The #NoWasteFoodChallenge Round Up & Feb Linky

Helping to prevent food waste one delicious recipe at a time.

Did you know that more than 10 million tonnes of food is thrown away in the UK every year, and half of that comes straight from our kitchens. Our kitchens – yours and mine.

The No Waste Food Challenge was created five years ago to help raise awareness of this issue, and to create a community platform to share recipe tips and tricks to help us all prevent food waste in the home.

How do you prevent food waste in your kitchen? Let me know in the comments and be in for a chance at winning a £25 Amazon Gift Voucher!

In the meantime, feast your eyes on these 21 inspiring recipes shared by my fellow food bloggers in the #nowastefoodchallenge monthly linky. Soups, sweets, quick dinners – we’ve got you covered! We’ve even got some reader recipe photos and tips too!

First up, Charlotte over Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen shows us just how we can utilise our freezer to help prevent food waste and to save us pennies too. This gorgeous Carrot and Coriander Soup is made entirely from frozen produce! Ok, not entirely, as she swirled in a little bit of soured cream and some fresh coriander as a garnish, but you get the idea.

Leftover ginger cake? Use it as the base of a delectable Winter Ginger & Pear Trifle like Kate the Gluten Free Alchemist did! She had a few sponges left over after trying to perfect her gluten free ginger cake recipe and so she used some up by layering it with a gorgeous pear and brown sugar compote, a generous drizzle of Cointreau and layers of cream and custard. Best trifle ever, she says! Perfect for these winter months.

Shaheen over at Allotment 2 Kitchen had made too much savoury chestnut, rainbow carrot and lentil cake (essentially a colourful upside down nut roast – it’s really pretty, pop on over to her blog to check it out!) leftover from the Christmas holidays. Iinstead of throwing it out she wrapped little bits of it up en croute in puff pastry to make some light lunch bites. This could be done with any sort of savoury nut loaf and would be perfect for packed lunches or winter picnics!

Ok, I confess that leftover sweets don’t generally tend to be a problem in our house, but if you do find yourself in such a situation, Margot over at Coffee & Vanilla has a genius idea: make chocolate bark studded with leftover sweets! You could even break up the bits of chocolate, put them in clear cellophane bags, decorate with a ribbon and gift them to friends and family (or perhaps even for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day!).

Are there spotty old brown bananas lurking in your fruit bowl? Try this Healthier Banana Layered Flapjack-Crumble Cake from Kate, the Gluten Free Alchemist. “Being a bit overdosed on decadence after the seasonal binge,” Kate explains, “this is a healthier treat. Full of good stuff, it passes for a sustaining breakfast as much as it does a sweet snack. Doused in custard and served warm or cold, it also makes an incredible dessert.”

Bought more fruit than you need? Why not whip up a fruit salad like Joanna did from Green Gourmet Giraffe. It’s the middle of summer right now where Joanna lives in Australia, so her orange soaked maple syrup sweetened fruit salad went down a treat for New Years Eve, especially served with a scoop of ice cream. Joanna says, “I took some leftover fruit salad to my parents house because we had so much leftover.  We ate it with stollen, cheese and crackers, and some watermelon wedges.”

Choclette over at Tin & Thyme used up the last of the Christmas Brussels sprouts and some carrots which were very much getting past their best by date in this gorgeous Black Bean & Tomato Carrot Curry Bowl. Served with some leftover brown basmati rice this curry went down an absolute treat.

January is all about using up Christmas leftovers, explains Ness from Jibber Jabber UK. She ends up having loads of jars of mincemeat lying around because she buys them reduced in price at the supermarket (10p!), and she says they make a great substitute for dried fruit in baking. That, plus the fact once you’ve washed the jar, you’ve got a 10 p jar to use during the preserving season. Win-win! Ness has made this rather lovely Mincemeat Cake out of the contents of one of her jars.

Kat The Baking Explorer doesn’t actually drink tea, but she had a box of chai teabags in her cupboard which had been purchased some time ago for use in a cake. So, she got creative with the neglected box of tea bags and made some delicious Chai Cupcakes with Spiced Buttercream with four of the tea bags. A rather creative use for tea, I think, and I know that I am guilty of buying too many boxes of tea and then not drinking them. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe out (Vanilla chai tea I’m looking at you!).

Use the entire broccoli (the stalk and all of the florets) in this vibrant green Broccoli and Cannellini Bean Soup from Kate at The Veg Space. Nothing is wasted here!

Using frozen foods in your cooking helps prevent food waste, especially when it comes to herbs. How many times have you bought that pot of parsley from the supermarket only to throw it out a few days later because it dies as soon as you bring it home, or you forgot about the bag in the back of the fridge and it liquifies with neglect. Claire over at Foodie Quine has whipped up this colourful Refried Beans, Pepper & Corn Tacos with Avocado Cream recipe using frozen foods.

Jane over at Onions & Paper had half a bag of beansprouts sitting in the fridge needing used up (those things are notorious for going off quickly, and why is there so much in each bag?!), so she combined it with a few other bits and bobs she found and created a rather fantastic dish: Fakeaway Soft Noodles with Beansprouts. She shows us how we can use lots of ends from the fridge and make a dish more delicious than your local Chinese Takeaway at a fraction of the cost. Win!

This Perfectly Pink Pavlova with Berries & Nectarine from Kate, the Gluten Free Alchemist, brings a taste of summer to this cold winter. Meringues are always a great way to use up any leftover egg whites, and Kate’s post gives all sorts of fantastic tips to make the perfect meringue. Wouldn’t this dessert be fantastic to share on Valentine’s Day?

This month my first No Waste Food Challenge entry is a Shredded Turkey and Soba Noodle Soup recipe – to go. I used up some of the leftover roast turkey from Christmas in this soup. It may not be the prettiest of soups but I tell you it tastes something fantastic, and it’s portable too! You can pack a glass jar (which helps prevent more waste as it’s reusable) with your ingredients and just top it up with boiling water at work or out at play from a thermos.

These Tofu, Quinoa and Bean Burgers from Ema at Le Tout Coeur de Limosin are packed with protein and full of texture and bite. Spiced with cumin, oregano and a hint of chilli they can be served in a burger bun with all the trimmings. A quick and easy veggie burger for meat lovers and vegetarians alike and, Ema says, a great way of using up leftovers and odds and ends of cooked quinoa, tofu, beans and bread crumbs too.

Kate over at Veggie Desserts is passionate about reducing food waste. Her blog is filled with all sorts of creative ways to incorporate whole vegetables (stalks, peelings and all!) into delectable cakes and bakes. This month she’s made these lovely looking Hasselback Potatoes with Chilli and Lime Butter. Did you know that potatoes are the #1 most commonly thrown out food in our home kitchens? This recipe is a fab way to make use of them!

Solange over at Pebble Soup is trying to make appetising soup recipes for a neighbour who is poorly, and so she created this Winter Warmer Lettuce, Pea and Caramelised Bacon Soup, making use of a head of lettuce which has been neglected in her fridge. Solange says that the flavour of cooked lettuce does not differ vastly from its raw version, and this soup sounds like a great way to test that out! Anything with caramelised bacon on it is going to be winner in my books!

Angela from Only Crumbs Remain has used up the very last of her Christmas mincemeat in this utterly gorgeous Mincemeat & Apple Galette {Free Form Pie}. It’s very easy to forget that half jar of mincemeat in the back of the fridge behind the milk and cheese, and so she’s created this recipe as well as sharing six other blogger recipes for using up mincemeat that aren’t the traditional mincemeat pie. How do flapjacks, chocolate brownies, cupcakes or even stuffed apples grab you?

Another rather creative use of leftover mincemeat is with this Clementine and Mincemeat Drizzle Cake from Angela at Patisserie Makes Perfect. It also used up some rather tired looking clementines leftover from the festive season. Don’t you just want to jump into that photo, grab a slice and sit and enjoy it with a cuppa?

Helen over at Casa Costello uses up the last of those Christmas After Eights by jazzing up a batch of brownies. After Eight Brownies, what a great idea that is! Brownies with a gorgeous hint of minty freshness. I’m seriously considering making a batch of these today as, bizarrely enough, there is a half a packet of leftover After Eight mints in my cupboard from Christmas! I’d be happy to eat them all, but alas, anything nice sticks to my hips, so they’ve sat there ignored by the rest of my family. How?!

Last but not least here’s my Cauliflower, Bacon and Brie Soup made with the last little bit of Brie that was neglected in the fridge; something I’d bought on offer at the start of January (it was only £2 for an entire box of cheese and my family never touched it!). I’m currently trying to get rid of the Brie baby I seem to have grown over the festive period, so instead of scoffing all the cheese myself (easily done!) I made it into this rather scrummy soup to take on an outdoor adventure.

With thanks to all of my food blogging friends who have shared their fantastic recipes this month. This challenge wouldn’t be what it is without you!

This year I’ve changed things up a bit in that I’ve asked my blog readers to share their recipes and tips of what they do to help prevent food waste in the home. To my delight some of you even sent in photographs!

READER RECIPES

Chicken Vegetable Bake in Cheese Sauce using leftovers by Lattie
Turkey Pie made from leftover Christmas turkey by Angela W
Leftover Sausage Meat and Puff Pastry by Karen M
“I freeze odd bits of cheese, save them up and make my fave quiche which also used leftover pastry” Kirsti P
Lettuce Soup to use up leftover salad by Heather H
Vegetable Stew using left over turnip, carrot & potato from Tiffeny
Chow Mein using left over veg, rice and Christmas turkey by Lea V
Date & Walnut Loaf with leftover Christmasmas pudding by Bev

 

MY FAVOURITE READER TIPS FROM LAST MONTH

“Keep your peelings & cut off veggies & add to a cliplock bag you keep in the freezer. When you have enough, make up delicious fresh veggie stock!! Then start again.” – Sparklett21

“Shop when you’ve eaten, it’s amazing how a little hunger pushes up the food bill!” – Ian C

“I keep spare space in my freezer so I can pop what I won’t use in time in there. Other than that, I find the Love Food, Hate Waste really useful – I can pop in the ingredients I have and it comes up with recipe suggestions.” – Mary B

“My tip is to buy a bigger roast than needed. You can then use the remainder for sandwiches throughout the week and make a lovely beef stir fry as well. For the extra 1-2 pound spent buying a bigger joint you get a lot out of it.” – John H

“My waste prevention tip is to have invest in a deep freezer, and batch cook then freeze meals. It saves things going off and it allows you to save money because at least 1 week of the month I do no food shopping and just use food that I have in the freezer for meals.” – Sarah

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 tip 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 round up – 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 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 Sunday night/Monday morning) on Monday 27  February 2017 (GMT). The winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

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