Sponsored by
Leftover logic will turn waste into tasty grub
IT'S all too easy to think that the contents of your cupboard can't make a meal, and that the only place for them is the bin.
IT'S all too easy to think that the contents of your cupboard can't make a meal, and that the only place for them is the bin.But it's that kind of thinking which means that 4.1 million tonnes of avoidable food waste is thrown away by UK consumers every year.
This food – which equates to one-third of all bought food – will mostly end up in landfill.
Of this, you would perhaps assume that the more exotic items which have been bought on a whim are those that get chucked out – the fennel which you bought because it was in season and locally grown, for example, but couldn't for the life of you think how to cook.
No so – it is the more common food products which end up thrown away.
Number one in the top 10 of leftovers is the humble loaf of bread, and an astonishing seven million slices are thrown out daily.
Closely following this on the leftover list are salad, bananas, potatoes, cooked sliced meats, milk, vegetables, cheese, apples and yoghurts.
With many of us now feeling the pinch of the credit crunch, the issue of food waste, which was for a long time seen as just an environmental problem, has now become a financial one, too.
Who can justifying chucking out a significant proportion of the contents of their fridge in the face of rising food prices?
The issue has now become so prominent that even Gordon Brown has decided to get involved.
He recently urged everyone to waste less food, suggesting that we could save up to 8 a week by making our shopping go further.
Of course, while it may be today's big issue, the idea of trying to use all the food you have is nothing new.
Speak to anyone who can remember rationing, and you will encounter some pretty creative cooks who knew that every item they had was a potential ingredient.
But for many modern cooks, having the knowledge and creativity to produce meals from the bare minimum of ingredients is a challenge.
Luckily, supermarket chain Sainsbury's is launching a Love Your Leftovers campaign, to help us do just that.
The campaign will launch on Saturday in the Bretton store, where there will be recipe cards and information on hand.
Store manager Simon Cross said: "Love Your Leftovers is a great way to help our customers reduce their impact on the environment by using up their leftover food in new and original ways.
"It's bound to benefit our customers' pockets, too, as using leftovers will help to make the weekly food shop go that little bit further."
But it's not just in our homes where food can get wasted, as shops also have leftovers.
Nationally, Sainsbury's is trying to reduce its impact on the environment by making positive use of food near or on its sell-by date, by either reducing it, using it in the staff canteen or donating it to local charities.
Locally, Project Hosannah, which operates out of St Mark's Hall, in Lincoln Road, for the benefit of homeless people, and Hamerton Zoo, near Sawtry, has benefited from this scheme with regular food donations from the Bretton store.
EASY RECIPES
These tasty recipes, put together by Sainsbury's, prove that you don't need an extensive ingredient list to put together a healthy meal.
SECRET SOUP
Soup might not be top of your wish-list with the current sunny weather, but come the autumn this hearty broth could be just the thing to use up a range of ingredients while giving you a healthy meal.
Try grating two courgettes, two carrots and a sweet potato.
Add these to a large saucepan with a little olive oil, a chopped red onion and a chopped red pepper and cook gently until soft.
Add a pinch of dried oregano, a bunch of chopped fresh basil, two packs of premium chopped tomatoes and 500ml of vegetable or chicken stock and simmer for about one hour before whizzing with a hand blender for a warming soup packed with goodness.
Great served in a mug with crusty bread.
SPECIAL SAUSAGE CASEROLE
Try throwing together an easy warming supper.
Place low fat pork sausages in a casserole dish with diced potatoes, sliced carrots and onions.
Add some baked beans and a tin of vegetable soup.
Cook at 180c/ gas mark 4 for about two hours.
SCRUMMY APPLE ROSTI
Try peeling and grating a few apples and a Vivaldi potato, then squeeze dry in a tea towel and tip into a bowl.
Stir in a little flour, a beaten egg and seasoning, then lightly fry each side for four to five minutes in olive oil, shaping into rounds in the pan.
Ideal served with watercress and a poached egg.
CHEESY ROAST VEG
Got a few bits of various vegetables left over, but not quite enough to use on their own? Try this tasty way of using up what you have left.
Try roasting a selection of your left-over vegetables in a little olive oil.
Top with grated mature farmhouse Cheddar, then return to the oven until the cheese is melted and golden.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.