I am always happy to encourage people to reduce food waste. I have said before in this blog how much I dislike the pervading waste culture. We are a throw away society. It appears we no longer seem to value our possessions or how much they cost in financial and environmental terms. Easy come, easy go!
This also applies to food. I remember learning about wartime rationing at school. Food was scarce but nobody starved in the UK because nothing was wasted. Now we are guided more by use by and best before dates than common sense and a lot of perfectly edible food is thrown away with barely a thought.
I am generally careful to avoid waste like this, but I am not perfect and could definitely try harder, so I was delighted to receive a copy of My Zero Waste Kitchen from Dorling Kindersley. If it helps people reduce food waste then all well and good.
It is a prettily designed, small hardback book and good value at £6.99 I think. The advice given is clear and simple, although probably aimed more for those who have just begun to think about reducing food waste rather than the seasoned waste free cook.
Lots of tips to reduce food waste
I like it though – there are a lot of useful tips that I hadn’t come across before, such as the page on eggs. Did you know you could use crushed eggshells as a stain remover or as a calcium supplement? Or that you could revive stale cake by putting it overnight in an airtight container with a slice of bread?
Why not put apple cores and kiwi skins in your smoothie? I am sure they would taste just as nice and add nutrition. I was less convinced about adding banana skins, however, as I think they would be too bitter.
If you want to get maximum value from your lettuce, you can cut off the end and root it in water to start a whole new plant. I have never tried this and I am sceptical, but might give it a go.
Recipes to reduced food waste
The recipes in the book look interesting. I like how a base recipe is presented such as hummus or flapjacks alongside ideas for foods you could add to save wasting them. I will definitely be trying the Waste-not want-not savoury muffins, as they look yummy.
If you want some fresh ideas on how to begin to reduce your family’s food waste, or you want to teach your children more about the subject, then this book will be a great place to begin.
If you decide to buy this book using the link below, I will receive a small commission from Amazon.
Francesca - From Pennies to Pounds says
I’ve never heard of the eggshell tip! Or the cake one. I love little tips like that, that can save money on food waste
Eloise says
It horrifies me to see the amount of food some people waste. My daughter in law buys hot chickens from the supermarket at £6 each and they only eat the breast, throwing the rest away!! She also discard anything one day after the sell by date, even veg which is perfectly edible. I will just add that this is not a “what an awful daughter in law” rant – I am extremely fond of her!
I, on the other hand, waste as little as possible, though I draw the line at banana skins. I think one of my biggest past failings was to put cooked leftovers in the fridge and then fail to use them up. Now, I freeze any leftovers for future use to bulk out pies, casseroles etc. Certain things can be turned into a tasty pate by mixing with quark or plain Greek yogurt (I almost always have one or the other in the fridge). Dinner is often based on, or supplemented with, what most needs using up.