Leftovers and waste

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snowdrops

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #30 on: January 21, 2016, 10:06 »
I'm trying to reduce mine too- planning seems to be key (but boring) ie freezer left over mash for shepherd pies, if I'm having half a pumpkin (ie Thai Laska) one day, plan a meal a few days later with the rest of it (veg chilli)
I do write a weekly menu to shop by, but then life happens...someone's out, boyfriend appears etc.
At least you are aware  :blush:

I know what you mean with teenagers in the house I started freezing leftovers & meats etc in different size portions I.e 2 portions for hubby & I then in 1s so that I could very the amount depending on the amount of mouths to feed plus I then had something in the freezer for any body extra. It worked out well. Now it's just the 2 of us I still do it so if I go out or hubby does there is something available in the right portion size.
When younger he children loved it when we had pot luck week- clear the freezer week, I used to take 4 tubs usually unidentified out of the freezer then they got to choose what they had when it as defrosted,only time we all had different meals
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sunshineband

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #31 on: January 21, 2016, 15:04 »
I like the idea of pot-luck meals LOL.

As there are just two of us eating here most days, I freeze anything that was more than the two portions needed or mysteriously it disappears from the fridge!! Hmmmmm ... I wonder how that might happen???

I do label the boxes though or we might end up with two boxes of rice LOL
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Debz

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #32 on: January 21, 2016, 15:08 »
I never thought about freezing left over mash for a cottage pie topping.  I'll be doing that from now on.

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Headgardener22

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #33 on: January 21, 2016, 15:25 »
I agree with Mum, planning is important. However, we only plan five meals a week, that way when there's too much one day or something specially cheap in the shops, you don't waste what you've bought.

Getting rid of what little is wasted (cooked fish heads, potato peelings, etc.) is much easier since we bought a Bokashi bin. Everything goes in and the results get buried at the allotment. Doesn't attract vermin because its pre-composted and doesn't smell even though we keep the bin in the kitchen.

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snowdrops

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #34 on: January 21, 2016, 15:56 »
I think that's a valid point head gardener. A few years ago our council provided a food sate collection bin for all peelings,cooked & raw food waste. Obviously I didn't put peelings etc in it as I'm a compostaholic. I used it for the scrapings off the plates,anything not eaten that was past its best,meat & fish bones. It really opened my eyes to what we did waste & I made sure the family were aware of it. Unfortunately the council stopped it after a couple of years as it was a trial. So I bought a Green Johanna bin that the council subsidised £20 instead of over £100 I think it was. It's a sealed bin(on my allotment) I filled it in 1-2 years & left it a year to turn out the most wonderful compost. I just wished I'd had 2 while on offer, 1 to fill & 1 to brew. Only downside was the bones didn't decompose,but there was no smell or any remnants of meat on them.
Funny thing was I sieved the finished compost just as they were reinterring the remains of Richard 3rd (down the road in Leicester). I told my mum about it all & said I was going to put the bones back in until she pointed out his bones were still there after 500 years😄😄. So now I don't put bones in at all as its a faff to sieve them out

Sorry long story to suggest it might be worth collecting all food waste that normally gets binned for a week or two in a separate bucket ,then throw it away, to just see how much we do really throw away,it was certainly an eye opener for me.
« Last Edit: January 21, 2016, 15:58 by snowdrops »

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New shoot

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #35 on: January 22, 2016, 10:21 »
Well I finally cleared the fridge of all Christmas leftovers yesterday  ::)  To be fair, there was only a small whole smoked cheese and a salami in there (both gifts), but together with some veg and a creamy sauce made from just quark and milk, they made a great pasta bake for OH to have for tea.

He has the second half tonight as I was working yesterday evening and will be tonight as well.  Its a good 'chuck in the oven' meal for him  :)

With general leftovers, I always have a bag of chicken bones in the freezer waiting to get full enough to make it worthwhile to get the stock pot out.  For clearing the fridge, it is handy to have a night a week to make something that can accommodate differing ingredients.  Pasta bake, stir-fry, soup or some sort of rice pilaf dish.  I also bulk cook things like pulses and brown rice and freeze leftovers, so I can knock up meals another day  :)

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Goosegirl

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #36 on: January 22, 2016, 11:14 »
Being an old-fashioned chef, my OH hardly wastes a thing. He plans several days meals in advance and knows what he can use up with what else he has just bought in, or got in the fridge or freezer. He makes sure the fridge is running at the proper temperature, and it's surprising how long things can last if stored properly and still be safe to use. I'll ask him if he will give me an example of how he plans a weeks meals so you can see how he thinks ahead.
I work very hard so don't expect me to think as well.

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Headgardener22

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #37 on: January 22, 2016, 12:09 »
The interesting thing with the Bokashi system is that the bran you spread on contains bacteria which prevent it smelling and stops it rotting. The only smell you get is a bit like brewing beer. When you bury it in soil, the microbes in the ground break it all down quicker than if you'd just buried the waste.

A secondary benefit is that the only stuff that now goes into our landfill bin is packaging so there's a lot less and it doesn't smell.

I've dug around where I buried it at the allotment after a couple of months and the only thing I've found are large bones (even chicken bones seem to have gone).

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snowdrops

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #38 on: January 22, 2016, 17:47 »
The interesting thing with the Bokashi system is that the bran you spread on contains bacteria which prevent it smelling and stops it rotting. The only smell you get is a bit like brewing beer. When you bury it in soil, the microbes in the ground break it all down quicker than if you'd just buried the waste.

A secondary benefit is that the only stuff that now goes into our landfill bin is packaging so there's a lot less and it doesn't smell.

I've dug around where I buried it at the allotment after a couple of months and the only thing I've found are large bones (even chicken bones seem to have gone).

Hmm that's interesting, I think I've got a Bokashi ban in the loft that I bought to sell on eBay. Might give it a whirl myself

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mumofstig

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #39 on: January 22, 2016, 18:24 »
This thread is in Kitchen Natter, so please can we keep posts to how to avoid/use leftovers and waste there.

Composting techniques belong in  GYO  :D


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GrannieAnnie

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #40 on: January 22, 2016, 22:10 »
We've just finished the leftover veggie soup I made 3 days ago.  Even little bits of leftover veg gets frozen, then I bought it out, softened an onion in the microwave before I added it to the veg with some stock and spices, and it last us for 3 days of lunches.  Was very nice too!  ;)

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snowdrops

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #41 on: January 22, 2016, 22:27 »
This thread is in Kitchen Natter, so please can we keep posts to how to avoid/use leftovers and waste there.

Composting techniques belong in  GYO  :D

I was trying to point out if you save all the stuff you throw out it makes you realise actualise how much it is🙄

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mumofstig

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #42 on: January 22, 2016, 23:09 »
I know you were :wub: that's why I added my smiley.
but wouldn't want composting to take over the thread completely - you know what we (gardeners) are like  :D

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snowdrops

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #43 on: January 23, 2016, 09:24 »
Fairyenough😊

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New shoot

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Re: Leftovers and waste
« Reply #44 on: January 23, 2016, 09:31 »
We've just finished the leftover veggie soup I made 3 days ago.  Even little bits of leftover veg gets frozen, then I bought it out, softened an onion in the microwave before I added it to the veg with some stock and spices, and it last us for 3 days of lunches.  Was very nice too!  ;)

I like mix up soup as well  :)  Sometimes I cheat with the stock making and put bones in the slow cooker with veg I have dried in the dehydrator, herbs and seasonings and leave it to make soup.  It works well with bones other than chicken, which I hoard for making big batches of stock.  I buy cheap popsock tights to put the bones in, so I can fish them out easily  ;)

It makes a great base once blended.  I freeze it, bring it out as needed and add some fresh veg to it ring the changes  :)


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