Stop Wasting Food & Save Money 

Great video Jane, I hate wasting anything but most of all I hate food waste. I feel my freezer is my best friend when it comes to keeping the food bill low. I put things like the outer leaves from cabbage broccoli cauliflower or lettuce, storks from cabbage cauliflower and broccoli, leaves from celery, tops from leeks, any left over veg into either soup of the stock pot. These can be frozen to await using if necessary. In winter when veg and fruit is expensive fresh I buy frozen. Living alone I find frozen very economical as I can take one or two pieces out of each and this means I still get variety. I freeze anything that if left over and not going to be eaten the next day. I also freeze things I get cheap or free. This last week I used the last of the mountain of 19pence veg I bought and froze when it was on offer at the supermarket at Easter . I freeze freebies from friend and family gardens. My brother has lots of fruit trees and plants in his garden but apart from a couple of apple crumbled he doesn’t use the rest of the crop same with rhubarb and blackberries so I take them home and enjoy them all winter.This last week I enjoyed the last of last years blackberry harvest.😂

We have a worm farm and i feed my worms nearly everyday with scraps. The worms provide me with fertiliser for the garden and my worm population keeps growing.

I used to put paper towel at the bottom of veg boxes in the fridge. But now I have cut up.old tea towels and use them instead. Just chuck in washing machine when you want to refreash them. Or am I just being Frugal 😂

That's a problem here in the U.S. many foods in supermarkets only come in oversized portions and I live alone. So, if I buy a gallon of milk or a large package of chicken, i divide it into smaller portions and immediately freeze what I'm not going to use in the next few days. I have a food saver vacuim sealer which works great to prevent freezer burn. Lettuce is always a challenge for me to use up. But i can usually find a smallish head so i don't waste much. Today i bought an inexpensive small ready-made salad at the super market and then dressed it up additional items i had ready at home. It was very tasty and satisfying!

I like your method of processing vegetables immediately and saving the tops for making stock.😊

I thought I was pretty good but you’ve added to my knowledge. Thank you both. We’re always learning.

More great tips there Jane. I've made some notes. 😆 Never thought about freezing tomato paste, but will from now on. Great idea about the peelings as well. Yes, I've always split, wrapped and frozen certain shopping items, such as meats, bacon, cheese etc; the minute I get home. I started to portion and freeze cheese, which proved to be a good thing as I love cheese. Say no more. 😆. I always build a shopping list, bearing in mind what I have left in the fridge and freezer and I have barely any waste. My grocery shop tends to consist of a mix of fresh, frozen and tinned goods. As a single person who shops twice weekly, I find it easier to plan ahead and use everything up. I do have a pantry stock, just in case, which over time, I use and replace as necessary. Thanks again to you both for sharing this useful information. 🤗

If I have milk about to go off I turn it into a white sauce and freeze it in ice trays, I do this with left over yoghurt and pasta sauce. Each ice cube is a tablespoon, once frozen I put them in a freezer bag. This week we had lamb kebabs I wanted a yoghurt mint sauce with it just defrosted 3 cubes of yoghurt and mixed it with mint sauce - yum

Our garden is starting to give us fresh veggies. I have a wheel barrow full of garlic that I am processing several ways. Got peaches from orchard and canned quarts, jam, jelly and spicy peach butter. Going to be busy as the corn and tomato's into catsup, cubes and stewed with peppers, onion and celery. So good!

I needed to hear this “buy for the family that you’ve got”. So many times ive bought chicken thighs trying to get the cheaper meat in by stealth but none of my lot like brown meat, so I need to be more realistic. My teen swooned over the avocado on toast trends and I bought her one knowing damn well it would go to waste. It languished for days and days and days…. Lesson learned!

I recently read 'eat to beat disease' by Dr William Li. He talks about the broccoli stalk more than the florets helping prevent cancer. Another reason to eat more broccoli stalk.

When I buy too much, I try to find a way to make a treat and take it to work for the staff to share over break or lunch. I have taken everything from extra apples with a bottle of honey to crackers and cheese to an extra carton of orange juice. Everyone enjoys the special treat and we avoid wasting food we have already purchased.

You inspired me to get up and clean all the celery given to me. I was going to put it off till tomorrow because I am tired and in some pain. Kale and spinach leaves are in the dehydrator. I just added the celery leaves. The slim celery sill be chopped and frozen. The rest of the celery is in the fridge and will be chopped and canned tomorrow. I will also be canning some applesauce this weekend. The corn will be cut off the cob and frozen.Then I will put the cobs back in the water and make corn broth. It will be a busy few days. Lol. Thanks for the push.

Berries last longer after washed and dried and put in a mason jar and place in fruit crisper in refrigerator.

We have decided, that every thursday, we eat leftovers from that week. It works really well. If we have bread, that is started to dry, I just cut it into pieces and make crutongs.

I buy very snall tins of sweetcorn because only my youngest son likes it in a salad. 1 tin lasts 2 servings. It is only a couple of cents cheaper than bigger tins but no waste that way. Like you, I often freeze half used jars of tomaro sauce.

I made syrup for our waffles last week by putting a few spoons full of mixed berry jam in a saucepan with a few leftover fresh raspberries! I cooked it on the stove for a few minutes then added a few more fresh raspberries to finish them up. Most of the raspberries had been used mixed with fresh blueberries over yogurt with a little homemade granola the day before.

I tend to purchase meat in larger cuts, for example a whole pork loin, and cut it to my family's preference. At the same time I trim any excess fat and toss it into the freezer. When I have enough I grind it up and render it into lard and tallow to use in cooking. I haven't had to buy cooking fat in years. These naturally solid fats are wonderful to use in the kitchen. Tallow makes the most delicious pastry for a meat pie!

I put pasta or tomato sauce into ice cubes trays, freeze then pop out and store in bags. Each cube is around 2 tablespoons

I just opened a can of tomato paste/puree, but only needed part of it. I divided out the rest by 1 Tablespoon measurements and wrapped each in a small bit of plastic wrap and put them all in a ziploc freezer bag. Next time a recipe calls for 1 or more Tablespoons I can just thaw out what I need. No more waste. I love the idea of taking off the celery leaves or carrot leaves when you get them home to freeze. That would save me so much more.

At 77 I bought myself a very small chest freezer and put it in a closet, as I had limited freezer space in my fridge--and I wondered if I'd regret spending the money and finding the space for it. It has turned out to be one of the best things I've ever purchased, as a single person. The convenience and the cost savings in terms of less food waste are remarkable. With some online research I found that I could freeze SO many things that I previously had thrown away because I couldn't use them up right away. And I can take advantage of stocking up a bit when something is on sale. I've had the freezer for over 4 years now and am still so happy I got it.

I’m currently making food for the 4th of July- I’m American- and was catching up on your channel when I realized I had several things in the refrigerator that needed to go into the freezer. Thank you! As a sidenote, I wanted to make a certain pasta dish, but I knew it would cost me $15 for two of the ingredients. my grocery store had tortellini and goat cheese markdown so I paid nine dollars. I get very giddy when that happens. Thank you again for your channel. It means a lot to me.

Left over vegetables go into the slow cooker with stock and spices to taste, leftover soup freezes well 👍Also the slow cooker doesn’t overheat the kitchen in the summer or take much power. Fruit 🍇 and tomatoes 🍅 are very pricey in Australia 🇦🇺 so everything gets quickly eaten. Top advice to prevent food wastage ✔️ Thank you Jane and Mike for another good video.

I save and eat broccoli, celery, cauliflower and turnip leaves but I never thought to eat carrot leaves. I don't know why but I will save my carrot leaves, too, from now on. Thanks so much for all the tips.

Another great video Jane. I can always learn great ideas from your style of living. Love those puppies also.

Reducing food waste is my biggest focus! Everyone is different - e.g. I always buy whole chicken if it's cheap because I can portion it into different cuts or roast it whole but all the extra bits make a great stock which I flip into another (really frugal) meal. My friend buys veg every 2 -3 days because she's conveniently near the shops and she uses every last bit up before buying more. She knows she's paying a little more but wastes nothing which is also a valid approach. I've heard it said if you eat healthy 90% of the time you can forgive the other 10% and I think food waste is the same - it's an attitude, a goal and you'll never be perfect! I have gotten better, which makes me really happy but I'm still learning and adapting and not beating myself up for any failures! Stop and think is also valid - for example panko crumbs here are really inexpensive and give a better result for the odd fried treat so I turn bread ends into salad croutons or feed it to my chickens. As I said, everyone's situation is different but it's lovely that we can all learn from each other. Cheers to everyone from Oz!!

I put tomato paste in ice cube trays and freeze them. Then I pop them into a zip bag and use when needed.

This is a big problem for me. I do the buy healthy stuff because I’m going to eat better, and then I never do and end up throwing it out.

Excellent hints. I will now freeze left over salsa. It went mouldy. I was annoyed as I threw it out. I’ll be getting more organic greens from the community garden with the aim of using kale, outer leaves etc for stock. I am wary of pesticide residue.

Thanks for the reminder to get back into composting

Thanks, I do most of these but need to do better on some. Thank you so much Jane Mike and puppies.

I didnt know that i could freeze jars of things. Such a great idea. We recently had our fridge break and had no fridge for a month. I felt just awful throwing out stuff.

Great tips Jane! Never thought to freeze jam.when we go back to the uk from our holiday home on returning sometimes my jams are furry!! 🙈 . So great tip! 👍 xx

I use my freezer as you do. We compost and anything edible goes to our chickens. With 2 grandchildren eating at my house frequently anything not eaten on their plates is chicken food.

One tip I use to finish up some jam is to put it in some unflavoured greek yogurt. Or I might add it to some overnight oats . In winter time I use it in muffins . Like you I freeze much of the veggie scraps and meat bones and use it to make stocks and broth . I freeze my summer herbs such as parsley and chives which I chop up. The others such as oregano, rosemary and thyme I dry them and use them up throughout the year. Any sad looking veggies become soup and any sad looking fruit gets puréed into a smoothie or a crumble.

never knew that there was so much food that could be frozen thanks you Jane and Mike x

I did not know that you could make stock with carrot tops. Thanks for that. My rabbits will just have to share from now on. I once was given a pesto made with that, but I didn't care for the texture, although the flavour was ok.

My hubby makes his own liquid fertiliser from banana skins and veg peelings,

Hi Jane Thanks. Great ideas. I like your idea, when you buy a large portion of meat to cut it in portions and put them in freeze bags. Great idea.

Grat tips for meal planning!!!!!! I learn so much from you! Thank you for your channel!!!

Im glad you did a video on this jane i don't waste anything..i also freeze curry paste, leftover stock and pesto in ice cube trays and then store them in a freezer bag in the freezer and just get out as needed

Thanks Jane! I picked up a couple of good tips today! Freezing milk! Freezing small amounts of leftover veggies for soups and stews! I'm going to do it!

There are lots of great food saving tips. Thank you

All great tips to share.

I do most of what you suggest already - we compost, I have a bag of veg scraps in the freezer ready for stock, always cook once eat twice, salmon salad with new potatoes this evening, cooked double amount of potatoes, they will be made into saute potatoes in the air fryer, always batch cook, separate large packs of meat etc into portions - and the dogs help out with some food odds and ends, they love raw carrot, sweet potato, cucumber, apple - very little gets wasted here - another informative video :-)

Some good tips here. Some do. I hadn’t thought about the cream though. If my husband goes to the store he will bring back the latest size and its mortar I need.

Great video again 👏. I am dicing the last of my 2 bushels of assorted colors of bell peppers that I picked up for $16, on Flashfood, a short life clearance app. These had to get washed diced and frozen in 2 days or they would have gone to waste. I only had 2 that were bad in the bunch and those were composted to feed next year's garden 😊. Your portion size was spot on. I made a taco salad for us and the first day we were ravenous and I made big bowls. We did eat it all, but both said ugh, too much. The next day I portioned it small and we were both very good. We frequently have the same meal for 2 consecutive days, especially in the summer. We stay busy until late in the day, and a quick to the plate works well.

Thank you for the great ideas. I need to learn to make stock.

I found that when i wash and keep lettuce in a salad spinner, the lettuce keeps for one week in the fridge!!

Excellent advice as always!

Excellent tips, didn't know about freezing jam or cream. I do portion meat before freezing, learned that quite a while ago when trying to chisel apart a pack of sausages, narrowly avoided damaging my worktop and my hand! I've been freezing quite a bit of bread recently as the weather has been very warm here, will try your tip of freezing bread before blitzing into breadcrumbs, definitely will be easier, and will make/buy less in the first place. Thank you for all your advice.

Good tips! Broccoli storks can be chopped up and added to cauliflower cheese, tastes yummy!

🥰freezing 1/2 used items is something that I’ve recently learned just this morning I begin to freeze portions of a large container of pink grapefruit into snack bags for smoothies and making kale 🥬 chips myself before it goes bad I used to waste avocados 🥑 because I really don’t like them raw until one day I made them the way I make a baked potato that day changed my life enjoy the foods that you buy and step outside of traditional ways of cooking so learning how to store food has been a major thing for me and now I’m getting better and better at it believe me my food budget and my husband are grateful which gives me a sigh of relief ❤thanks as always for helping all of us do better 🙏🏾

I make a lot of jam. When I have extra jam to use up , I use it instead of sugar in fruit puddings such as crumbles and compotes. Gives a lovely depth of flavour. Any veg nearing the end of its life i chop and put in the freezer ready to throw in a quick soup. Leftover cooked potatoes become either sauteed potatoes or potato salad the next day.

Excellent advice!

Thank you

Great idea for bread crumbs. I eat the ends of the bread not to waste, but I don’t enjoy eating it for some reason. I would rather use it as bread crumbs. The last time I bought bread crumbs, the same brand all my life, I never looked at ingredients because the last time I did many years ago, they were fine. I happened to check ingreioand I was shocked at how terrible the ingredients were and will never buy them again. So thanks. ❤️

Hi Jane, another good video, thank you. I buy & cook a whole chicken but there are no leftovers or waste! After roasting it I portion it.into several meals for 2: Roast lunches for today & one for freezing, sliced meat for salads/ sandwiches etc (what won't be used in the next day or 2 is bagged & frozen). I shred/ chop what's left & make it into curries, pasta sauces etc I portion in the fridge & others frozen and finally the carcase is stripped of the tiny bits (including any skin I haven't accidentally eaten along the way) & made into soup with lots of veg & pearl barley, again usually 1 portion each is eaten within a few days & the rest divided up & frozen. I usually roast lots of veg around the chicken cooking greens & peas/beans in a steamer with some of the water added to the gravy & the rest used in the soup.if I can't manage at least 8 meals for 2 I'm not trying!.I usually cook fruit crumbles/pies or bread & butter puddings,(if I've got bread to use up) poach spiced plums or pears too whilst the oven is on & portion them up some to use now & the rest to freeze. If I'm in the mood (or know I've got a busy time looming / am feeling lazy) I will par boil a ham, with veg in the water, roast it off in the same oven.. Lovely hot & cold meals, or in a quiche & the stock makes great crocodile soup (add soaked dried or tinned mushy peas - or lentils if you're not fond of crocodiles😂). Again portions are frozen for later use. Together enough for at least 2 weeks meals with very little extra preparation or cooking - frugal with ingredients, fuel & my time. P.

We use so many of your excellent tips, Jane. I now make my food shopping list only after checking the pantry, fridge and freezer to see what I can use that we already have. We try to use up fruit in the order it will last. I have, slowly, learned to just cook less. I put my husband's lunch portion away in the fridge first. Then we eat the meal. We never seem to miss what I've removed. You are completely spot on about buying and cooking for the family you have - we've learned to make the meals we like. It's still much cheaper and healtier than anything we'd get out. While watching (listening) to this video I just made twice baked potatoes from leftover baked potates to go with the leftover chicken I'm going to cut up into a salad along with cucumbers from the garden I put in a vinegar dressing. :)

Just got 3 large chickens from Tesco that were £4.80 down to £1.78 tea tonight was chant to roast chicken dinner and the rest will be made into hot curry for hubby and put into freezer. Could not believe what a bargain I’d got - just wish I’d got more freezer space.

Great tips! My family doesn't really like canned veggies, but I do buy canned beans for quick use when I don't have time to soak, and canned corn. We always have frozen corn, mixed veggies, and blueberries in the freezer as well. I usually freeze any pumpkin puree if the recipe I use doesn't call for a whole can.

Great video and some really good ideas. We use Zwilling glass vacuum containers to help make fresh veg last. Good idea to freeze jam jars etc. 🙏🙏🏡🏡🌸🌸

What about freezing jam in an ice cube tray? Store the cubes in a sealed container and use the small portions as needed.

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Really good ideas.

Waiting 😊✔️🇦🇺

Great video thanks 😊

Great video

My favourite subject ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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I try not to waste anything. We have chooks, so that is a great way to use up any scraps etc.,

Me two😊

My Guinea pigs and hamster have all the fruit, veg and herb scraps that are ok for them to eat (before cooking) and they then poop out compostable materials! I tend to cook veggie based sauces in huge batches when I can get items on offer or yellow stickers. Often my Morrisons sell 1kg of grated carrots or prepared salad for 50p and I get as much as I can! I wash it all and the pets get theirs and then I cook up the rest with a bulk load of tomatoes on very low heat and blend it all up and portion it up in single use portions in the freezer. I do also freeze some of the veg water separately for stock to cook rice and pasta. Then I compost everything that’s left afterwards

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I save the tough ends of asparagus in the freezer and when I have enough I make cream of asparagus soup with those ends.

I try to buy organic produce as much as possible and will eat the whole vegetable, but when I buy non organic I do peel it, as most pesticides are on the skin. I tried batch cooking and freezing and I always end up not using the frozen meals, so I stopped. I cook daily and on occasion make enough for 2 days, that way I don't waste food.

I freeze left over wine in ice cube trays to use later on in cooking. And I realise that I cannot buy bunches of bananas, they just don't get eaten and when I think about freezing, its too late and they're too overipe. So, now I only buy one banana at a time. Its daft, but it gets eaten.

What do you do with leftover supermarket herbs Jane

I am in total agreement on food waste, but I wonder why you peel non-organic carrots. Is it because of possible pesticides or you just don't like them? (Not judging) I peel non-organic carrots because of pesticide residue. Because of that, I don't save them for cooking later. I put them in the compost pile. Just wondering.

I’m having a hard time with you saying the skin and bones of a whole chicken are a waste. In my house those are the makings of a good stock. Also the whole chicken is a better bargain than parts usually are.

Lots of really good tips, putting jars in the freezer isn't something I think to do. Avoid the 'make it into pesto' anti-waste hack, I've ended up spending more on oil and seeds and having far more pesto in the freezer than ever gets eaten in our house, and really, radish tops take so much washing, taste a bit meh, and are really much more useful as compost! (IMHO...)