A fresh and tasty spring fennel salad with tomatoes, olives and watercress. Eat on its own as a light lunch or use to accompany any number of other dishes.
I am an inveterate bunger of foods in the fridge and freezer without recording either the date or the contents. This means I’m constantly baffled as to what I’ve stored and by how long it’s been there.
With their datable lids, these new Joseph Joseph Dial storage containers put an end to at least one of these problems. I christened one with the leftovers of this crisp and delicious fennel salad. The date I put it in the fridge was 3 April 2016, so there.
Food Storage Containers
This five-piece BPA free plastic food storage set is one of the latest innovations to come from Joseph Joseph*. The lids all have an easy to use dial to set both the month and day the food is either placed into the container or needs to be used by. Genius.
Food waste is one of my pet hates, but even I’ve forgotten the odd thing at the back of the fridge and have had to compost it. No more.
Just rotate the dial clockwise to set the month and anti-clockwise to set the day. There is one 2.4 litre container measuring 278 x 185 x 70 mm, two 1 litre containers measuring 185 x 139 x 70 cm and two 0.7 litre containers measuring 185 x 139 x 50 mm.
The lids come in a rather fetching shade of olive green, but I expect I’m not the only one who’d like to see some other colours to choose from. Like red. Just saying.
The rectangular shape makes the containers easy to both store and stack in either the fridge, freezer or cupboard. The bases are suitable for the microwave, but not the lids. Both are suitable for the freezer and can be washed in the dishwasher. You can buy them individually or as a set of three or five. This five-piece set has an RRP of Β£45.
Vegan Fennel Salad
For my fennel salad, I adapted one of the recipes in my Riverford recipe box which we were rather taken with at the time. I’d never thought of making a salad out of a fennel bulb before and I was surprised at how good it was.
Making the fennel salad is a simple process of finely chopping a fennel bulb, adding tomatoes, olives, watercress, herbs and a dressing. The original recipe used a squeeze of lemon juice, but I improvised with some of my elderflower vinegar which gave a light fresh floral quality as well as the usual tang.
It keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days, but don’t add the salad leaves until you’re ready to serve it.
Fennel Salad Vegan Lunch Box
For a delicious and nutritious vegan lunch box, try this fennel salad with a couple of my vegan savoury muffins and a handful of healthy sweet and spicy roasted nuts for pudding.
Other Fennel Bulb Recipes You Might Like
- Fennel and bean casserole with vegan sausages via Yumsome
- Fennel and black olive risotto via A2K – A Seasonal Veg Table
- Marinated tempeh with roasted grapes & fennel via Tin and Thyme
- Spring slaw via Tin and Thyme
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this fennel salad, Iβd love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And donβt forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If youβd like more salad recipes, follow the link and youβll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Fennel Salad. PIN IT.
Fennel Salad – The Recipe
Fennel Salad
Ingredients
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (I used elderflower vinegar)
- 8 cherry tomatoes quartered
- 8 large olives pitted
- 10 chive leaves
- 1 clove garlic (small) finely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil (I used the oil from the olive jar)
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 grind black pepper
- 100 g watercress or salad leaves of choice
Instructions
- Trim the fennel of any tough stalks, reserving some of the leafy fronds. Cut in half and take out the tough core at the bottom. Dice the rest and place in a bowl.1 fennel bulb
- Stir in the vinegar or lemon juice to stop the fennel from browning.1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Slice the olives and add to the fennel along with the tomatoes and garlic.8 cherry tomatoes, 8 large olives, 1 clove garlic
- Stir in the salt, pepper and oil.1 tbsp olive oil, 1 pinch sea salt, 1 grind black pepper
- Snip in the chives with a pair of scissors. Chop any reserved fennel fronds and stir.10 chive leaves
- Add the watercress just before serving and mix.100 g watercress
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Joseph Joseph Dial Food Storage Container Giveaway
Joseph Joseph is kindly offering one Tin and Thyme reader a five-piece Dial food storage container set worth Β£45. To be in with a chance of winning, please fill in the Gleam widget below.
You will need to leave a comment on this post, answering the question, which then gives you additional chances to enter if you so wish. Gleam will pick a winner at random from the entries received who will then be contacted via e-mail. If you are commenting anonymously, please give me some way of identifying you as I will be verifying the validity of entries. Any automated entries will be disqualified.
This giveaway is only open to those with a UK postal address. Winners will need to respond within 5 days of being contacted. Failure to do this may result in another winner being picked. There are no cash alternatives.
Prizes are offered and provided by Joseph Joseph and Tin and Thyme accepts no responsibility for the acts or defaults of said third party. Tin and Thyme reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice.
Closing date is WednesdayΒ 4 May 2016
Do take a look at the Tin and ThymeΒ giveaways pageΒ to see if thereβs anything else youβd like to enter. You can also find other competitions atΒ The Prize Finder.
Cassandra Mayers says
A Cooked a full Spag Bol and then dropped it on the floor. I nearly cried!
Diane Duggan says
I bought lots of little cheeses just after Christmas and recently found them all at the back of my fridge when cleaning it. They were all out of date.
Susan Carruthers says
We have a freezer in the garage for the food that won’t fit in the small indoor freezer. Unknown to me the electricity in the garage tripped and the next time I went to get something I was met with a soggy freezer and defrosted food which all had to be thrown out.
Victoria Prince says
I think one of my best food waste stories was when I ended up with a ridiculous number of ham sandwiches from a buffet that had started to dry up, you couldn’t eat them as ham sandwiches any more (nor would you want to…) – so I made them into a savoury bread and butter pudding!
Karen Harrison says
I am always needing to throw away fresh fruit – since eating healthier and persuading my children to do the same, no longer a problem!
Janet T says
I make left over veg and fruit into chutney and jam. Any that does get wasted goes into the compost to help with the garden.
Tamsin Dean says
my partner loves condiments and I have to be strict with he/them as when he moved in with me some of his condiments were like 5 years out of date and wondered why I was binning them, he try to isist they were edible, but they were lumps of stone
joanne davenport says
my wasted food story was I left our streaky bacon for Christmas dinner a huge pile of it on a plate on the work top instead of in a tub like you should …..we nipped to my mums came back to a very sheepish looking cat what was left on the plate bared a resemblance to a dead squid all I heard off the hubby all day was ……’ well you shouldn’t leave food lying around’ ….lesson learnt xx
Fiona jk42 says
A few years ago we had a male au pair. One warm summer’s day, I went to get into our car, only to be met with the most awful foul smell when I opened the door. It was so bad it made me gag. It turned out that some days previously the au pair had gone to the supermarket and bought sausages & some other things, then forgotten about them when he went to pick the kids up. After several days festering in a hot car, those sausages were really humming! I had to disinfect the car and drive with the windows open for weeks afterwards.
Nicki Simpson says
I once spent a fortune on ingredients for a luxurious white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake but I wanted it to be more fruitful so I included lots more raspberry than the recipe stated…..unfortunately the cheesecake wouldn’t set due to the liquidised extra fruit and the whole glorious mess was wasted
Beryl drake says
The best food experiences ive had are when we go to a local hotel for the Sunday carvery , succulent beef , yummy gravy , a great selection of veg , huge home cooked Yorkshires crispy roast potatoes and all eaten over looking the most wonderful views you could imagine
Claire Davey says
I hardly have any waste cos I use up everything at end of the week and freeze any excess so we have ready meals when we have had to go out and end up getting in late. xx
Erica Price says
I made a bread pudding that was just awful and I had to put it out for the birds.
Emma says
Getting a compost bin. It has really helped to put scraps and peelings to good use.
cat says
Boughty a rib joint of beef for a family meal cost me Β£40 , went to pull it out the fridge on the morning 2 days later not there, had accidently left it in the boot of my hot car on the drive, had wrapped it in the blanket to keep it cool and hence didn’t spot it when I unloaded the car. Argh… very hot on the turn meat in my bot, not fit to eat…
Tishist says
We came back from holiday to find our freezer door had opened and a lot of exotic meat and fish had to be thrown.
Sylwia Zavacka says
The huge freezer that we have in the garage was switched off by accident by one of our guests. We realized few days later when everything had to be put in the bin…
sandy ralph says
It has to be when our freezer broke down and we hadn’t noticed that had stopped working as we were away over the weekend and came home to a soggy floor in the kitchen and everything defrosted in the freezer, thankfully we saved some meat by cooking it up but most of the food we had to throw away
Pauline Dring says
We took a ready meal down to Cornwall and when we arrived it looked as if it was off so we threw it away, even though it had been in a cool bag.
N Selley says
I find my storage boxes are a bit like socks. Always lose one part!
Lucy Robinson says
I did my food shopping a few months ago and left a bag of food in the boot of the car. I discovered it two days later. Unfortunately in was all frozen food. All wasted. Was gutted.
stephen smith says
our local butcher crashed his van he gave all the meat to local famalies to save it going to waste as his insurance covered it
Choclette says
Good for him and what a nice windfall for the locals.
nichola betteridge says
I always freeze any left over veg, no matter how little, then when i have a good amount i make bubble and squeak π hubby thought i was mad at first freezing one sprout lol! I also always freeze bread crusts as otherwise they get left to go mouldy…then when i need breadcrumbs i just smash the hell out of the frozen crusts with my rolling pin, perfect breadcrumbs every time!
Choclette says
Agree that frozen bread crusts make good crumbs and I like your one sprout bubble and squeak π
Chantelle79 says
I once made a stew in my slow cooker, I fancied some kidneys in it. I didn’t realise how strong they were. I put two in my stew and it ruined it. The whole smelt awful. Never cooked with them ever again!!
Michelle Wild says
I put everything into the garden and in rural Northumberland it magically disappears overnight.
Dale Dow says
we never buy a weekly shop, it’s difficult with an aspergers child as he goes through phases of what he wants to eat and then suddenly changes it at a drop of a hat and onto a new phase, for instance, once all he would eat was turkey dinosaurs, another time pizza… He then decides if the food is edible, if there is a dark part or over cooked he refuses to eat, before when I got weekly shops, most food was wasted, now we still waste but thankfully not as much!
Choclette says
Ooh how tricky for you. Glad you’ve sort of found a way through it.
Lisa Mauchline says
My worst was when I rushed home from the shops to see my daughter before bed and forgot all about the shopping until the next day. Everything that should have been in the fridge went in the bin
Chris Wise says
I once microwaved a pack of rolos… the blister on my finger was not pleasant.
Elizabeth Gurney says
My nan always makes too much at sunday roast for us, so we always take the leftover bits home (especially any meat) and have created lots of new dishes with it. My favourite being reusing some roast lamb in a Moroccan inspired tagine
Tricia Cowell says
Oh Christmas Day many years ago…I cooked the turkey and left it to cool on kitchen side. Big mistake when you have a dog like mine. Needless to say the dog was full of our turkey and we had ham slices with all the trimmings
Choclette says
Oh noooooooooo. Well I guess you had one very satisfied dog that Christmas.
Laura Whittle says
I always look at how long jars should be kept for and then work out the date once they’re opened and write it on. It then makes it easy when I open my fridge to see what open jars are nearing their end and think of something I can make with them that week. I have a half jar of horseradish going this week so have taken some mackrel fillets out of the freezer (bought when reduced at supermarket) and am going to make some pate. Also going to have horseradish mash next Sunday roast. Nothing goes to waste in my house!
Choclette says
Horseradish mash sounds delicious. We actually grow horseradish down at the plot, but I always forget to harvest it.
Claire Toplis says
I try not to waste anything , I think meal planning helps with this
Lindsay Davies says
I hate throwing food away and try my best to use everything by using up leftovers the next day and sometimes take food into work for lunch.. (From my left overs) but my boyfriend usually finish off my plates
Christine Hobbs says
I have 3 foxes that come into the garden daily so food waste in our house does not exist. They have a bowl that I add any leftovers to and there is never anything left the next day. I often find random things brought to the garden too the other day I discovered a barbie and a soft ball found from a neighbours garden presumably.
ang pickering says
Try not to waste anything. Always freeze leftovers and buy reduced products near sell by date and freeze as well.
Emily Jayne Phipps says
I brought a bag of lentils to make some broth over winter – still in my cupboard, 2 years later! Probably should get rid of those!!!
Choclette says
Use them Emily, don’t throw them away. Lentils keep for ages, they’ll just need a bit more cooking.
Karin Wistow says
I always used to throw away food on its best before date but I realised that food is still completely fine even a few days after the best before date.
David Price says
We had a massive crop of strawberries on our allotment last year. I am glad to say we managed to jar what we couldn’t eat in the summer and enjoyed them during the winter
Choclette says
Oh very lucky you David. I used to love the small amount of strawberries we grew on our old allotment, but I’ve not grown any for years now and really miss them.
Ailsa Sheldon says
With 2 wormeries and chickens we have no food waste. REcently started baking vegetable peelings which the kids love with salt and vinegar!
Choclette says
Fab idea Ailsa, though as you say with worms an chickens, you should have it covered π
Jane Gorton says
We do not have any food waste issues with 3 dogs and 3 new puppies nothing goes to waste. The only thing that I am bad at is the tinned food dates any suggestions???
Choclette says
Personally, I ignore dates on tinned foods and have never found a problem, even when I open them a year or so after, but I wouldn’t like to advise anyone else to do so.
Jane Middleton says
We don’t waste any food, even the plates and dishes get licked out
Hayley Colburn says
I made loads of curries for a party and made far too much, especially as everyone had bloated themselves with beers, the amount I had to throw away purely because I had nothing to freeze it in was disgusting
Ellen Stafford says
I think for me freezing some meat then by accident turning the freezer off overnight. Not my finest moment!
Donna M Caldwell says
I remember buying the two for one offer on plums thinking yes we will use them all . Only to get home to hear they had all gone of plums .
jessica cook says
I cooked a whole chicken once and left it in the microwave a while back, with a view to putting it in the fridge in an hour and totally forgot and it was still there in the morning. Such a horrible waste
Angela Williams says
Whenever I get sour milk I make drop scones and if my bananas are over ripe I make banana loaf cake
Choclette says
Excellent Angela, you’re a woman after my own heart π
Emma Perry says
I’m always looking for a bargain when out shopping, so when I saw a whole Salmon in the reduced section in Asda for around Β£6 because it had that days date on it – I whipped my phone out and called my mum! Promptly asking her if she knew how to fillet a Salmon I grabbed it and bunged it in my trolley! Thank goodness for mums eh….when I got home mum and dad popped round and she filleted and de-boned the whole thing for me π We got 15 fillets out of it – now thats a bargain! It all went in the freezer in individual portions. I hate waste so this kind of thing I do all the time. xx
Linda says
I usually cook extra and freeze half for another time
james wright says
we always make to much food so we can freeze it unfortunately the tubs we use dont have a good seal on them
Lora says
I tried to make a celebration tiered birthday cake but I used a recipe I hadn’t tried before, the cake turned out awful and the whole thing went in the bin. I was gutted
Deborah Bird says
If I do a big roast the leftover meat always gets wasted! It annoys me actually cos I don’t like wasting things, but my hubby is so lazy that he would rather go buy a sandwich than make his own!!
Nancy Bradford says
The compressor in our fridge/freezer went out a couple of years ago. Everything was pretty much ruined. It cost us about Β£200 to replace everything from scratch. You don’t realise how much money you have sitting in your freezer until something like that happens.
Choclette says
Oh I know Nancy, it’s such a horrid thing to happen and all the time and effort as well as the money.
Mia Clarke says
don’t really have leftovers but once found some cucumber that somehow got left and was like mush
liz ferguson says
before leaving for a long weekend, I unplugged my freezer, to use the socket to hoover around.
unfortunately, i didnt replug the freezer in.
we returned home to a yucky mess of ruined food and soppy floors.
Samantha says
Hard cheese being used and all okay four months after best before date.
ADEINNE TONNER says
My worst has to be putting to much pepper into a soup that my friend made then i had to pretend i enjoyed it
Lauren Old says
We often end up buying too much salad and then not using it all, after a couple nights of other meals we find the salad looking pretty worse for wear
Jayne K says
I usually make a strange frazzle in the frying pan from a weird mix of leftovers
Jayne Kelsall says
my worst is when my electric blew out in the garage and I didn’t realise for 2 days and my chest freezer is in there, such a waste I lost a few hundred pounds worth of food !
Laura Harrison says
Leaving milk in the fridge for too long and without checking it I poured it in my tea, it was literally one lump or two. The smell of gone off milk is very gross and doesn’t taste nice either! xx
Choclette says
Eek, that’s horrid when that happens, but had to laugh at the one lump or two.
Michelle Stokes says
I buy my favourite yoghurts when they are on offer and then buy more and stick them at the front and forget to use the ones at the back, I hide them in the bin so my husband doesn’t see them!
Sarah Wilson says
My best is finding twelve Brie cheeses reduced to 19p each, buying them, and freezing them. All of the family got some, and they lasted us ages.
Tal L says
My worst is buying 2 kg of fish after inviting friends over, them cancelling, us needing to go out and we ended up with smelly fish in the fridge. Such a waste ….
Rachael Mccadden says
i use to buy milk and throw it away after 2 days as i always thought it was off and ever was. So use to waste loads on milk.After a while i stopped buying it
Rebecca Howells (@PeanutHog) says
My guinea pigs are great food recyclers! They love the ends of carrots and their tops, greens / veg etc. They don’t leave a scrap!
Choclette says
Ah guinea pigs are wonderful in all respects. I miss ours.
Caroline J Robinson says
Because I do a big weekly shop I buy everything under one roof knowing full well salad and fresh items have shorter use by dates but each week I end up buying them mainly so the fridge looks full but we open and use them once then end up throwing them away because the use by date has been and gone
Emma Locker says
I hate waste! My other half tends to try and buy food on the reduced section as he thinks it will save us money in the long run, yes it’s cheap(er) than what we would usually buy, but the amount of times I’ve had to throw it out as it’s run out of date – often untouched, it’s so fustrating!. I tend to meal plan for the week and only buy what we need, it’s much better in terms of wastage as there’s is little to none and I find it a lot cheaper too!. E x
Choclette says
Meal planning is a really good way of avoiding food waste, but you do need to be organised. Well done.
Andrew Hindley says
My first job when I left school at age 15 was in a supermarket, I was working late and as the last of the staff was leaving he said don’t forget to switch the freezers off before I you go home – being a little bit naieve at the time I took him at his word, didn’t realise that he was only joking!
Choclette says
Oh noooooooooo. That was a cruel joke to play on you. I hope you didnt get the sack.
Bryanna M says
We struggle with condiments, so we have basically just stopped buying them. When I moved in with my partner I went through the cupboards to see what could be thrown away, and there were things with expiry dates dating back to 2006! π
Hannah G says
I try my hardest not to waste food, but bread seems to be our downfall. As I don’t eat it very often it usually ends up going mouldy before I can use a whole loaf.
Sylvia Gill says
I never waste food.. everything either gets made into some other dish or frozen in small batches and labelled to these storage boxes are perfect for me !
kimberley ryan says
we had a powercut for 2 days, we had to throw the contents of our chest freezer away, which had just been restocked
Adrian Bold says
We had a power cut while away on holiday and couldn’t reset it – everything in our fridge / freezer ruined :/
Diane Jackson says
Our worst food waste has to be bread, or to be more precise the two ends as no one in our house will eat them. If I’ve got room in the freezer, I try to save them for feeding the ducks.
Choclette says
Nice idea Diane. Perhaps you could blitz them into breadcrumbs and freeze them until you’ve got enough to make something. No-one would be any the wiser.
Mary Chez says
I don’t have much food wastage. I tend to batch cook and put any food that’s near its expiry date into curries or casseroles
kate knight says
we had a power cut at christmas and it ruined a whole fridge of food
Hazel Rea says
I don’t usually waste food at all as I tend to cook from scratch so it’s easy to use things up. I did once have to throw out a loaf of glutenfree/milkfree bread I was experimenting with because I forgot to put in the baking soda to make it rise and I did, genuinely, end up with a brick!
Choclette says
Oh no Hazel. I do so hate it when baking goes wrong. I have been known to forget baking soda on more than one occasion.
Sheri Darby says
My worst food waste story is me eating all the leftovers – A big Waist!!!
Choclette says
Hahaha Sheri, good one. I can relate to that.
Louise Gardener says
What an amazingly simple, new idea. β€οΈ Thank you for the chance to win β€οΈ
Llinos Bowen says
There is little waste in this house, but something will always be forgoton in the back of the fridge.
Louise Fairweather says
I have had to stop buying packaged salad as it goes off so quick and I just end up binning them
Danika Grace Lloyd says
We looove making awesome lunches with the night before’s leftovers, saves lots of money and better than a boring samey lunch!
ellie spider says
I work during the week and am so tired when I get home I really cant be bothered to cook and for a while was living on takeaways and micro meals which is not only pretty bad for you its also stupidly expensive. I have this year started batch cooking on the weekend – making use of the slow cooker – I make 3 meals – a curry, a soup and a pasta sauce with whatever veg is on offer at the local supermarket. Anything thats about to turn or near its use by date generally gets thrown in. I find I waste a lot less food as I only buy for the meals I know I am going to be cooking whereas before I would go and buy all sorts with good intentions and then end up chucking it out as it went off
Choclette says
Well done Ellie, that’s a big leap to make in how you manage your meals.
Louise Lumsden says
I don’t waste a thing, I squirrel everything away into my freezer before it can go off, even small leftovers like a little cheese sauce left in the bottom of the pan goes into ice cube trays & into the freezer to use another time
Choclette says
Excellent Louise, a woman after my own heart π
Michelle Ptak says
I would love them as with hungry boys I always try to make extra so I have leftovers for them to warm up when they are hungry (that seems to be all the time as they both play sports!) … very useful, thanks
Mary Baldwin says
I made a sausage casserole for a new boyfriend, but thought it looked a bit sparse. My bright idea was to add red cabbage – bad idea – it turned the sausages a sort of bluey-mauve and we just couldn’t face them. Chippy supper was nice though.
Choclette says
Haha, I know what you mean. I’ve produced some really unappetising colours in my time.
carole n says
Im very careful with sell by dates, and rarely waste anything. You can never have too many storage containers to separate all food into.
Katie Kingsbury says
I’m not sure I have one really, I’m pretty good at making food last by either freezing it or making stews/soups and only buying what we will use, meal planning helps. That said my husband bought some cheap bananas on Friday and they’re started to turn black yesterday. I didn’t want to bake with them because I’m counting calories – so he’s eaten 5 in the last 24 hours! 3 more to go.
Logan says
I know that in my home country – Belgium – and in France (also some parts of the UK) they still use bleach to prevent the homeless to steal the food supermarkets throw away. What a shame when we know that food banks and charities are around!
Choclette says
That’s such an outrageous practice, it makes me really angry. I think they’ve stopped this in the UK now – thankfully!
Nancy Raynsford says
Only this week I bought a pack of 10 chicken breasts – got home – put 3 in the stew I was cooking – then went to put the rest away only to find 4 in a pack bought earlier and needing to be used that day π
Caroline Cordery says
when i slopped too much bicarn in some biscuits. i cooked them thinking it wouldn’t matter and they tasted disgusting.
Vicky Loveday says
Forgot that I had a bag of carrots in my old porch. Rotted and were turning slimy by the time I found them.
Michelle Sykes says
I hate any food waste. Having 4 children, a greedy dog, 3 cats and 12 chickens I can not remember the last time any food went to waste. I even bring scraps back from restaurants for the chickens as I hate the thought of it being binned – the chickens love it
Vicky Online says
How to reach virtually zero food waste. Have 2 dogs, 6 hens, 2 guinea pigs and a wormery. If it isn’t appropriate to feed to one of them, then it was n’t fit for human consumption anyway – or it was chocolate in which case there not chance it would ever be waste!
Christine Caple says
We don’t tend to waste much food, we even buy near sell-by date items especially for freezing.
Helen W says
My worst food waste story was when I made chocolate cookies, but didn’t have enough sugar, and thought sweetener would do. Turns out it wasn’t a heat stable sweetener, they tasted awful, and they all went in the bin.
Graeme Macmillan says
Finding out that the three bags of salad leaves had covered a whole side of smoked salmon which had become, while it was hidden, out of its use by date
Hayley Elvin says
I cook big portions in the slow cooker, then what we don’t use I portion up and freeze, it must save a fortune and when we don’t want to prepare a meal, there is good food waiting in the freezer.
Choclette says
That sounds like an excellent way to go Hayley and something I don’t manage as often as I’d like to.
Kelly cooper says
I had done my food shopping for the week and put away the food, went to get some meat out of the fridge to cook dinner and noticed I had put the whole bag of fresh meat in the cupboard. Had to throw the whole bag away .
jacqui says
I think it has to be when we had a power cut overnight – and all the food in the freezer had to be chucked. Not only a waste, but very expensive to start stocking it up again π
Jo Glasspool says
Im always buying yoghurt’s when they are on offer and stocking up, totally forgetting that they usually have short use by dates!
MANDY DOHERTY says
Always try to use leftovers and also give food that I’m not going to use before its sell by date to my grown up sons and daughter
Angela Weir says
I love the idea of these storage boxes it’s easier to prepare meals the previous night and freeze them
Zac Farley says
A colleague of mine used to work for a well known supermarket chain and when food had one day left on sell by he was tasked with putting it in thr skip and pouring blue dye over it so it could not be used. What a disgrace that local charities and night shelters are not given these.
Choclette says
That’s terrible Zac. Luckily, supermarkets have been shamed into their wasteful habits and seem to be doing something about it now.
Emma Walton says
I’m terrible for checking the dates on joints and packs of meat. I’ve had to throw several packs away but I’m improving and now I try to eat out of the fridge in date order!
lucy higgins says
My worst would be when my freezer died and everything had to go in the bin. I always have quite a full freezer, often playing jenga with all the items to get it all in so you can imagine how much was wasted!
Choclette says
Sounds awful Lucy. It’s happened to me before and I was devastated.
Alison Johnson says
We’re quite good at not wasting food in our house, we ‘batch’ cook & freeze just about everything! The only things we tend to waste is some bread (no room in freezer!) & sometimes tin which we buy when we fancy then find in the back of the cupboard several years out of date.
Katie Skeoch says
I always buy too much fruit & try to be inventive about how to feed it to the kids. I am embarrassed to say I regularly throw out too many apples & bananas!
Choclette says
How about milkshakes Katie? Surely the kids would like those.
Katie Harmer says
Shamefully, I have made the effort and have cooked a bolognese or curry from scratch only to leave the leftovers in the fridge, which is about 2 more meals worth, for a week because I don’t fancy it. It goes off so I end up throwing it all away. I have done this many times! If I freeze it, I forget about it and don’t use it. I live by myself and sometimes I am too ill to stand and cook so I make enough to last for the next few days. Most of the time I use it, but several times it’s gone in the bin. Oh the shame!
Choclette says
It can be quite hard managing food Katie. Don’t give yourself a hard time.
Sandra Clarke says
My efforts at baking cakes have always turned out disastrous as I’m not a good cook – so they were always put out for the birds. However since my son was diagnosed as coeliac and I have had to do more baking, they come out brilliantly using the gluten free flour! I try and not waste anything so it’s very rare I throw away food.
robertgeneralmail says
I do hate food waste-age. I wish supermarkets would stop with wasteful BOGOF deals and just price honestly all the time.
Ali Thorpe says
I cook overripe veg into pasta sauces or roast them whenever possible.
Yet Another Blogging Mummy says
I use up over-ripe bananas in my porridge. And stir fry veggies that look past their best
Julie Ward says
Not many cock ups I try to freeze things as soon as bought, My son has a habit of rooting through the freezer and forgetting to put what he doesn’t want back in. Usually find it the next day. May have to put his board up
charlotte wilde says
I bought a job lot of slightly soft strawberries last year and instead of carefully storing them until they go all grey and fluffy!! I managed to remember to puree them and store them in the freezer – I made loads and have since delightedly got the bags out to add to ice cream and also to juices as I try and get my kids to ‘eat’ more fruit! Donns smug face!
Choclette says
That is such a good idea Charlotte and I really ought to do more of it.
angela sandhu says
I bought chicken last week and told my husband to cook it while i was at work. i came back to find he went to Asda and bought ready meals and the chicken ended up in the bin. It was such a waste and i was so angry!!
Sheila Sloan says
I cooked a huge turkey fro Christmas a couple of years ago and was given a surprise holiday leaving on Boxing Day. The turkey was put in the freezer … and it’s still there!
Rachel Butterworth says
Around 1.3 billion metric tons of food ate lost or wasted everyday – that’s estimated to be around one-third of all food produced.
Farhana says
My worst was storing some chicken leftover and totally forgetting about it as it got shoved to the back somewhere. Found it when I was having my cleaning session and was horrified at what it had turned to. Disgusted for life
Stevie says
I think when I made toad in the hole without cooking the sausages first.
Keri Jones says
I bought a whole chicken to do a roast dinner on a Sunday. When I opened it it smelled awful, I checked the date and it was 3 days earlier! It was such a waste & my son was really upset as he was really looking forward to his roast chicken x
Dawn Brodribb says
I love the day I decided to take control of my waste. Now every Wednesday (my shopping day!) I Put all left over veg from the week into the slow cooker along with some stock – Not only do I stop wasting good food, but I come home to the lovely smell of stew cooking!
Natalie Baskerville says
my 3 year old sneaked down in the night to have an ice lolly and left the freezer open, the whole lot had to be binned.
Sue Bielewicz says
Wasted lots of food over the years and have now changed my shopping and cooking habits. We all get in at different times so buy expensive items when on offer and I bulk cook and prepare individual meals to refrigerate or freeze. Only buy enough salad to last a couple of days and any other veg gets souped up.
Husband makes it more interesting by turning up with random ‘bargains’ which often have to be used straight away. Luckily none of us are that picky about what we eat as some of the combinations are quite imaginative.
Choclette says
Love it Sue, especially the imaginative combinations π
Angie Hoggett says
I’ve cut down on food waste by using the freezer more and not buying more than I need
Nicola Lynch says
I’ve been a bit rubbish at food waste and i’m always annoyed at myself so I have started freezing meat in small portions and only defrosting when I know Im definitely going to use it up. Will freeze bacon too if it’s a short date and we’re not planning on using it quite yet. Also, I’ve recently started freezing chopped carrots, sweet potato, parsnip etc, uncooked, to prevent them going off. It’s great if you have enough small pots and room in your freezer.
Zoey P says
Best is we always use what we have and the n freeze what don’t eat, for quick meal when busy
Hekna says
I drive my hubby crazy because I always insist that I keep the the egg whites when he’s only needed the yolks for a recipe. I freeze them in small pots and keep them for meringues!
M says
I try to do a big shop and cook ahead to freeze lunches on the weekends. Every once in a while something comes up and I don’t get around to cooking everything before.
Richard Tyler says
We always do spag bowl one night, then use it up for chilli the next day
Em hunt says
I don’t know what it is with the men in my house but they never seem to cover food once opened. So, I continually find hard bits of cheese, meat, bacon etc and it just drives me crazy! Maybe with this system, even they can figure it out! Otherwise, they will keep being served said crispy bits
Choclette says
Hmmm, not sure what the answer is; I have one of those in the house too.
lyndsey says
i try to freeze everything to prevent food waste
Amy Skinner says
We really try our best to not throw food away and freeze where we can but we did have a packet of ham fall under our pull out drawer in the fridge, it was 4 weeks past its sell by date. That I was happy to throw away and glad it was still packaged.
Samantha O'D says
There was far too much fruit and veg getting thrown away in our house, i started to buy more frozen to prevent waste
Sarah H says
My containers always go walkabouts. These look great!
Heather Haigh says
We really don’t waste any food. I plan what I need to buy and check what we already have before making my list. I serve modest portions – everyone can have another helping if they want one and if not the extra food is frozen for another day.
Steph says
My worst food waste was accidentally switching off he freezer before going on holiday for two weeks, I was definitely being too careful everything was switched off at the wall π
Choclette says
Aghhh, I’ve done that before too Steph – was gutted when I got home as I’m sure you were too.
Gwyn Sharps says
We don’t waste food in this household. We make curries or casseroles with leftover meat and veg.
Sarah Prescott says
I hate waste and freeze as many leftovers as possible
Lynne Durkin says
I sometimes forget to check the date on the bread and instead of freezing it have to throw it away. The other week I had to throw a pack of chicken out too as I forgot it was in the fridge.
Kelly L says
I try not to waste food but I probably throw away too much fruit!
Gillian McClelland says
I used to waste a lot of food, 3 days worth of meals was my worst waste
Jo m welsh says
I do not to try and waste but our biggest waste is veg where I have used some but it’s perhaps too much for one sitting and then I forget about it another waste is yogurts and I forget to keep an eye on the date but if they are only a few days out hubby will eat them so not really too much of a waste
Susan B says
I visit the supermarket after 7pm in the hope of finding fresh food marked down to 19p or 9p. Sometimes, there’s loads and I get carried away and buy far too much. The last bargain included two packs of fresh potato wedges at 9p each. I happened to put them at the back of the fridge and then forgot about them. By the time I remembered, they were 5 days past their best before date. Not wanting to waste them, I chucked them all in a baking dish with a bit of oil and baked them at a high temperature. Gosh, they were really awful! They had to go in the bin. What a waste.
Choclette says
Ahhh, even worse when you’ve gone to the trouble of cooking them π
Solange says
I hate food wastage. If I have any leftover potatoes and/or veg, I don’t throw it out. Once cool, I cover and store in the fridge until the next day, where I then put it all together with some seasoning and make tasty bubble and squeak, or something similar depending on the ingredients.
cathyj says
my parents were away and when i went to check on their house their electric had tripped and eekkk the freezer defrosted, we spent 3 hrs on valentines day clearing the mess up
Choclette says
Oh boo, I do hate it when that happens.
Nicole Rossetti le Strange says
When I was living in Thailand, I was so pleased that I’d managed to find some dried chickpeas (not easy to come by), so I thought I’d make some hummus. Soaked said chickpeas overnight, only to discover the next morning that because the aircon had broken down during the night, and the temperature had risen (a lot), the chickpeas had fermented. Had to bin them. I was so heartbroken!
Choclette says
Ooh you should have gone with it, might have made for an interesting hummus and certainly a more digestible one.
Christine Dodd says
I hate food waste and manage to recycle most stuff into my compost bin.
judy kennedy says
Made a minestrone for my visiting aunts transferred it to a pyrex dish to put it in the fridge. On the day they were due to visit I dropped the bowl. I managed to salvage most of it and hoped they didn’t notice the crunchy bits
Catriona Hutchinson says
I freeze EVERYTHING that can be frozen. I save cheese rinds for soup, same with any veg that I won’t have time to eat, I’ll blanch and freeze it. I’m thinking of starting a compost bin so that my trimmings won’t end out in landfill.
Maxine G says
I often freeze leftover soups and sauces to make quick meals after work. However, I’d forgotten to label some of my tupperware and once defrosted what I thought was some leftover tomato sauce to make a quick lasagne with, only to find that it was a hot and very spicy curry … ugh … not a good combination!
Natalie Crossan says
When my fridge broke and I had to throw the entire contents out, i’d just done a food shop too!
Leanne McKenna says
I love broccoli and discovered that the stems taste just as nice chopped into chips and roasted, I always store them in a airtight tub when I use a broccoli. They make a great snack!
Jayne Townson says
My worst food waste story is when my electric went off and I had to throw away, half the food out of my fridge, it felt like such a waste.
Choclette says
So frustrating Jayne π
Jo Carroll says
I’m always on the look out for great food saving tips and I came across a brilliant one recently. It said if you keep your bananas ‘bunched’ together ie. don’t seperate them in your fruit bowl and wrap a bit of cling film around the top stalk bit they keep twice as long and don’t go brown as quick. x
Choclette says
Oh what a good tip Jo. I must try it as my bananas are always going brown before I know what’s going on. Not normally a problem as I’ll bung them in a smoothie or bake with them, but even so.
charlotte says
I am very good at making enough for lunch the following day, then leaving it in the fridge when I head to work π Either that or making SO much that I can’t face eating the same thing for the 5th time in a row.
Choclette says
Surely not Charlotte? That’s the sort of thing I do.
Nat thomason says
Bags of salad which never get eaten by us but not truly wasted. Cos the rabbits eat them
helen tovell says
Am useless at using up leftover pastry, I always forget about it till I see it in the fridge and as it has already been defrosted you can’t put it back in.
Tubs says
These look really useful. Shame the colour looks like gangrene@@
Margaret Gallagher says
I really do not waste anything I either freeze puree or make delicious soups and have my own compost heap -even grow my own fruit and veg so I can pickle and store
I’m often tempted to buy special offers in supermarkets but I resist as I don’t like waste
Choclette says
Good for you Margaret. Sounds much like us. The good thing about the compost heap is if something does go off, it doesn’t go to waste.
Louise Smith says
We never waste food, if we make too much dinner we either freeze it or have it for lunch the following day.
hannonle says
I don’t have any major disasters or major successes, just a general ethos of trying not to waste anything or buy things I won’t use. The only regular casualty is cucumber which I buy for when my nephews visit, use some of it, and then forget about until it’s gone white and furry!
Today I cooked some under ripe plums that my sister gave me. She didn’t have time to deal with them and I have stewed fruit for pudding!
Choclette says
Oh yes, the cucumbers get me too. Why is that?
Naz M says
I never waste food, I always have leftovers left but I’ll freeze them or eat them the next day. I try and buy what I need and not and put the newer items at the backnof the fridge or cupboards, somI use the older food first.
Naz M says
I’m half asleep today!
*need and put, *back of the fridge, *so I’ll
Tracey Parker says
I used to have lots of leftover vegetables until my hubby bought me a soup maker, absolutely brilliant as no leftover veg and cheap healthy homemade lunch for work
Amica Grant says
I try not to waste anything. I always freeze leftovers and use rhem for a meal the next day.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Totally love fennel! Actually just had some (1kg) roasted fennel today…I eat TONS of veggies :-))
Choclette says
Quite right too Angie. I’m not sure I’ve ever had fennel roasted. Must try it. Do you have a recipe on your blog? I could add the link into the bottom of my post if so.
Lorna Ledger says
Never, ever! Eat a 4 day old kebab, even if you are a starving student!! π
Choclette says
Eek Lorna. Definitely not a good idea π
ElizM says
I’m always massively impressed by food chains such as Pret A Manger who instead of wasting what’s left on the shelves at the end of the day, offer it to homeless people. I would like to see more organisations doing that
sarah rees says
I make up lots of stuff to freeze but I always worry about food wastage especially things like fruit and veg, hoping to explore ways to make them last longer
Jamie Millard says
potatoes are our big waste – swayed by the best before dates unfortunately. I’ll buy a bag of baby boiled, a bag of all rounders and sometimes a bag of baked potatoes. Never get through all of that but i like the variety.
Ray Dodds says
Keep buying bags of salad keep throwing them out without using them what a waste
C Kennedy says
I don’t really have any disaster stories but I absolutely hate throwing away food – it’s such a waste! We literally freeze everything. Most of the time we’ll batch cook and then freeze, it cuts down on the washing up and doesn’t waste anything. If we do have to throw things away it’s usually just fruit or vegetables, although it still pains me!
Ruth Harwood says
I ended up with so much recycling waiting that I threw it in bin bags and in the trash through frustration!!
Jane says
Wow! What fantastic food containers, such a brilliant idea to be able to put a date on it easily!
Jay says
I used to do well – lots of containers, all leftovers going to the Mr’s work lunch – but he kept leaving all the containers at his mothers, so all I was left with was a load of lids!
Sharon says
I love making frozen yogurt lolies from yogurt which is about to expire, always a hit!
Lynne OConnor says
I’m pretty good at keeping waste under control, freezing anything we haven’t eaten etc. but last year I was away from home for a major op leaving hubby and 2 teenage boys to fend for themselves. You would not believe how much food I had to chuck out on my return.
Choclette says
Oh no Lynne. I hope you are fully recovered now. I think I could believe it!
Leanne Lunn says
I put the slow cooker on intending to freeze what I had cooked before bed, but completely forgot and went to bed π
pete c says
having cabbage and broccoli (which i dont like) hidden in a stew by my mother in an attempt to make me eat them
Julie Booth says
We never really have food waste issues as I use up leftovers very creatively, so tonight the salmon was supposed to be eaten by yesterday and the mushrooms 6 days ago, so I made a creamy mushroom and onion sauce to go over new potatoes and used up some celery, courgettes and green pepper- all chopped and stir fried and had that with the pan fried salmon. It was all very tasty!
Kristy Brown says
Worst – when we lived in Germany our Freezer was in the cellar. After a nice big shop hubby put everything in the freezer – and didn’t close the door properly. Queue me going down 3 days later to find β¬500 of destroyed soggy food. We managed to scrape together the money to replace it…..only for him to bloody do it again!
Amanda Tanner says
No food is wasted in our house as most of it goes in the bird table
Val Swift says
We went away on holiday only to come back and find the freezer door left open. I felt sick having to throw the lot away, nothing was able to be saved!
Tammy Westrup says
I always have good intentions of buying fresh fruit and veg but often end up wasting some as I don’t use them on time
Lorraine Tinsley says
My husband bought loads of meat at a local market, pork chops, beef steaks, chicken breasts, gammon steaks and put them in the freezer. We already had some lamb leg joints and a couple of chickens in there and my daughter turned off the freezer! It all defrosted so we cooked most of it and ate some and froze some of it, but had to chuck some, such a waste!
leanne weir says
I always keep leftovers and freeze them
Paula Readings says
Going into my grandmothers cupboard after she moved and finding so my cans & tins she had kept that were years & years out of date.
Smithster says
Husband leaving freezer door open the day after I’d done a ‘big shop’ and all the freshly frozen meat and fish going to waste, not to mention the money!
sarah birkett says
I regularly buy yellow stickers, and try and turn veg into soup. The worst thing is when this weeks favourite food, suddenly becomes taboo -just after I have bought loads of it
Carole says
We came back from a holiday to find that our freezer had packed in and had to throw most of the food away. At least we’d had a lovely holiday.
Alison says
My best is a ham joint, it does a roast ham, ham and vegetable soup and sandwiches as well.
Jacqui Kean says
I try to find ways of turning most leftovers into soups or pie fillings
Simon C says
Food waste??! Don’t even talk about it. I’ve got two four-year-olds, and the amount of food that gets wasted by them is frightening. π
Choclette says
Ooh twins Simon, how lovely. But I can imagine the difficulties.
Becky Duffy says
I went away with the family to Ireland and upon return we realised the Freezer had stopped working, fully stocked! I was most upset xx
Choclette says
I bet you were. That happened to me a couple of years ago π
Katie h says
Made a big beef stew and forgot to put the remainder in the fridge… Was left out overnight and had to be thrown away
Amanda says
My best is roast chicken for Sunday lunch, then I use the chicken carcass to make a chicken stock by adding onion, carrots, leek and celery and simmer for a hour then use the stock to make a chicken casserole and a chicken soup which I have made today! Meals always taste so much nicer with a good homemade stock.
Kim M says
Spent ages making a chicken stock only to strain it down the sink and being left with a strainer of bones and peelings!
Helen Humphries says
This week when I came to look for a new block of cheese in the fridge it was no where to be seen, had a horrible feeling, checked the shopping bags and found somehow it had got overlooked in the unpacking days before. Frustrating when I am so particular about not wasting food to score such a spectacular own goal!!
Alice Fox says
Bought a meat feast pizza other day only to find out nobody wanted it….luckily my dad did so it wasn’t complete waste :p xx
Heather says
My mum ALWAYS buys reduced price food because it’s cheap. Often it’s past it’s best before we get it home and eventually it just gets binned.
lyn Burgess says
My daughter reached something out of the freezer but left the door open, and did not realize it for several hours. She closed the door but did not tell us about it till next day, by which time everything had re-frozen, so we couldn’t tell if anything would have been safe to eat and had to throw it all away.
emma walters says
i have a 6 month old who has just started weaning which is great for leftovers – they all get whizzed up together & frozen for her π
Isabel O says
I once poured some pretty rancid milk into my mums tea without realising it was lumpy and off but luckily I noticed before I gave it to her as it was so foul!
Ben Audsley says
sadly im always burning things, so i throw out too much – at least i try!
Choclette says
Oops Ben. Lower the heat and get a timer π
Leanne Abel says
I always try to use up everything I have left in the fridge freezer before buying some more food and I actively try to reduce my waste by only cooking what I really need
Lydia says
it’s so great to see a giveaway focused on food waste! as such a huge issue, especially here in the UK, it’s heartening to read comments about people’s growing awareness about the food we waste. i’m big into things like dumpster diving – sounds gross but u can find some amazing things! – and am part of a food sharing collective in edinburgh that matches up people who want to get rid of food with those looking to get some for free. great giveaway, thanks for the opportunity to win! xxx
Choclette says
Oh well done you Lydia. It’s absolutely shocking how much food gets wasted and most of it before it even hits the shops.
julie feathers says
I always either put leftovers into the fridge or into the freezer
Rebecca williams says
I’m afraid I have numerous attempts throughout the year to eat healthily but the salad and fruit usually ends up in the bin.
Serena Bowles says
Leaving milk in the fridge when I went on holiday for four weeks – bleugh!
kirsty hamilton says
Full of good intentions as I absolutely hate food waste, I dutifully packed up the contents of my freezer when moving house. After hauling the box of food to the new house and up three flights of stairs I triumphantly set in down in the kitchen. Where it sat, defrosting, for the following week. It all had to be binned…
Choclette says
Aghhhhh, oh no. And after all that effort too. It’s the sort of thing I’d do π
Barbara Handley says
We had an electricity power cut when away for a couple of weeks and the food in the freezer defrosted.
Kat Glynn says
I once made some lovely pasta and put the leftovers in the freezer. When I defrosted it…it was like mush π
William Triscott says
We store everything, our favourite is left over take outs.
laura stewart says
i got a chicken out of the freezer, my mum moved it and we both forgot about it and we never used it π
Hannah Smith says
I always try to use up leftover veg in a pasta sauce or curry, it’s amazing what combinations taste good!
Tracy Wells says
The absolute worst was when I left a turkey to rest on the kitchen counter on Christmas day and forgot to monitor our opportunistic cat. Sure enough, when I went to check on it 20 minutes later she had made a sizeable dent in it, and no-one fancied the rest. Luckily our local Chinese takeaway stays open over Christmas!
Choclette says
Oh noooooooooo!!!! Especially at Christmas Tracy π
zainab hassan says
i put previous days veggies in my omellete
Choclette says
Ooh nice idea Zainab. Eggs and leftovers are great for a quick meal.
LynneH says
I try really hard not to waste good food. Even when I made sloe gin, i used the berries to make jam afterwards; the fumes nearly made me pass out
Choclette says
Haha, that sounds just like me. I used the sloes, after draining the gin, to make chocolate truffles. They were delicious, but it took me all day to cut the flesh off. I never repeated that particular experiment.
christine shelley says
Volunteering at the foodbank and now collecting from local supermarkets food that would be thrown out, we are shocked at the amount of waste
Choclette says
Oh I bet you are Christine. Well done for volunteering for such a worthwhile cause though.
Gilla01 says
The main things that seem to be wasted with me are mushrooms and salad greens. It’s fine in the summer when we want more salad, but I never think to add them to soups or stews in the winter until they’re well past it.
Julia Nicholls says
I try to nip into my local greengrocers everyday and buy what I need for that day, it’s good for my pocket and the local economy. But I do realise that this is not easy for everyone to do.
Choclette says
Ooh, you get lots of brownie points from me for supporting your local greengrocer Julia π
MARY ELLEN HOCKENHULL says
we waste potatoes because only one of us eats them and my OH insists on getting bags. also bread as he wont freeze spare slices
Alison Joyce says
My worst food waste story is when my husband forgot to shut the freezer door just after a big shop. Had to throw out about Β£50 of food. I was fuming.
John Massie says
I did a food shop but didn’t close the freezer door fully after filling it up. Everything defrosted when I came down stairs the next morning!
Marianne Daniels says
Made my favourite Guatemalan dish, which needs special ingredients. The store didn’t have pork loin so we used pork steak (with fat). Rookie mistake–the soup was inedible and had a thick layer of fat! It made me so sad to tip it out!
Heather T says
A birthday weekend where we had takeaway, a meal out, a roast dinner and a massive box of cakes. Definitely a case of eyes being bigger than our bellies! No way could we eat it all and so much nice food was thrown away – I was gutted!
Lorna Kennedy says
Luckily I don’t have too many waste disasters as I try to be careful and use up all leftovers, but I have a bad habit of keeping things in the fridge, to freeze later, then forgetting to do it till it’s too late!
Danielle Spencer says
When you are looking forward to making a homemade salad, with the goodies you bought the night before and realise you left them in the car on a hot and sticky night π
Catherine Pawsey says
When my son was 2 yrs old I bought him a lovely in the night garden birthday cake but he managed to sneak into the kitchen and lick all the icing off . Then nobody at the party wanted to eat what was left.
Israr Baig says
Ice cream going out of day and decided to have an ice cream party
Jo Young says
I hardly throw any food away, buying what I need and using left over chicken in pasta bakes, sandwiches etc. But it really annoys me when hubby comes home with lots of food almost at it’s use by date which ends up getting wasted!
kirsty l says
i always cook double or triple the amount of food for my six month old and freeze them in little pots not only does it save on waste i have an easy and nutritious meal whenever i need it. Now my freezer is full of pots, just need to use them
Anthony Harrington says
I have very little waste as I have got very good over the years of managing food/amounts/dates etc. however, I did have a saga a few years ago when my online groceries were delivered and contained 20 litres of milk which were all out of date! the store hadn’t charged me, but I rang them to see if they wanted to collect them, they said no to just throw it away, so it took a while opening and emptying all that lot down the sink!
laura banks says
my hubby bought a load of chicken and instead of putting it in the freezer outside he got distracted and left it on the shelf when i went out 3 days later not looking overly great to use
Liam Bishop says
Every time we had bananas about to go off that weren’t eaten we would chop and freeze them, one day we realized we have a whole freezer drawer full of frozen bananas! Made a huge amount of banana ice cream and spent a week eating it!
Louise Brown says
We came back from the US one Christmas Eve to find the power had gone off and all the food in the freezer was wasted, including fillet steaks, salmon steaks, smoked salmon etc – there was a freezer full of food that had to be thrown away!
Bernie says
I used to throw away a lot of food past it’s sell by date until I got made redundant, now I’m really careful and rarely throw anything away. To be honest it makes me feel embarrassed the amount I used to bin and will never get back to that again.
Paul Wilson says
I did a slow cooked Beef Stew recipe – enough for a meal, plus four portions left over which I froze for future meals.
Lynsey Buchanan says
I bought a Ham & Cheese sandwich from Tesco’s a few weeks ago and bit into it only to find it filled with mould. I did complain and get a refund plus Β£10 gift card but that did not stop the sick feeling all that day.
Emily Knight says
We worked out that you can use potato peelings to make crisps! We save peelings after potatoes have been peeled, pat them dry, spray with low cal cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake in the oven until crisp. They’re so good!
Choclette says
That is a such a lovely idea Emily. I’d be up for trying that except I never peel potatoes, not even for mash.
Louise Comb says
I am ashamed about how much fresh fruit and veg I have had to bin because I forget it’s there. With prepared food, sometimes it goes off before I’ve even opened the pack.
tasha says
I always plan my meals so I don’t buy any unnecessary produce and freeze as much as possible.
Lucy I says
I love having bubble and squeak the day after a roast dinner, with cold meat and fried roast potatoes
Anna says
I like to cook a lot of meals over a few days and freeze them. Being organised with labeling is essential and these look really good with their integrated date setter
Suzanne says
I try to use up everything so I have a place for different types of leftovers to be mopped up using a variety of recipes.
Judi says
We bought a load of really nice fresh food in when dear MIL was going to be looking after the children (as agreed with her). We got back a few days later and it hadn’t been touched and was all out of date – when we mentioned it she said “oh I just treated them to takeaways”…..GRR
Suzanne Drummond says
i try to cook and plan a head and freeze food for work
Corina says
Fantastic giveaway. I always need loads of food containers at the moment as I try to prepare food in advance to save time when I’m making meals.
Choclette says
Well this certainly fits in well with your cook once eat twice challenge Corina π
Harline says
I’m not one for wasting food, I usually cook in batches and freeze I will spend time making soups lasagnes and Shepard pies and freeze them. If I make a stew I make it for two days
Lorraine Bell says
I’ve learned over the years to freeze most things
ashleigh allan says
I bought steaks that got delivered with my shopping – i didnt think to check the dates as it was for 2 days time – but when i checked they were sell by the day before π
Jennifer Haden says
We rarely have food waste issues, if ever, since we started packing and freezing all our scrapes and leftovers. It saves us so much money too and the bonus is, less trash. And less smell too π
iain maciver says
try not to waste too much ,the key, not to buy more than you need if you can, if I have leftovers most of the time I try and use them next day
Lucy Pasifull says
I was really good for ages, collected loads of containers and cooked double and froze the leftovers. Only problem was I labelled the containers with a marker that wasn’t waterproof and now I haven’t a clue what is what! Not such a disaster except hubby has a food allergy and I cannot risk giving him pot luck!
Choclette says
Ah yes Lucy, I know that feeling. How frustrating.
linda toth says
I coked a big pot of sour cabbages with meatballs and the garlic tasted musty but it was invisible. The result was really disgusting. Since then I use garlic from my parents garden.
Choclette says
It’s so frustrating when something like that happens. I haven’t bought garlic in years as we grow our own – so far successfully!
Anita says
These look very useful!I always put leftovers in fridge then hubby throws them away thinking they are old!
Choclette says
It sounds as though these would be ideal for you then Anita.
olivia Kirby says
I thought it said worst taste story, glad I read other people’s comments!! They are when my teenager does cooking at school. He does it in the morning, the food isn’t stored properly, he then goes straight to his nan’s who doesn’t want it and keeps it for me but I don’t ever fancy risking it the next day! Last week he did a casserole with about Β£5 of ingredients in! We got it 3 days later and with doubts of how it had been kept so threw it away. Dreadful isn’t it really.
Choclette says
Oh no, that’s such a shame Olivia and after all your son’s efforts too π
Iris W says
I have to say I’m getting a lot better at not to waste to much food, I prefer going shopping regularly at my smaller local shop than doing a massive shop I have much less wastage like that.
The biggest waste was a leg of lamb once, I bought it but for sunday lunch but something else came up and I forgot to put it in the freezer. It was still a couple of days in date when I opened it but the smell was absolutely awful. I didn’t know what to do with it as I couldn’t just put it in my wheely bin so I took it back to the shop for them to dispose of it, I wasn’t even that fussed about the money I just wanted to ged rid of it but they did refund as it was still in date. Did put me of it for a while though
Choclette says
Eek, that doesn’t sound good Iris π
Richard Eldred Hawes says
I always seem to buy to many vegetables so to save wasting them I turn them into soup which I freeze and use when I need to, mind you I seem to have a lot of soup in my freezer
Choclette says
Haha Richard. I know the feeling π
Anna Tuckett says
I hate waste, so I’m pretty good at using everything up. We have a dog, too, so any stale bread (v.little, as I make my own) is his treat:-) But I do occasionally have to throw away some veg, like a courgette. It doesn’t happen often, though.
Freya Johnson says
I made lots of big meals and freezed portions to save time and money, but accidentally turned off the freezer and ruined them all, I felt like a right goon! It was a good attempt, but not well executed!
Tracy K Nixon says
I must admit I have never had any food waste disasters as I am scruplious at checking dates and using up anything before it’s use by date. I hate waste so throw away hardly anything at all.
Choclette says
Hooray, good for you Tracy. I am impressed π
Spencer Broadley says
I always keep leftovers and fry them up for lunch the next day
Tracey Peach says
I brought a huge pack of bacon to split into smaller amounts to freeze. Unfortunately I never got around to splitting them up & when I looked at the use by date it had already gone! so what was going to be a money saving exercise turned out to be a money waster!
Choclette says
Aghhh, how frustrating Tracey. I’m always full of good intentions too π
Lizzy T says
Power cut while away on holiday completely ruined everything in a full freezer.