Kim Whatley from Leeds said:
Good on you! We have such an obsession in this country about just having 'stuff', always way too much than we need... More
Try our top tips and ideas for making the most of the food we buy. Find out what types of food can be frozen and how to make your fridge a true food saving hero. Why not share your own tips to reduce food waste with fellow Love Food Hate Waste supporters.
Gather up all the bits from your fridge - coarse outside lettuce leaves, that bendy carrot, bit of onion, green tops of leeks and spring onions, a few herbs, etc, etc. Put in a pan with water to cover and a stock cube or meat jelly or gravy if you have some leftover and boil until the veg are soft. Whizz in processor or liquidiser. The French call this 'Garbure' and it's almost always delicious and different each time. Can be thickened with leftover potato, or some small pasta shapes can be added, or a cooked chopped bacon rasher. Soy sauce and a slowly poured beaten egg will make it Chinese-ish. Curry paste,and garlic, or grated cheese, or mushroom ketchup ... almost any mixture you invent will taste better than a tin of soup, and it's practically cash- and additive-free!
If you have lots of leftover broccoli, add a little milk to make a puree. Serves as a sauce for fish or chicken or as an original vegetable. It tastes creamy and isn’t fattening.
When you’re cooking a big celebration meal and want to save yourself time on the day of the feast, prepare veg such as carrots, parnips and sprouts on the day before and store them in the fridge in a plastic bag - reusing a plastic bag from the bread or other food bag would be ideal.
Broccoli stored in the fridge in a loosely tied plastic bag retains its freshness and quality for longer than broccoli stored loose in a vegetable rack at room temperature.
Broccoli does tend to be a vegetable that we need to keep an eye on as it can tend to yellow and soften. Chilling broccoli in its shop wrapping or loosely tied in a vegetable bag, helps keep it from softening.
Use up left over veg to make a healthy & tasty soup - lovely weekend lunch with crusty bread. Any veg - the more the better, plus herbs, seasoning (tin of chopped tomatoes add colour & flavour). When cooked mash for chunky soup or liquidise for smooth. The options are endless - have never had a bad one & the kids love it!
Don't discard the stalks they're the best bit! Peel the stalks, cut lengthways and cook with the florets or eat raw.
1. For stirfries cut up the broccoli stalk like you would a carrot, into long thin pieces. 2. Julienne the broccoli stalk to go into salads 3. for dips cut the broccoli stalk up as you would celery or carrot sticks
If your broccoli’s a bit soft cut a thick slice off the bottom of the stalk, put into a glass with water and leave in the fridge overnight to crisp up.
Debbie Meyer Green Bags are absolutely wonderful for keeping fruit and veg fresher for longer. Broccoli especially lasts far longer than usual - I used to throw out a lot of broccoli when it started turning brown.
If you have lots of leftover broccoli, add a little milk to make a puree. Serves as a sauce for fish or chicken or as an original vegetable. It tastes creamy and isn’t fattening.