This Christmas reduce your food waste with Catherine Fulvio’s Seven Secrets to Stop Festive Food Waste.

Shockingly we will throw out millions of euros worth of food over Christmas Week.  Meath County Council and eight other local authorities have linked up with Catherine Fulvio to explore how we can avoid food waste in the coming weeks.

See below lots of top tips around avoiding food waste this Christmas.

1) Plan ahead

• • how many people are coming?
  • what’s your favourite food?
  • build your menu
  • decide your recipes
  • do shopping list
  • Stick to your list

For more Christmas Food Shopping Tips follow this link:

https://stopfoodwaste.ie/planning-shopping/shopping/survive-the-grocery-shop-this-christmas

2) Organize your fridge

The fridge is one of the most important tools you have in fighting food waste.  Here are some tips to help you, help your fridge!

For more info:

https://stopfoodwaste.ie/resource/get-the-most-from-your-fridge

3) Portion Control

Don’t pile peoples plates up this year- ask people what they would like and how much.

For more info check out:

https://stopfoodwaste.ie/resource/perfect-portions

4) Use your Leftovers

Check out the 12 Days of Christmas Cookbook for some recipe ideas for using up leftovers

https://www.stopfoodwaste.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Xmas-Recipies-FINAL.pdf

5) Make the most of your Freezer

Don’t end up with UFOS in your Freezer- Unidentifiable Frozen Objects instead follow the golden rules of freezing – portion it, label it and date it.

For freezing guidelines check out

https://stopfoodwaste.ie/resource/freezing

https://www.safefood.net/food-storage/freezing

6) Get creative with desserts

Starting your New Year health kick in a few days? Use up the last of the mince pies and Christmas pudding with these delicious ideas

Check out the 12 Days of Christmas Cookbook for some recipe ideas for using up leftovers

https://www.stopfoodwaste.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Xmas-Recipies-FINAL.pdf  or

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/leftover-christmas-pudding-recipes

7) New Year’s Resolution

Let your New Year’s resolution be to cut back on your food waste in 2021… And SAVE up to €700!

• With a few simple changes, you can significantly reduce the amount of food discarded in your home.
• Plan your meals for the week
• Check what you already have in the fridge and cupboard before you shop

For more inspiration for cutting your food budget in 2021 check out  https://stopfoodwaste.ie/planning-shopping/reducing-food-waste-lessons-from-a-no-spend-year