How to avoid wasting food

Here are just a few tips on reducing the amount of perfectly good food we throw away each month – there are loads more ideas and advice on the Love Food Hate Waste website.

Storage

• Keep bread in a cupboard or breadbin. You can also store in the freezer and toast straight from frozen.
• Store fruit in the fridge. Bananas and pineapples are an exception to this. If you prefer your fruit at room temperature, top up your fruit bowl as needed.
• Store potatoes in a cool dark place

Portions

• Use your tools to get your portions right – measuring jugs, spoons, weighing scales…
• Whilst a portion of rice or pasta doesn’t look big enough before cooking, it expands when cooked so always measure your portions to get the right amount.
• A quarter of a mug of rice is enough for one.
• Use the Love Food Hate Waste portion planner to help get your portions right.

Planning

• Check your cupboards/fridge before shopping and make a list
• Take your list with you to the shops and stick to it
• Create a weekly meal plan
• Schedule to eat at least one meal from the freezer each week. That way you can skip it if your plans change at short notice.

Date labels

• See the Love Food Hate Waste website for advice on Best Before/Use By dates.

Leftovers

• Make something delicious from your leftover ingredients – there are plenty of ideas and recipes on the Love Food Hate Waste website
• Freezer advice: For best results, cool down quickly (ideally within an hour), divide into portions, place in an airtight container, label and then pop in the freezer. Defrost in the fridge, ideally overnight, and use within 24 hours after defrosting. Reheat in microwave, on the hob or in the oven, heating thoroughly until piping hot.

Fridge

• Keep your fridge below 5 degrees Celsius to help your food stay fresh longer.