In collaboration with Love Food Hate Waste.
It’s already week three of the Love Food Hate Waste #GiveUpBinningFood campaign, where is the time going?!
This six-week long food waste prevention campaign running throughout Lent is broken down into weekly themes to help make reducing food waste at home a more attainable goal. These themes are:
1st March (week 1) Meal planning – when’s this for? Read >> Tip for Weekly Meal Planning
8th March (week 2) Storage – where should I put this? Read >> Food Storage Tips
15th March (week 3) Fridge focus – how do I make the most of my fridge?
22nd March (week 4) Portioning – how much should I use?
29th March (week 5) Food labels – what does this mean?
5th – 13th April (week 6) Leftovers – what can I do with my ingredients?
This week we’re sharing some tips and tricks on how to make the most out of your fridge. One of the greatest contributors to the UK’s food waste problem is the perishables that need to be kept in the fridge. Sadly, many fresh foods are not chilled correctly, or aren’t chilled at all, so they don’t last as long as they should. If they don’t last long, you have less time to eat them and then they get binned.
Saying that, be mindful not to overuse your fridge either. Some foods won’t flourish or ripen in the fridge, like tomatoes and avocados – these need to be stored at room temperature. Pineapples, potatoes and citrus fruit also prefer to be kept out of the fridge.
Table of Contents
TOP TIPS FOR MAKING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR FRIDGE
- The fridge should be set to below 5 degree Celsius. 4 degrees C is optimal. Consider getting a fridge thermometer if not already integrated and check it regularly to make sure it is still working.
- Your fridge temperature is not the same throughout. The fridge door area is warmer which is fine for condiments. The back is colder, so it’s better for perishables like dairy and meat.
- Overstocking your fridge makes it hard for air to flow and the fridge becomes inefficient. This will impact the quality of your food. Buy less but buy more often.
- Fridge foraging is a great way of pulling out foods that need using up. You’re likely to make an extra meal or two from this simple action. Why not share your recipe creation with the No Waste Food Challenge
- Food can last up to three days longer if stored in the fridge.
- Transfer tinned food to air tight containers. Once a can is open, residual metal on the rim can leak into food, giving it an unpleasant taste and potential health effects.
- Sort out your fridge! It doesn’t take long and it’ll save your food. Wrap up any half used packets such as cheese, sliced meats or sausages to stop them drying out (cheese can also be frozen!). Bring the oldest foods to the front so you can see them and that they get used first.
- Cool down leftovers as quickly as possible (ideally within two hours) to stops illness-causing bacteria growing. Store them in the fridge and eat within two days.
- Mark packets such as ham slices and pickles with the date they need to be used by once you’ve opened them.
Make sure to visit the Love Food Hate Waste #GiveUpBinningFood page for daily tips and tricks to help prevent food waste at home. Sign up to their newsletter too so you don’t miss a thing! In the meantime, check out their latest video about fridge storage with blogger Liberty London Girl, below!
JOIN US WITH THE NO WASTE FOOD CHALLENGE!
I challenge you, dear reader, to share your own recipes and tips to help prevent food waste! You don’t have to have a blog to enter, simply let me know your recipe or suggestion in the comments below and fill out the Rafflecopter form. You can share an image of your dish, if you like, on Twitter as an extra entry option. Tag me @tangoraindrop and use the hashtag #nowastefoodchallenge to help spread the word! I will include a selection of my favourites in next month’s round-up, where we’ll get to do the challenge all over again! Bloggers – link up with the linky tool, as usual, to be included in the roundup – click here for the full No Waste Food Challenge rules. If you want to enter the giveaway, leave a comment and enter via the Rafflecopter form.
HOW TO ENTER
For your chance to win a £25 Amazon Gift Voucher enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Share your recipe, meal planning or food waste prevention tip in the blog comments. Come back and tweet about the giveaway every day for more chances to win!
TERMS & CONDITIONS
This giveaway is open to UK entries only. Entrants must be age 18 or over. The winner will need to respond within 30 days of being contacted; failure to do this may result in another winner being selected.
The prize is offered and provided by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary. The prize is to win a £25 Amazon Gift Voucher. There is no cash alternative and the prize is not transferable.
There is no entry fee and no purchase is necessary to enter this giveaway.
The promoter (Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary) reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice.
Entry into our giveaways will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.
If you need some help using Rafflecopter, here’s a quick clip to show you how. Rafflecopter will pick the winner at random from all the entries received. I will be verifying entries. Any automated entries or those who have claimed they have made the mandatory blog post comment and really haven’t will be disqualified. It’s mandatory! Please make sure your comment is eight words or longer or Google views it as spam and this negatively affects my spam score. All entries with comments fewer than the mandatory 8 words will be disqualified and deleted.
Closing date is midnight (that’s 00:00 hours, 12 am on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning) on Wednesday 22 March 2017 (GMT). The winner will be announced afterwards.
This is a paid post in collaboration with Love Food Hate Waste, although all thoughts and opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me to do what I love: mess up my kitchen and share recipe stories.
Image source: Shutterstock.
Review: Higgidy & the Beauty of Imperfection
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Thanks for the tips! I never knew that temperature varied in the fridge! Going to order a thermometer now and rearrange my fridge x
Planing our meals and stopped doing weekly shopping! Going few times a week but picking up just what we need 🙂
Just make sure we use everything that needs to be eaten and buy things that last or can be frozen if they won’t be eaten straight away.
Do your menu and shop daily to use what you already have and minimise your stocks
Only buy what is needed, plan meals carefully, use tuppaware
I try to use extra bits of veg up with our meals, or chuck them in a soup x
Never underestimate the power of freezer! I always move any leftover food in the fridge to the freezer.
Always take a list with you to the supermarket, and remain as focused as possible on it. If necessary, allow for some additions, but attempt to stay as true to it as possible, thus cutting out any unwanted and surplus foodstuffs that’ll go to waste!
We try and plan meals and use up any leftovers in meals on a following day
I always try to check the fridge and cupboards before going to the supermarket to avoid duplicating food we already have – especially things like tomatoes and lettuce which go off so quickly
We use a food planner and make sure we don’t buy too much fresh. We also make a soup once a week with any veggies that need using up and any food that is leftover that can’t be used the next day is frozen
i normally freeze meat if it is coming up to its sell by date and any veg that is also coming up to sell by date i will make veg soup out of it x
We bulk buy in advance, and plan our meals. Any leftovers we give to either the dog or the chickens.
Do a weekly sweep of the fridge and try and plan a meal from it. or make asoup – sometimes trns out really well!
any left over food is normally frozen in this house and used for another day, if its something that cant be kept then we tend to give it to my daughter who lives down the road with our grandson to save her cooking too
I bought a simple meal planner from Asda and it’s helped so much, I now only buy what I know I will use
I always cook extra to put in the freezer to prevent wasting food x
Buy food for the week and plan.. if ive got anything left over i do a mix and match meal on a friday
Plan ahead what we’re going to eat so the fresh ingredients can be used up in different meals.
Plan some meals. Use up fresh foods such as fruit and vegetables. Fiancé eats fresh fruit frequently, so none goes to waste. Whilst we try to regularly have a variety of vegetables, and do our best to make use of all the fresh vegetables we have within our home. We do enjoy eating out on occasions. Also eat at relatives when invited, so aim to have used up our own fresh foodstuffs, rather than overstock. Sometimes attend Events where some refreshments are provided, try to take account of Events coming up when shopping, so as to avoid overstocking.
freezing what ever i can – making sure meat is portioned up first though not kept in original packaging
use leftovers for bubble and squeak
To make sure there is as little food waste as possible I plan ahead, I write a list of the food we need. However sometimes there is still some food left over so I often put leftovers into the fridge or freezer and make it into a brand new meal the next day. My son loves this and often helps me.
I like to buy just what I know I’m going to eat that week. But I must admit, I’m a sucker for the £1 bins lol and ends up with more than I went for
meal plan for the week and stick to it
We buy food when it is needed & don’t stray for unneeded food bits!
plan meals and write notes and only buy what you can use
I make a list for everything that I need, and don’t sway from the list. I always buy loose fruit and vegetables so that I just buy what I need, and any left over meat I either freeze or use to feed the dogs with that day.
I’ve been single for quite a few years & have experienced a lot of food waste in the past. I now only buy fresh food when I need it & have found that shopping more often is the only way to prevent waste.
I turn what I can into soup as they are very forgiving, and then I freeze whatever else I can .x
I like to plan my meals for the week to reduce waste.
It also helps with sticking to a food budget.
I batch cook and make meals into portions so I can either pop them in the fridge or freezer for when I want to eat them… Sometimes I just make plain meat mixes that i can add stuff to to make other recipes such as mince beef that Can turn into chilli or cottage pie.
I find meal planning for the week, is the best way to reduce waste!!
I freeze whatever I don’t use, like beans and bread.
i’d say plan your meals in advance & make only what you need, if you do have leftovers freeze them
I prepare in advance
I prepare in advance 🙂 x
we bought a 5 column calendar for 4 people, in the 5th column we list expiry dates of food to make sure its used on or before the date or moved to the freezer
I make a meal plan for each week before i go shopping! It helps 🙂
Thanks for the giveaway x
make a list for shopping so i dont overbuy and waste food
planning meals is the best way to save on waste, I’ve also invested in some good plastic tubs so I can freeze or store what ever we don’t eat to be eaten later. As I’m home every day at lunch time, you’ll often find me snacking on the left overs from last nights dinner as well as my baby girl.
We bought a chest freezer so we could freeze leftovers and make sure that we were stocked up on advanced meals that we prepared
I always freeze leftovers to use at a later date
I plan meals for the week ahead so buy just what I need. I also batch cook and freeze home cooked meals .
I try and plan ahead and when I make too much, I freeze leftovers for another day.
i try to plan meals out before doing the weeks shopping then know what im having each day
I freeze any leftovers and when there is enough use to make meals ( sometimes a strange assortment)
I plan meals in advance, and get food delivered from supermarket. That means I only buy what I need and don’t get tempted to buy things I don’t really need.
I buy little and often , besides the fact it get so me walking to my local shopping center regularly and keeps me fit , it also means less waste . I tend to plan meals on what I have in fridge/cupboard so not to buy extra and I’ll cook and freeze o save time as a busy single mum of four x
I try to plan my weeks meals, and I check my cupboards and freezer before I shop, that why I only buy what I need
I write a meal planner fir the week so I know what ingredients we need and we also save any leftovers to take to work the next day for lunch x
I try to freeze leftovers and always recycle
I write a list of exactly what meals we will eat through the week so only get that food that we need and that we will eat
I love making more than necessary and than freezing the leftovers to have ready meals for days.
I try to only buy what I need, and if I have not used it, if possible I freeze it and have another day.
I tend to just make sure I don’t overcook, say if i’m cooking pasta, I can always make more if I really need to
leftovers go in the freezer, or in sarnies or the doggy gets them 😀
I use any leftover up in my lunches for work the next day or if I dont fancy it ill pop it in the freezer for when I do
I plan my meals for 6 days a week and then on the 7th day use up any leftovers in a meal
I do regular small shops so I don’t waste to much food. I also freeze leftovers.
I freeze lots I always make soup out of what ever I have left in the fridge and freeze with label on
I bulk cook and freeze, which helps to reduce food waste. I am also known to be adventurous with omelettes. A great way to use up bits from the fridge
I make meal plans each week so that we only buy what we need
I stick to the shopping list and plan in advance – also any ‘spare’ food is an excuse to invite family to dinner
Always freeze and label!
Freeze leftovers, use all veggie scrabs for veggie stock. Only throw stuff out if it smells funny!
I plan my meals around what food I have in stock and what needs using first.
Feed the dog leftovers if able
I try to use up any leftover food – make soups, bubble and squeak, have it the day after.
If you have any leftover potatoes and/or veg, don’t throw it out. Once cool, cover and store in the fridge until the next day, when you can put it all together with some seasoning and make tasty Bubble and Squeak or something similar depending on the ingredients.
Only buy what we need for the meals for that week!
I’m very careful when making and buying to ensure there is little waste.
If I have any food left over I freeze it or put it in the fridge to use up next day
I think one of the biggest ways of reducing waste is simply being aware of how much you eat. I use leftovers constantly- but some food is not leftover material! There’s not much you can do with already cooked spaghetti after all. I think carefully about how much we need and plan accordingly- factor in leftovers, etc. I measure our everything that I need even if most people do it by handful etc. Then loads of experimentation with leftovers is a big one- bones for stock, using sites where you search by ingredient to find the recipes etc, and being experimental! It’s lead me to trying out vegetable cakes (not a fan of any I’ve had – beetroot was the worst for me), homemade cereal bars and cuisine from around the world (I just used some leftover chicken in a nice Thai dish)
Always go through the fridge and make a meal plan of what is in there so nothing gets wasted before going shopping!
I always check use by dates and make sure those items with the shortest dates get used first.
freezing leftovers is good for avoiding waste, but to be honest myself and hubby have huge appetites so there isn’t usually anything left!
I use facebook groups to encourage me to buy less food and use waste with receipies and tips. I buy yellow stickered food and bulk cook meals and freeze. I love creating new recipies from left overs. I make all my own meat and vegetarian stock – the Veg stock is made from all my veggie peelings.
We meal plan and only buy the ingredients we need! i detest throwing food away…ever!
Generally we stick to a shopping list and freeze as much as possible to prevent waste. I separate loaves of bread into halves and freeze so we only have a small amount out at a time too 🙂
We have a weekly meal planner, this focusses our food shopping list to items we’ll actually use.
we re-use product or meals cooked form the night before in our salads for the next day or sarnies
Meal planning in advance so we are only buying the fresh food we will actually eat.
I use up leftovers by having things like bubble and squeak – yummy.
We always make a weekly menu and shop according to that. if we end up with leftover veg that needs using up I’ll make an end of the week soup for lunch on monday. I love seeing my fridge empty up over the week knowing that all the food will be used 🙂
I like to freeze bread on day of purchase as it tends to stay fresh when it’s defrosted. So keep the bag from your previous loaf so you can use it to split your new loaf – half to keep out and half to freeze. That way you never end up with stale loaf that needs throwing away.
freeze as much as I can and make sure I review what is in the fridge regularly
freezing leftovers
Freeze what I can smoothie fruit
Making a lasagne , bolognaise or pasta sauce I find is a really good way to use up any vegetables that are about to go south – you can shove anything in those without anyone noticing!
I try to only cook what I need. I also batch cook and freeze
Well the main one I do is pre plan meals so I only buy what I need
We meal plan, and only buy what we need!
If any leftover I put it in the freezer and use it another time or I use leftovers to make other dishes like bubble and squeak..lovely with a cheese sauce and a poached egg on top
I’m careful when I’m shopping, so I only buy what I need for the meals that week. I make sure that I cook with ingredients with the shortest dates first.
Freeze everything. My best investment ever was a chest freezer so I make meals and freeze what doesn’t get eaten first time. Then we’ve always got free, healthy ready meals on standby for when we are short of time or too tired to cook.
I try not to over buy food, and use up leftovers as much as possible.
Only buy what I need and check the date life of items in the fridge
I simply buy only what I need, I stick to my list!!
Use the butcher, fish and deli counters in supermarkets to buy the exact quantities you need whenever the pre-packed quantities are not suitable for your plans.
we always stick to a list and pre-plan meals for the week. so we have very little waste
I have a veg box delivered every Tuesday, so I sort out the veg in the fridge on Monday night and use up all the odds and ends in soup.
we meal plan so that we only buy the food that we need
The best way to prevent food waste is not to buy too much chilled food in the first place and it’s a good idea to eat chilled food in date order.
Freeze leftovers in portion size or use them for lunch the next day
I check sell by dates when buying, so that I have as long a date as possible. I also try not to impulse buy, as I find iI am likely to over buy if I don’t have a proper plan.
we only cook what we need, and if there are any leftovers, we have them the next night
Keep an eye on sell by dates, and freeze items if necessary.
I only buy what I need for a day at a time unless it’s a joint or a chicken which I will cook to give me three meals.
We have a meal plan so we dont create waste, using left overs in following days meal
I like to cook in large amounts & freeze some in portion sized amounts. Our freezer is really small though, so its not the easiest thing to do
I always plan ahead and if something is at risk of going off I will freeze it
Check food in the fridge regularly and make a note of things coming towards the end of their date. I try not over buy but sometimes those supermarket offers are tempting.
I always make a shopping list before doing the weekly shop and make sure I stick to it rigidly – this way I avoid excess by just buying what we need 🙂
Batch cook and freeze!
WE BUY LITTLE AND OFTEN TO TRY AND MINIMISE WASTE AS IF THE FRIDGE IS TOO FULL WE TEND TO FORGET SOME ITEMS ARE THERE OR HAVE EXPIRED
Plan meals, use grocery lists, and avoid impulse buys. This way, you’re less likely to buy things you don’t need and that you’re unlikely to actually eat.
We plan all meals for the week on Sunday night and stick to it religiously!
Never buy salad in without knowing its going to be eaten as part of a meal.
I plans meals out in advance to stop waste
We have a meal plan and a freezer list which we update as we use things. I know it sounds a bit overkill but otherwise I forget what we have in! Also helps with planning a shopping list.
We freeze a lot which helps. Mainly planning our meals so we don’t buy things we don’t use. If we plan on making something we will sometimes make bigger portions so we have enough to freeze to make extra meals.
To be honest there is rarely a piece of food that goes to waste in my house simply because of my cat and my dog 😉 I also like preparing meals that taste just as good cold as they do hot eg. pizza….which I love eating from the fridge later.
Keep leftovers in plastic boxes to use the next day
I never buy what i am not needing-every week i write a list of what i have in my freezer and cupboards,do a weeks meal plan then only buy what i need to make up the meals-that way im not spending money i dont need to or wasting food.
Tip organize the fridge by sell buy date. The food with the shortest sell by date at the front. So you use it up first.
Don’t buy too much and freeze things before it’s too late
i use a lot of frozen fruit and veg and freeze any leftovers
always plan ahead and freeze anything not used
freeze. I will freeze almost anything in single portion sizes. ALso, once a week, my husband and I have a leftover lunch, and finish off all the “odd” stuff in the fridge.
I freeze a lot of products right away. As for veg, we plan our meals for the week and try to eat plenty so that we never waste any.
We as a family save all the unused veg to make soups and fruit to make smoothies to drink
My tip is to freeze leftovers and use bread bags as freezer bags and clothes pegs as clippers
We meal plan every week! By buying just what we need for the meals we’re eating, we reduce the risk of wasting too much food.
I meal plan so that I only buy what I plan to cook, I also freeze leftovers for another day and keep a list on the outside of the freezer with meals to help my meal planning
i do meal shops daily i literally have next to no food waste and i eat what ai fancy on the day too!
we only buy exactly what we need and never overbuy or get tempted by anything – we hardly throw food away!
We really aren’t good at eating leftovers the next day. They never seem to appeal. So I’ve got clever at cooking just the right amounts and knowing what ingredients can be frozen and how. It’s amazing how many things you can freeze that you wouldn’t expect. Then it’s a case of keeping an eye on what you have in the freezer so it can be used up in future meals.
I only buy/cook the amount I need per meal – I am pretty good at estimating and we rarely have any food waste at all
when buying bread we always freeze it straight after purchase, so bread does not go stale before use
I try to cook in larger batches, so Soup can be frozen in individual portions, lasagne/pasta bake can be placed in a foil container, sealed, labelled & frozen. I think shopping more frequently also helps cut down on waste. Supermarkets selling BOGOF items certainly doesn’t help the matter!
We plan our meals in advance, and only buy what we need for the week.
Use leftovers in next day meals e.g. leftover veg can be used in a bubble & squeak dish
I check food on a daily basis that is in the fridge to see what needs using up, if it needs using up that day and if I can’t rustle up a meal with it, I will google for a recipe for those ingredients, also will freeze food if I have cooked too much
I always check through what I’ve got in the fridge, cupboards and freezer before writing my shopping list. That way I can plan to use anything that is nearing it’s use by date and stop myself from buying anything I don’t need
I try to buy little and often as I need things and I freeze food as well.
make your freezer your friend, I cook from scratch and often have food left over so freeze whats left and have it in a week or two for dinner or for lunch
If i end up with leftover food i always freeze it or see what i can add to it to make it different for the next day 🙂
Meal plan and shop online so I’m not tempted to buy extras.
I avoid impulse-buying when I’m at the supermarket, and also I make things (like lasagne, fish pie, cottage pie) that I can split into portions and freeze for future meals.
I honestly rarely waste food, unless I’m too ill to cook and eat it. We freeze an awful lot of stuff, whether as ingredients or as leftovers. I do check what we have in before shopping too.
I always have a list when shopping and food plan for every day. No waste as portions are the right size too.
Shop once a week and batch cook -only buy pre packed bags of fruit veg if you know they are going to be used – usually cheaper to pick what you want
I keep my fridge nice and cold. The food seems to last much longer.
Only buy the minimum of what you need that way you won’t buy to much and waste it. Also don’t be to adventurous with meals , stick to what you know and soups are a great way to use leftovers.
Put leftovers either in the fridge or freezer. Eat them them the next day if possible,
I try to use left over food and cook another meal. It is surprising how far food will go when you add bits and pieces together.
I try to freeze anything that can be and also measure out portions when cooking
A new one for this week is having random picnic items that we wouldn’t normally have just because the food needs using up! It has led to some interesting variety and smug satisfaction!
our fridge is always empty lol
I pre plan my meals so I can incorporate any leftover ingredients with the next days meal
freeze what can be frozen and try to plan 2 meals out of what cant
I always plan what I am going to cook then make a shopping list & stick to it 🙂 x
I ALWAYS BUY JUST ENOUGH TO LAST ME THE WEEK, HENCE I NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY
I often use random leftover ingredients such as meats, cheese and so on to bulk up a pasta sauce or put them in an omelette rather than thinking to bin it, I also try to go shopping with a few meals planned and stick to only those ingredients rather than just going shopping and buying what takes me fancy.
To use up vegetables a make a big pan of soup and freeze some.
Take leftovers to work the next day for lunch. Don’t buy 2 for 1 deals just to ‘save’ money.
Tupperware everything – it can be expensive to buy the tupperware but it’ll save you in the long run.
Also always keep asparagus in a glass of water
I make sure that I plan my meals for the week
we batch cook and freeze alot of stuff also saves cooking sometimes
I always try to freeze portions so there are no leftovers or wastage.
I try to prep meals in advance and keep them in little containers in the freezer and defrost when I need 🙂
Always use up leftovers, like left over roast chicken you can put in a pasta dish the day after!
I only buy and make enough and refrigerate leftovers
we make a shopping list and don’t veer off of it so we only have what we’ll use
I make sure I use up my leftovers by either freezing them or using them in another recipe.
Use lots of tupperware and plan carefully
When I am cooking our meals I always cook extra to put in the freezer so as not to waste any and save time cooking another day