Put your bin on a festive diet

It’s the time of year for stocking up on your yuletide favourites but do you end up with lots of leftover turkey, mince pies and party snacks?

This Christmas, why not expand your wallet not your waste. The average UK family throws away around £50 worth of food a month – this rises to £680 a year for a families with children – imagine how you could spend this extra cash!

Making the most of your food and saving money during the festivities doesn’t mean cutting down on indulgence and fun. By planning meals in advance, checking the cupboards and fridge, knowing use by-dates and creating tasty leftovers, you can enjoy an extra bit of cash and make sure uneaten food doesn’t end up in the bin

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign has these great tips to reduce food waste over the festive period:

• Keep tabs on the use-by dates of perishables and freeze anything you won’t eat in time
• If you make too much don’t throw it away, freeze it and eat on a cold January evening
• Stuffing, bread sauce, cranberry sauce and brandy butter can all be made ahead of time and frozen
• Make your own mince pies and freeze them uncooked – they’re a great standby snack
• Unsure how much to cook? Try Love Food Hate Waste’s perfect portion calculator (www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions) to find out how much you need to cook for Christmas dinner
• Love your leftovers – make a tasty turkey and chickpea curry with your leftovers. Find more festive leftover recipes at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
• Don’t forget Christmas cake, meat, potatoes, cheese and bread can be frozen

Why not try making Christmas pudding ice…A kind of cheats version of Rum and Raisin using leftover Christmas Pudding.

Ingredients: Serves 4

• 125g leftover Christmas pudding, crumbled.
• 150ml chilled ready made custard.
• 150ml double cream, whipped.
• liquor such as branch, rum, whisky or Baileys.

Instructions: Mix together the custard and whipped cream then stir in the crumbled Christmas pudding. Freeze in a large Tupperware and stir every half hour or so until it’s the consistency you want. For a softer freeze, add a little brandy or leftover Christmas liquor such as rum, whisky or Baileys

Tags: Christmas, Love Food Hate Waste, Recycling