Easter – if you have lamb leftovers, simply keep them in the fridge, they’re good for two days, and great in a sandwich with lots of mint sauce.  If you are having family or friends round, why not also check out the portion calculator at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com, which will help you not to buy or cook too much meat, fish or vegetables in the first place.
• Eggs – whether the chocolate or chicken variety – are synonymous with Easter.  Spanish omelettes are a great way to use up ordinary eggs – in fact most types of left-over food, such as cooked vegetables or meats, can be used up in a Spanish omelette.  Eggs can also be frozen successfully, but don’t freeze them in their shells.  Beat eggs into a mixture or freeze whites and yolks separately, and then defrost in the fridge, not at room temperature.  Adding a pinch of salt (for savoury dishes), or pinch of sugar (for sweet dishes) stops yolks going lumpy.  Then use as you would fresh eggs.
• If you make too much food over Easter don’t throw it away.  Pop it in a container in the fridge to eat the next day.  Or put it in the freezer to enjoy in the next few weeks.  After spending lots on food and Easter eggs, this can save you money and time too.
• We keep our freshest (and often most expensive) food in the fridge, so keep tabs on their use-by dates.  The freezer may be the best place for food you won’t get round to eating in time.  Freeze it before the ‘use-by’ date, then when you want to eat it simply defrost and use it within 24 hours. 

Mike Owen, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said:

“Easter is a time when people may be cooking extra food for family and friends and we are urging everyone to think about how they can reduce the amount of food they throw out. 

“To help people to minimise waste this Easter, we’re reminding them that they can visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for an online portion calculator and plenty of tasty recipes and helpful hints.” 

Reducing food waste saves council taxpayers money by reducing the amount of waste that has to be managed.  In addition, a typical household in Shropshire could save themselves up to £50 a month by wasting less food.  As well as saving money, if we all stopped wasting food it could stop wasting millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – in fact, it would be the equivalent of taking one in five cars off the road. 

To find out more useful tips about how to store food, tantalising recipes and advice on freezing food, visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com