Saveat › Cutting food waste and using up leftovers
Cutting food waste and using up leftovers
Food you throw away is money you have already spent. These simple habits keep more of it on your plate.
Why it matters
Every bit of edible food that ends up in the bin is wasted money, as well as wasted effort and resources. Love Food Hate Waste, the campaign run by WRAP, has long encouraged households to reduce what they throw away, and councils across the UK promote it. This page uses its practical tips.
Know your dates
- Use-by: about safety. Don't eat food after the date, even if it looks and smells fine.
- Best before: about quality. Food past this date may be less tasty but is often safe to eat if it has been stored properly. Use your senses.
- Display until / sell by: instructions for shops, not for you.
Store food well
- Keep the fridge cold. Love Food Hate Waste advises keeping most fruit in the fridge, below 5°C. Bananas and uncut pineapples are exceptions and should stay out.
- Put older items at the front. Eat the oldest first.
- Seal and label. Airtight containers keep food fresh, and labels stop mystery containers.
- Use the freezer. Freeze before the use-by date. This includes dairy. Sliced bread can be toasted straight from frozen.
- Portion before freezing. Freeze in the amounts you will use.
Use every part of the food
Love Food Hate Waste suggests using more of what you buy: cauliflower leaves can go into cooking, vegetable scraps can make stock, and there is no need to peel carrots or potatoes. Other ideas:
- Use broccoli stalks, sliced thin, in stir-fries or soups.
- Keep a bag in the freezer for onion ends, carrot tops and celery to make stock.
- Turn stale bread into breadcrumbs, croutons or bread and butter pudding.
- Blend soft, overripe fruit into smoothies or bake it into banana bread or crumble.
- Use wilting herbs in sauces, soups or pesto, or freeze them in oil.
Leftover ideas
| Leftover | Turn it into |
|---|---|
| Roast chicken or other meat | Sandwiches, curry, pie filling, fried rice, soup |
| Cooked vegetables | Bubble and squeak, frittata, soup, pasta sauce |
| Rice | Fried rice, rice pudding or arancini (cool and refrigerate quickly) |
| Mashed potato | Fishcakes, potato cakes, topping for pies |
| Stale bread | Breadcrumbs, croutons, French toast, bread pudding |
| Cooked pasta | Pasta bake, frittata, cold pasta salad |
| Pizza | Reheat for lunch the next day, as Love Food Hate Waste suggests |
Plan for less waste
Most food waste happens because we buy too much, store things badly or forget what we have. Two habits fix much of it. First, plan your meals and shop from a list, as explained in meal planning and batch cooking. Second, do a weekly "use it up" check and cook from the fridge before you shop.
Portions
Cooking too much pasta or rice is a common source of waste. Use a measure: about 75g of dried pasta or 60-75g of dry rice per adult is a typical portion, adjust for appetite, and freeze any extra. Love Food Hate Waste has a portion planner for this.
Don't forget the bin
Where food does go to waste, put it in your food waste collection if your council provides one. Check your local council's website for what you can include.
Track what you throw away
For a week, write down what you binned and why. You may find it's always the same things: bagged salad, bread, leftover rice. Then change one habit for that item, such as buying smaller packs, freezing half the loaf or cooking less rice. See more ideas in cheap recipes and eating out for less.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between use-by and best-before?
Use-by is about safety and the food should not be eaten after it. Best-before is about quality and food may still be fine after the date.
Can I freeze dairy?
Love Food Hate Waste says you can freeze food before its use-by date, including dairy.
How can I make stock from scraps?
Keep vegetable trimmings such as onion ends and carrot tops in a freezer bag, then simmer them in water to make stock.