By planning, prepping and getting inspiration from us to make the most of your leftovers, you can reduce food waste this Christmas.Four Tips to Reduce Food Waste this Christmas

For many, Christmas is a time of extravagance - the food you usually wouldn’t eat in much larger quantities, gifts galore and everything you own bedecked with fairy lights. What this can sometimes translate to is excess food waste.

New data has found that a quarter of Irish residents anticipate their households will generate at least a whopping 50% more food waste this Christmas compared to the rest of the year. The research, commissioned by Too Good To Go*, the world’s #1 anti-food waste app, revealed that this was especially true in counties such as Meath, Laois, Monaghan, Clare and Louth with up to 60% of the population in those localities expecting to increase their food waste this festive season by half.

This could mean as much as 1.5kilos of food waste per household this Christmas, up to 1.8million** kilos of food waste across Ireland going to landfill in December.
If you’re not sure where to start, we are here to give you guidance on how to reduce food waste this Christmas.

PLAN YOUR MENU BEFORE BUYING

Most of us intend on having a solid plan but it can often be put on the back burner, meaning we panic-buy far too much food. By creating a solid menu plan for the big days across the holiday season, you can reduce how much food will be wasted.

It’s not just about what you buy, but how much you buy. Think about your guests - how many spuds, sprouts, cauliflower cheese and pieces of your roast will they eat. For example, butchers would recommend about 1.5 kilos of a roast joint (or nut roast, of course) for 4 people.

If you intend on using the leftovers from your big day dinner in the following days, plan how you’re going to use them and what else you may need. If you’re a turkey curry family, grab your ginger in your initial shop, for example, or your onions for your hash browns!

By being conscious about what you’re serving from the get go, you are less likely to have surplus food.

FOREGO THE BUY 1, GET 1 FREE SIGNS

Gone are the days of the shops being closed throughout the holiday period! Bulk buying can be tempting, especially when you’re not sure who will be over when. The key thing to remember: you can always nip down for more mince pies.

By opting for the supermarket discounts, you may end up with food past its use-by date that is no longer safe to eat in a few days time. Buy what you’ve planned to buy and don’t get hooked by the deals - it’s not better value if it goes in the bin.

MAKE YOUR LEFTOVERS INTO NEW MEALS

We’ve already mentioned the joy that is using your festive food to create new meals but if leftover meal ideas isn’t your forte, we have some suggestions…

• Brussel sprout pasta - roasted sprouts are delicious in a creamy white wine sauce alongside pasta
• Root vegetable soup - your Christmas veggies are absolutely PERFECT for soup, just add stock, seasoning, water and blitz
• Cheeseboard fondue - excess cheese plus wine and garlic equals the 70’s extravaganza of dreams… Dip those leftover roasties for bonus points
  
  

• French toast - old crusty bread makes for the best French toast (it has more structural integrity than the fresh stuff)
• Potato skin crisps - don’t dump those peels, toss them in seasoning and bake for 10 - 15 minutes instead
• Big breakfast coddle - if your rashers and sausages are about to go to waste, pop them in a delicious coddle instead

Need more inspo? Check out our FREE downloadable Remix Recipe Cookbook - a little gift for you!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO COOK EVERYTHING

If you do over-shop, keep that food in the fridge or the freezer. It can be so tempting to cook it all and force-feed your guests - your attempts may be futile, though. There’s always next week.

Now, go forth - reduce food waste this Christmas to benefit your wallet and the planet.

*The research, commissioned by Too Good To Go was conducted by Markettiers with a nationally representative sample size of 500 adults in the Republic of Ireland
**Based on the 1,195,467 contained family households reported by the CSO