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Using up the Christmas Stash now that the New Year is here

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Just wondered what you do with all those remaining chocolates, nuts, nibbles, cheese, booze, etc from your Christmas stash? Do you carry on using it up through January or throw it away because the diet must start on New Year's Day?

Heard a "nutritionist" on the radio the other day who said to chuck the whole lot in the bin :eek: What a disgusting waste of expensive food! Although I know I could do with getting into shape, I will be slowly munching my way through the stash til it's all gone and only intend on worrying about it then:D

Interested to know what others do.

MLC
Be not so busy making a living that you forget to make a life
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Comments

  • I share your problem! I bought (and baked) so much stuff we will probably still be eating it in the summer! I have frozen what I can eg HM mince pies and tarts, chocolate biscuits, stollen bites, individual slices of Xmas cake etc. The blocks of cheese will be grated and frozen in a tub to use in sandwiches, toasties, omelettes, topping pizzas, etc. Anything to get things out of harm's way!! That still leaves unopened bags of nuts, After Eights, choc coated fruit. etc waiting to tempt me and I wondered about adding them to the Salvation Army collecting trolly in Sainsbury's. Or would they just want proper foodstuff?
    "If you dream alone it will remain just a dream. But if we all dream together it will become reality"
  • chunkychocky
    chunkychocky Posts: 1,085 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    My extraordinarily slim children will continue to eat it all until it has all been used up. They are both slim as they know when to stop eating (unlike me) and have been pacing themselves all Christmas so we haven't even started on the Christmas pudding and still have lots of mince pies and a small amount of stollen.
  • Chris25
    Chris25 Posts: 12,918 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic I've been Money Tipped!
    I find that it's the New Year, not Christmas, when I put on weight because of trying to use up all the leftovers :D

    I do make use of the freezer though for cheese and other goodies.

    I add the salted nuts to chinese dishes or foods like cauliflower cheese; unsalted nuts I can use in cakes or muesli, or I freeze them, broken down to add to something later or put them out for the birds.

    Nibbles like twiglets or savoury puffs can be crumbled on top of cauliflower or macaroni cheese.

    I add Christmas pud or stale cake to fruit pies, bread & butter puddings etc.

    If chocolates aren't used, I'll give them to friends and if they don't want them, they get ditched - if they haven't already been eaten, then they're the ones that none of us like!
  • sm1971
    sm1971 Posts: 121 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    We're making a donation to our local food bank (I checked first that they take 'treat' foods as well as 'normal' food) and they seemed very grateful. I have added a few tins of soup, etc, too just to start the new year on a good turn.
  • As well as munching my way through it with lots of help from the kids, although they have tons of their own chocolate to munch through as well, I'll also be meal planning chinese dishes with nuts and cheese in various pasta dishes and toasties. The Christmas cake and mince pies will gradually disappear via DH's lunch box, the leftover chocs we don't like will be sent into DH's work and the Christmas pud will stay in the cupboard til next Christmas, when DH will finally eat it around the use by date in 2015! Good idea about donating to Sally Army and food bank, but unfortunately in our case most of it's already been opened.
    Be not so busy making a living that you forget to make a life
  • Toonie
    Toonie Posts: 1,154 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    This year I don't really have much left, one box of chocolates and a couple packs of nice biscuits so they will simply go in the cupboard (long dates on all) and get used when I've got visitors or go to visit someone else. I spent Christmas with friends so we split the shopping at their house and they kept the leftovers as they kindly took me in for Christmas.

    Normally I take things to the local food bank (my local one love to have the occasional treat to put in bags for people, especially for families) or give to friends when visiting.
    Grocery budget in 2023 £2279.18/£2700

    Grocery budget in 2022 £2304.76/£2400
    Grocery budget in 2021 £2107.86/£2200
    Grocery budget in 2020 £2193.02/£2160

    Saving for Christmas 2023 #15 £ 90/ £365
  • pleasedelete
    pleasedelete Posts: 2,291 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    odd question. We have a large number of nuts in shells. My brother says he takes them to the local park for the squirrels. Does this seem sensible. We have 1 squirrel in the garden and a few in the road but loads in the park. Walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds

    My OH took the chocolates and sweets to work
    June challenge £100 a day £3161.63 plus £350 vouchers plus £108.37 food/shopping saving

    July challenge £50 a day. £ 1682.50/1550

    October challenge £100 a day. £385/£3100
  • Chris25
    Chris25 Posts: 12,918 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic I've been Money Tipped!
    odd question. We have a large number of nuts in shells. My brother says he takes them to the local park for the squirrels. Does this seem sensible. We have 1 squirrel in the garden and a few in the road but loads in the park. Walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds

    Mk


    oh yes, I put out nuts in shells too - forgot about that :).

    Incidentally, with our food bank, the food must have a minimum of 6 months left before expiry date ends. But the 'soup run' always appreciates things like cakes that can be given out during the week.
  • purple45
    purple45 Posts: 2,473 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    We dealt with it this year by not buying the stuff in the first place! We plotted the whole of Christmas in fine detail and just picked out a couple of treats that we fancied. Harder for those with families or Christmas guests but it worked great for us. Leftover cheese is being used up in the daily sandwiches.
    Many thanks to everyone who posts competitions and works so hard to provide all the answers!
    Best wins this year so far: £100 Hobbycraft Voucher, £50 cash, GoPro Camera
  • Linda32
    Linda32 Posts: 4,385 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    purple45 wrote: »
    We dealt with it this year by not buying the stuff in the first place!



    Just what I was thinking, ;) sorry to say but I thought this was all about money saving. Maybe this sort of thread just be bumped to the top sometime around 21st December this year ;):D


    As for suggestion, think outside the box. I always buy frozen sausage rolls. Unfortunately they only come in bags of 50 :eek: So I cook 6-8 at a time and eat them. I've been using them as part of packed lunches.


    Perhaps the cheeses could be used this way with crackers? If it lasts for a couple of weeks that would save on what is normally bought for lunches.


    HTH
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