Throwing food away

Hapless_2

Bubble and squeak...yuuuum.

DKLS

I used to waste loads of food, by doing a "big" shop, About 2/3 of it would end up in the bin, Now I buy only what I need for the day or at most for two days at a time.

Currently my bare fridge contains:
1 Bottle of Mumm
1 Bottle of Cava
Milk
Butter
Plain Yoghurt


Leftovers always go in the bin due to hygiene reasons.

jennybb

Interesting thread.

Before using this site I was living over budget. For years we had two good salaries and didn't need to think about what was spent. I am too ashamed to admit how much I spent on groceries - mainly because a lot was wasted - which goes against how I was brought up. Anyway, in recent years we relaocated and have a lot less cash coming in and an extra mouth to feed. I wanted to drop my working hours last year and something had too give. Personally, I am concerned about where my meat comes from, prefer local and organic fruit and veg. I don't want to compromise on that so it means being resourceful. I've started having a veg box and I now meal plan around what will go off first. I have got to a point where I really hate to waste food - it is a precious resource as someone said before. I also get a real kick out of foraging the hedgerows and preserving stuff. We eat well and probably still spend more than a lot of people can - but I try to use everything.

Not sure that I fancy a brocolli and mayo butty - although I won't knock it until I try it :rotfl:

Off to make some breadcrumbs

Hapless_2

I always freeze mash left over in the pan, ideal for bubble and squeak, potato cakes, corned beef hash etc.

Cullumpster

I must admit i couldn't take anything off of someones plate i would feel physically sick :eek:

i save other things like potatos IF they have been in another container but scraping plates is my ultimate nightmare, well one of them, wasps and thunderstorms being the other 2 but hey ho who's counting

conradmum

Just a quick word of warning to those of you saving rice - you can get quite a serious form of food poisoning from reheated rice - so please be careful!

We're much the same as others. Rarely have anything left over on the plates to save but anything in pots will be saved.

I keep meaning to try the freezing veggies before they go off to make soup idea so will now go and put a tupperware container in the freezer!

I would be a lot better with not wasting food if it weren't for dh. He hates anything that's been left out for an hour or in the fridge for a couple of days, so sometimes I have to throw something because I know I can't eat it all myself. He also buys things, eats a bit and leaves the rest to go off. Drives me round the bend sometimes! :rolleyes:

daisyroots_2

Thinking of this issue, I suddenly remembered a woman from Angola, (one of the driest countries in Africa), who stayed with us for a month in 1989. When helping me clear the table after dinner, she carefully put the water jug - still half full - into the fridge. When she saw me remove it and empty it down the sink - explaining that I'd wash the jug and we'd have fresh water for each meal - her look of horror and bewilderment really humbled me. For the rest of her stay, we emptied the water jug out in the garden, a compromise which satisfied us both.

I'm not advocating anyone in the UK should never throw water away (especially after the summer we've had:eek:) but just in case I sounded too sanctimonious - what constitutes waste depends so much on where you're from and how you grew up - as the responses to this thread really illustrate.

Austin_Allegro

Interesting thread. I think the main reason food gets wasted is simply laziness - people just can't be bothered to do things with bits of food when it's so much easier to just bin it. People are working stressful jobs and for many people, any kind of fiddling about with food is considered a waste of time.

People also have funny ideas about 'hygiene' and seem to think things go 'off' if they are kept even just overnight. This is part of our modern fixation with health and hygiene, which is mainly hyped by chemical product manufacturers trying to sell us stuff.

I do also think there's an element of snobbery involved also. I sometimes go on holiday on cheap last minute deals to all-inclusive hotels. Buffet meals usually consist of meat which is used in ingenious ways throughout the week, just as people used to do in this country. Countries like Greece still remember these frugal ways. However, I have often heard British holidaymakers complain about 'leftovers' or 'the same meat' being recooked the next day, as if it was something that only poor people do. What do they expect the chefs to do with it? I do think there is a certain type of British person who was perhaps brought up in relative poverty but is now well off and therefore looks down on thrift as being something for poor people.

thriftlady_2

Austin_Allegro wrote: »

People also have funny ideas about 'hygiene' and seem to think things go 'off' if they are kept even just overnight. This is part of our modern fixation with health and hygiene, which is mainly hyped by chemical product manufacturers trying to sell us stuff.

.

Couldn't agree more. I think we've become paranoid about food going off.
I bought some vinegar to use in my damson chutney the other day. The vinegar had a use by date of Sept 08 on it. Vinegar is a preservative for heaven's sake. I fully expect my chutney (I made a lot) to still be around and yummy long past Sept 08.

Cazzdevil

If anyone saw "Dumped" last night, the eco guy on there reckoned that the average person in the UK throws away almost £500 worth of food a year. That's almost my entire years food budget!!!

The boyfriend and I were on holiday in the Lakes last week with friends and they were having bacon and sausages most mornings for brekkie (turkey rashers & veggie sausages for me though), and on one particular day there were about 5 rashers of bacon left at the end and one of the lads just put them in the bin!!!!!! CRIMINAL!!! OH would have made a blt for taking with us for lunch or something...