With food prices rising and households feeling the squeeze, there’s never been more crucial time to reduce food waste and adopt simple ways to make meals and your money go further.
If you find yourself frequently throwing away food or have a fridge that’s full of half used jars of condiments and sauces, British Trout has some top tips on how to better plan your meals which will not only help you to save cash but can improve your (and the environment’s) health.
- Choose unprocessed foods. Natural food that hasn’t been messed around with in a factory is always going to be cheaper and more nutritious for you than convenience foods. British trout fillets are just as quick to cook as a processed fishcake and has none of the additives. Try out our Creamy Trout Spaghetti Trout fillets go further in this dish, you only need 2 to feed 4 people. Use whatever pasta you have and switch in any vegetables such as peas or broccoli.
- Weekly meal planning. Get used to deciding what you are going to eat for a whole week and buy only the ingredients you need for those dishes. This will help avoid impulse buys. It is also a good idea to choose meals which have the same ingredients so leftovers can be used in a different dish the next day. For example, if a fish pie needs half a pack of spinach, then cook a pasta dish with the remaining spinach the following day.
- Cook big batches. Cooking in bulk and freezing individual portions of meals will help save on waste and are a handy solution for when you need something quick to reheat in the microwave. It’s nearly always more economical to batch cook as the price for larger weights and quantities are usually a bit cheaper in the supermarkets
- Love your leftovers. Many leftover meals can be transformed into a new dish the next day. Be creative – leftover fish and/or rice can be made into kedgeree, leftovers from a roast can be made into rissoles. And cold mashed potatoes are great in homemade fishcakes or as a topping to a pie
- Revive food past its best. If the food hasn’t reached its Use By date, has gone mouldy or smells bad, then chances are you can still use it. Cook vegetables that are past their best in a healthy soup. For fruits, juice them in a smoothie. Stale rolls can be livened up with a few mins in the oven or rip up and toast for croutons. Limp salad leaves and watercress are great in quiches or quickly cooked and served with fish. Carrots and spring onions crisp up in a bowl of ice-cold water. And peel wrinkly mushrooms – they are usually fine underneath!
- Use every last bit. Peelings of skin from potatoes, parsnips carrot can be deep fried or baked – dip into hummus for a tasty snack. Even trout skin is delicious fried until crisp. Onion skins and other veg trimmings can be used to make a stock for soups and stews. Scrape the last bits of near-empty jars of mayo, mustard, pesto or chutney into dressings, curries and pasta sauces.
- Correct storage. Keep the older packets of food towards the front of the shelves and in the fridge so they get used before newer ones which should go at the back. Freeze cheese and butter, then when needed grate them while frozen and they will defrost really quickly. Freeze packets of food into manageable portions e.g. trout fillets if you know you can’t use up a whole pack in one go. Store potatoes away from onions in a cool dark place to prevent them sprouting.
- Buy British. Food grown locally is cheaper and better for you than imported produce. British Trout farmers work hard to deliver high quality, sustainable trout all year round. Supporting them helps local economies and ensures stable food security.
