15 delicious ways to waste less this Christmas
Food Editor
Malou Herkes
From choosing quality gifts and planning more mindfully to cooking epic meals with your Christmas leftovers, we’ve put together some hot tips to help you to reduce waste this Christmas, and have some fun along the way!
1. Write a shopping list and stick to it. Take some time to plan out your menu, as well as the meals during Betwixtmas, accounting for Christmas leftovers and investing in cupboard staples to jazz up whatever’s in the fridge (see tip 11).
2. Fill the freezer. Hosting a party but unsure how many guests to expect? There’s no need to overbuy and waste the rest. Rely on your freezer, so you can defrost any necessary extras at the last minute. Scour our freezer aisle for Christmas party favourites.
3. Cooked too many double-wrapped pigs in blankets? Turn them into golden pigs in blankets sausage rolls the next day.
4. Stock up on frozen puff pastry to help you recreate lazy, but totally impressive centrepieces, using whatever you’ve got to hand, like this pear and stilton galette or these canapé pies with brie and cranberry or this beef rendang pie.
5. Get your fridge looking ship-shape. Clear out and organise your fridge ahead of Christmas, putting meat, dairy, fresh fruit and veg, and prepared meals on separate shelves so you can easily see what you’ve got to hand. Sort through forgotten condiments at the back of your fridge too – throw out those mouldy pesto jars and take stock of any extras you might need. Read our guide.
6. Not sure what to do with all that Christmas pudding? Use the leftovers in this epic ice cream.
7. Got the oven on? Don’t let that extra shelf space go to waste. While it’s unlikely you’ll have space to spare on Christmas Day, you may want to use it wisely during Betwixtmas. Whip up some festive orange and cardamom biscuits or throw in some potatoes for these loaded spicy chicken jackets (swap the chicken for turkey if you like: stir in shredded cooked turkey during the final 5 minutes of step 4).
8. Choose quality foodie gifts you know your loved ones will appreciate. Hello Nocciolato Panettone, which also comes in a beautifully illustrated reusable tin.
9. Or make your own edible gifts, like this golden blonde chocolate bark. Reuse empty jars as a way to package them up, labelled and tied with ribbon, if you like.
10. Leftover Christmas dinner? Stuff the best bits in a sandwich.
11. Invest in cupboard staples to help you stretch your leftovers into luxuriously delicious meals. Add our Bloody Mary Chutney and your cheeseboard leftovers to this toastie, or use our Korma Paste to make a spiced carrot and parsnip pilaf recipe.
12. If in doubt, make Christmas panettone eggy bread.
13. Go for garlic bread. To help to reduce food waste in store, we now turn our unsold baguettes and boules from our bakery into frozen garlic bread, ready to bake. While you’re there, grab one of our banana bags, which include three extra-ripe bananas and a banana bread recipe on-pack, for just 25p. Our Plan A Ambassador, Ben Fogle, is impressed too.
14. Take a tote. Avoid single-use shopping bags and bring your own reuseable shopping bags instead. If you get caught out, we’ve replaced our plastic bags with strong 15kg paper bags, designed for reuse.
15. Really can't get through that cheeseboard? Turn a variety of cheeses and any leftover chutney into this deliciously oozy pizza.
Published 12.3.2024
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