Keeping food for longer in lockdown

Living

3 min read

Now that visits to the supermarket are less frequent, we need to be smarter when it comes to how we use our food and reduce waste where possible.

Meal planning

Make sure you meal plan ahead of time to ensure you make use of all the food you do bring home. Planning meals ahead will help you if you are still working whilst also preventing waste and saving money.

Freezing leftover meals will reduce waste and save you time as they can be defrosted and used for lunches and dinners another day.

Take stock of what is in your cupboards and make a little list of the meals you could potentially make. BBC Good Food have a list of freezable meals that is ideal for batch cooking and Jamie Oliver’s new show - Keep Cooking and Carry On is now on Channel 4 to help inspire us.

Shopping

Most of the waste we throw in the bin is usually food packaging or food that has expired, which is a downright shame. By following a few of the below tips, we can all reduce the amount we throw out:

Don’t shop on an empty stomach, as we often buy more that we actually need creating more food waste.
Buy only what you need and stick to a shopping list.
If buying loose fruit, skip the little plastic bags.
Try to avoid buying lots of perishable foods and opt for frozen fruit and veg where you can.

Top Tip

Many supermarkets and shops are doing home deliveries - now is the time to support our local producers and check out what’s locally available whilst ensuring we stay at home.

Reuse reuse reuse

Reusable containers can prevent unnecessary waste by keeping food fresh for longer. Plus, they’re great for leftovers and next day lunches.

Composting

A large amount of what you throw into the bin could be composted – eggshells, leftover scraps, vegetable peelings, teabags etc. Make the most of them by creating a compost heap if you have a spare bin and some extra space.

It’s also a great fertilizer for plants as it's full of nutrients. So not only are you reducing waste, but you’re actually giving to your garden and with all this extra time at home, it is a great opportunity to finally get the garden ready for Spring!