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Kitchen and food

Waste less by cooking all you can from scratch: 

It tastes better and is better for you. We should do it as much as possible, but the catch is time. We feel we don’t have it, but making big batches of food to use later can actually save massive amounts of time planning meals,shopping and cooking. Bought food can be more expensive, high in food miles, heavily packaged and processed,There is a long list of things you can make and it’s fun trying with recipes available on the internet or from us: 

  • Yoghurt
  • Crackers
  • Breads
  • Pasta
  • Pizza dough and pastry
  • Sauces, jams, chutneys
  • Preserved and dried fruit
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • plant based milks
  • cheese
  • ice-cream
  • butter
  • kombucha and kefir
  • kimchi and sauerkraut. 

Waste less buying in bulk:

cut down on plastic packaging and shopping trips with a regular visit to your nearest bulk store. Stock up your basics something like once a month. 

Wasteless storing food. 

  • Reuse plastic containers especially those that are not recyclable (eg lots of dairy product containers like cream and cottage cheese).
  • The world is so full of plastic containers you don’t need to buy them for food storage. They are very durable, seal and freeze well.
  • Likewise reuse glass jars with lids for storage. You can also use them for freezing food if you allow enough room for expansion.
  • Swap your Glad wrap/sad wrap for beeswax wraps. These are easy to make. Google the method or contact us.
  • Its even easier to pop another plate on top to store food in the fridge.
  • Things cooling on the bench can just be covered with clean teatowels or covers made from rescued net cutain.
  • Clean cellophane can be used for jam covers instead of bought cellophane jam covers.This can work well for bigger jars. Undamaged screw top jar tops can be reused. Pop up seals will flatten again to show there is a good seal. For gifts you can cut a circle of scrap fabric (maybe with pinking shears for a nice edge) to cover the seal.
  • Food stores better with the right partner. Bananas away from other fruit. Apples with potatoes to deter sprouting. Potatoes in a dry, dark place to stop greening. Carrots keep longer in the fridge with a tea towel or absorbent paper under them.

Waste less freezing food:  

  • Your single best tool to cut waste will be a decent-sized freezer. Second hand chest freezers come cheaply, and last a long time. Keep them in a garage, sleepout or storeroom if space is limited. The more they have in them the more energy efficient they are.
  • Freeze leftovers and doubled recipes for easy meals when time is short.
  • Freeze excess produce, much of it without a whole lot of preparation.
  • Buy food when it is cheap and plentiful and freeze it.
  • Commonly wasted food like bread and milk can be frozen.
  • Citrus juice and zest can be frozen in ice cube trays for use later.
  • You will save food, money, time and trips to the shop. 

Waste less garden produce:  

  • You may have a produce swap stall nearby.
  • Offer it to friends and neighbours.
  • Foodbanks will take less perishable items.
  • Pet owners may be able to give it to pets.
  • Learn to preserve food by drying, fermenting,and making jams and pickles. Use these for gifts.
  • You can make pesto out of almost any green including carrot tops.
  • Herbs often overproduce. They also dry easily in several ways, or can be chopped and frozen.
  • Broccoli leaves and cauliflower leaves can be used in stirfries.
  • Supplement garden produce by foraging. Elderflower can be used for cordial and “champagne”. Chickweed can be harvested and used in samosas. Chickens actually like it as much as the name suggests. Bay trees grow like weeds here and the leaves are easy to dry. Take care to identify mushrooms because not all are safe. 

Waste less cleaning and washing up: 

  • Swap out paper towels and paper napkins for cloth. Cut these from clean cotton, linen,T shirts, old tea towels, or towels.
  • Leave some clean water in the sink for rinsing hands and dishes to save you running water everytime.
  • Handwashing dishes is less wasteful than dishwashers if you have the time.
  • Run your dishwasher sparingly, when your load is large enough to fill it.
  • Did you know you can make your own dishwasher tablets? We will email the recipe if you can’t find it online. the internet. Otherwise save on plastic by buying in bulk or in cardboard packaging.
  • There are good alternatives to synthetic sponges, disposable dishcloths and plastic scrubbing brushes. 

Waste less plastic bags: 

  • Reuse plastic bags instead of buying freezer bags, or bags for other specific purposes (like dog poo bags). Some need to be washed to be reused others like bread bags can just be wiped out with a clean dry tea towel.
  • Clean and recycle plastic bags when they can no longer be re-used
  • Line your bin with used paper or newspaper. If nothing messy goes in the bin let it go “naked”. At the very least repurpose used plastic bags as bin liners.

Waste less cooking and baking:

  • Cook a whole lot of things in an oven (on fan force) at once to save energy. It’s a good hack to save your own energy too with ready-made meals later on.
  • Swap baking paper for re-useable silicone sheets, or cooking oil sprays. Refill a spray bottle with the oil.
  • Re-use butter paper to line or grease baking tins. It takes up no space folded in the freezer ready for use. 
    Waste less food by using what you have:
  • Don’t overthink what to make for meals. Be guided by what you have in your cupboards garden or fridge. Build your meal around what you have. If you have a lot of a particular ingredient google recipes that use it
  • Confusing ‘Best before’ dates with ‘Expiry’ dates, wastes a lot of food. Use your senses to check for freshness  yourself - smell , sight, touch and even a cautious taste before simply throwing it out.
  • Note when food should be used and use older things first. Label food to let people know what needs to be used. Maybe put the fresher things out of sight and reach.
  • Make stock/bone broth out of leftover bones. If you don’t have time to make stock immediately, freeze the bones until you do. If they haven’t been cooked give them to your dog or someone you know with a dog. Make your own homemade vegetable stock out of vegetable scraps.
  • Love your leftovers. They save us time and money. Try clearly marking or dating leftovers,and place them in a prominent place in the fridge so they don’t get overlooked.  If we need even more help to remember to take them for lunch put a reminder somewhere or leave your car keys beside them. Or freeze them in portions for easy meals later.
  • Waste less bananas: Freeze overripe bananas whole for later use in baking (banana bread, muffins) and smoothies. Or mash and mix them with optional ingredients like coconut milk, beaten egg white, berries, whipped cream etc for an ice cream or popsicles for kids.
  • Waste less bread (one of the most commonly wasted foods). Freeze it. Make breadcrumbs and stuffings, croutons or French toasts, summer and winter bread puddings, Bliss balls (Love Food Hate Waste website). Toast less fresh bread. Refresh a stale loaf by quickly running it under the tap. Cooking it briefly in a moderate oven (150-180C). Old bread can be fed to animals if you or neighbours have them.
  • People who shop with a shopping list waste less food.

Waste less making tea and coffee:

  • Swap teabags for a teapot or infusers with loose-leaf tea.
  • Grow your favourite herbal tea  herbs and use the leaves fresh or dried. These plants are easy to grow in pots and small spaces
  • We can swap pod coffee makers for ground coffee and a French press/plunger,aeropress or stove top expresso.
  • Used leaves and grounds can go into your compost or mulch.
  • Boil only the amount of water you need.

Waste less food scraps. 

  • Compost them.
  • If you don’t have space for a compost heap or worm farm, start using a bokashi bucket system.
  • Alternatively collect your scraps for Sharewaste.
  • Plenty of  sealed containers can be repurposed for a benchtop bin. A good seal stops smells and insects. Frequent empying followed by a quick rinse also helps.