FOOD WASTE HACKS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO AVOID WASTING FOOD THIS CHRISTMAS

Sick of binning Christmas food? You’re not alone.

The average UK household throws away more than half the food they buy for the festive period. Bad for your wallet, bad for the planet. But all is not lost. We’ve got the tips you need to make festive food waste the Ghost of Christmas Past.

This festive period we’ve decided to get together a quick guide with our top tips to save money on your festive meals.

Only buy what you know you’ll eat

Top of the list of binned foods at Christmas are cheese, biscuits, chocolate, vegetables and mince pies. Sound familiar? If you buy brussels sprouts and end up binning them year after year, maybe it’s time to leave them on the supermarket shelf this Christmas.

You can make your food last longer if you store it properly or freeze it, to see what else is being wasted visit What foods can I freeze? | Good Food.

One way to avoid buying too much at Christmas is to get organised:

• Make meal plans
• Don’t over cater, work out how many people are coming and cater accordingly
• Create a shopping list so you know exactly what you need
• Check what you have in your cupboards before buying new stuff
• For more tips on meal planning head to Love Food Hate Waste .

Your freezer is your friend

Most festive foods can be frozen. If nobody can face another turkey sandwich on Boxing Day, store it in your freezer and it’ll help make a new meal in the new year.

Bung extra vegetables, that cheeseboard you can’t face looking at, or the vat of leftover gravy in the freezer. Cakes like mince pies and stollen last for ages once frozen. You could still be enjoying festive treats at Easter if you store your leftovers properly.

Love Food Hate Waste have everything you need to know on storing food safely.

Use your food more than once

There are so many Christmas recipes out there to inspire you to make the most of your festive menu. We love Instagram, TikTok, Hubbub and swear by BBC Food.

Some old favourites like turkey curry, vegetable pies, and leftover veg soups never go out of style. But making a cheesy pasta from the leftover cheese board can be fun too.

Don’t forget your caddy.

There’s no getting away from some food waste during the holidays. Put vegetable peelings, plate scrapings and the many, many tea bags from visitors in your food and garden bin.

All of your food and garden waste will be turned into compost in Greater Manchester – find out more about what happens to your food and garden waste.

You can also find more general tips on reducing your food waste.