We are all guilty of it, unaware or not, but our actions are resulting in record numbers of food wastage. In the UK every year, we are on average binning over £13 billion pounds worth of waste, this unnecessary amount of waste could have been reused or redistributed to those in need. This alarming amount of food waste accumulates for 7.5 tonnes of waste, waste that authorities say was safe to eat.
Households across the country may feel that times are harder with the cost of living rising all the time, yet the shocking evidence of such a large amount of food going to waste, proves otherwise. Out of this shocking 7.5 tonne worth of waste, 4.4 tonnes worth was deemed as safe to eat! So why are households feeling the urge to bin edible food?
Many of the food that finds its way into bins across the country, is unwanted food, circumstances where too much food was prepared. By households learning how to proportion their meals correctly and by learning to store those unwanted ingredients, you could turn them into a scrumptious dish in the future. Reducing over half the amount of food waste that you create over the course of the year. If the sheer urgency of the amount of food that we are wasting has not yet sunk in, the amount each household wastes in binned foods adds up to an alarming £450.
It is not just the figure of spare cash that you could add to your wallet every year that should become an incentive to start cutting food waste, but more importantly on the health of the planet. Food that has worked its way from the bin into a land fill does not just decay and erode into the soil, no it creates greenhouse gases, gases that damage the ozone layer. A household’s yearly worth of food waste can create a staggering 19 million tonnes of greenhouses gases in its lifetime.
Until we start to tackle the challenge of curbing our food waste, we should all challenge ourselves to work harder to preserve food for longer, while thinking up some exciting and riveting recipes to reuse leftover ingredients instead of placing them into the bin. But by also correctly storing ingredients and learning to proportion dishes correctly, you can cut your food wastage, while creating delicious, hearty meals that the whole family will love.
Another top way to curb your food wastage is through using the correct storage, keeping your food fresher for longer. The Glass Clip Top Jar is ideal for storing dry ingredients such as pasta, sugar and rice, while the Sistema Tritan Canisters are an air tight option to storing left over ingredients while you store them in the fridge. This clear, strong and air tight container can keep food safe and secure whilst keeping them fresh, the Tritan containers are also freezer safe, perfect for storing long term.
Both these suggested forms of storage are fantastic if you are needing a storage solution to keep your food fresh long term, but what about short term? If you are planning to turn your left overs into a new, delicious dish that the whole family will love, chances are you are needing inspiration.. Take a look at our recipe pages where we offer a selection of easy to follow suggestions that you can be confident that even the fussiest of eater will enjoy.
From bubble and squeak to a one pan chicken with left over potatoes and spinach from your Sunday Roast, a deliciously quick and easy midweek dish, you can turn your left overs into a first class dish that is full of flavour with every mouth full.
For more dinner inspiration and recipes that will get you hungry and ready for dinner, visit our recipe page.