Us Brits know how to put on a great Christmas spread, but sometimes you can be left feeling a bit overwhelmed with the amount of leftover food in the aftermath. So, we’ve compiled a handy Higgidy checklist on how you can minimise food waste this year.
Stick to the plan!
Planning ahead is something that we all tend to do, however we’ve found that if you get super specific with your planning, you’re less likely to over-buy. Figure out roughly how much all of your guests will eat – factoring in the over and under eaters, then make a list of how many of each item you’ll need. The next step in this plan is to not let yourself get distracted by any extras in the shops, as we often fall victim to this!
Prep & save
Our team have a couple of ways that you can minimise your waste whilst preparing your festive feasts. The first is rather easy and works well if you’ve got a couple of small, four legged friends in the garden. Our Assistant Brand Manager, Izzy and her family collect most vegetable shavings or greenery when cooking for their pet rabbit, Hun-Bun. This saves them going in the bin and gives Hun-Bun a little treat.
Lauren, our Senior Commercial Manager and her mum, have another crafty way to minimise waste from food prep by creating their very own vegetable stock. Whilst you’re chopping up veg, have a saucepan of water simmering on a low heat and simply add any veggie shavings to it. From carrots, to leeks to onions – or whatever veg is taking your fancy. Eventually this will reduce down to a glorious stock which you can just add some bay leaves and peppercorns to for some extra flavour. If you like, you can also add any leftover turkey or other meat bones to this if you enjoy something a bit meatier. These are great for warming soups or stews to see you through the rest of the winter.
Love your leftovers
Leftovers can be turned into a whole host of magnificent creations. Our top recommendations would be:
Create nifty little dinners that you can pop into Tupperware in the freezer. These are handy for those evenings where you’re not quite in the mood for cooking but want something to warm the soul. Separate up any spare pigs in blankets, a bit of turkey, some stuffing and roasties, pop in the freezer; then you can have a little bit of Christmas for dinner well after all festivities are out of the way.
In true British style, we recommend using leftover veg and potatoes to create bubble and squeak (which would go down a treat with one of our pies!), what’s more, if you’ve got any spare cheese from your Christmas cheeseboards left, this is a great addition to add a bit of extra flavour and who doesn’t love a bit of cheese?
Finally, we love to create what we call a leftover mega-sandwich. Grab yourself a fresh loaf of your favourite bread, some salted butter, then pack full with all the delicious bits you want. Popping this under the grill or in a toastie-maker will also help to make this the best sandwich. Ever.
