The average family spends over $250 on Christmas day lunch alone and yet up to a quarter of festive food gets thrown in the bin.
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Nambucca Valley Council's Technical Officer, Lisa Hall said there are simple things you can do to keep more money in your pocket and spend less time in the kitchen this silly season.
"With proper planning, sensible shopping, smart storage and creative use of leftovers, we can all cut down on the amount of food that goes to waste during Christmas and New Year celebrations."
Make a list, check it twice
- Use up food from your fridge and freezer the week before to make room for leftovers.
- Check what you already have in the pantry or fridge before you shop.
- Work out how many meals for how many people and halve recipes to avoid over-catering.
- Plan for Christmas Day and beyond - choose in-season ingredients that can be used in more than one meal.
- If you want extra food on hand for unexpected visitors, choose food that has a longer shelf or fridge life such as hummus, biscuits and jars of antipasto.
Store it right
- Raw meats and seafood should be stored on the fridge shelf below ready-to-eat foods.
- Homemade Christmas cakes can be stored for a couple of months in an air-tight container in the cupboard.
- Check the best-before and use-by dates before you bin it and remember most foods are safe to eat after their best-before date.
- Cut ham slices can be wrapped in foil and frozen for a month. Label and date everything clearly.
Avoid plate waste
- Let guests serve themselves for perfect portions.
- Don't open drinks until they're needed - beverage waste is often overlooked.
- Serve salad dressing separately so leftover salad can be kept crisp for tomorrow.
- Put foods back in the fridge as soon as people have finished eating.
Love your leftovers
- Seafood and salad can be made into rice paper rolls.
- Roast vegies can be tossed into a salad with baby spinach leaves and balsamic vinegar.
- Christmas ham and leftovers from the cheese platter can be used in a quiche.
- Turkey makes a great stir-fry with carrots, asparagus, noodles and soy sauce.
- Freeze uneaten biscuits for a cheesecake base.
Make it your New Year's resolution to avoid food waste - sign up for the free Food Smart program at www.midwaste.org.au/food-smart
This project is a NSW Government Waste Less Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy. For more information about Love Food Hate Waste visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.nsw.gov.au
