Hippyshopper guide to leftover food
It made me sad to think of all that food going to waste when I read this story last week, so I've been thinking about what we can do about it. Here are some suggestions for creative and fun ways to use leftover food, and some simple ways to stop it going bad in the first place...
• Take leftover food into work. There's almost always one hungry person in the office who'll appreciate it! And last night's mashed potato can feel very comforting at your desk, while others make do with supermarket sandwiches...
• There are lots of recipes out there specifically designed to use the food you didn't eat last night, and they're not limited to bubble and squeak! Check out Leftover Chef, which has a great tool that let's you search for recipes using different leftovers.
• Got lots of leftover bread you're not going to eat? This can be a great excuse for a walk to your local park where you'll soon meet some very appreciative birds and ducks.
Follow the jump for more ideas!
• Making 'Cobblers' Pie' is a great way to use up leftovers. Think cottage pie, but with yesterdays baked beans, veg (of any sort) and tomatoes topped with mashed potato and a sprinkling of cheese added to the mincemeat or veggie mince. Surprisingly tasty, and never quite the same twice!
• WRAP found the that most-dumped foods are: bags of salad, fruit, bread, pasta and cheese. I would agree with this, and have noticed that these are the very foods that tend to end up keeping the rubbish in my litter bin company.
• You can improve matters by buying unwashed salad (which doesn't go off so quickly), or if you're less lazy than I am, avoid buying bagged salad chop your own lettuce. Buy fruit and bread in the smallest quantities you can, measure out the right amount of pasta when you cook it, and keep cheese well sealed in an airtight container.
• If you've not got these basic tools already, you'll save loads of money and food if you invest in a good set of airtight containers and a kitchen weighing scale. You'll wonder how you ever lived without them!
• Remember that hot food needs to be refrigerated within two hours of cooking. So once you've eaten all you can, get it in the fridge (or freezer) for tomorrow's experimentation!
• If all else fails and you've got leftovers you really don't want to eat, your kitchen composter most certainly will. Not got one yet? They're available at Ethical Superstore from just £7.50. Compost this has a really useful list of what you can and can't dispose of in this way.
• The short version: if it's leftover and it isn't dangerously mouldy, put it in a pie, add it to an omelette, curry it or make soup.
