My view is that throwing food out is immoral. I love eating meat, but I can't abide the lack of respect that wasting meat represents when that animal has been slaughtered for our pleasure.
At the risk of teaching folks how to suck eggs (thus avoiding waste of surplus eggs) here are a few thoughts...
BUY LESS!!
We all know that we should do it, but never get round to it - make a shopping list. Only deviate for real bargains. I only buy canned tuna when the multipacks are on sale. Do not buy reduced meat, fish, veg or bread unless you're going to use it or freeze it.
Better still, only buy the stuff from supermarkets that they're really good at - cupboard essentials. Move to buying fresh food when you need it from local stores or the market. You'll waste a lot less if you're not buying from supermarkets and, even if they're cheaper for some things they're certainly not cheaper if you've bought a load of crap you're going to throw in the bin. They are really good at selling you crap you don't need. If you still think supermarkets are cheaper, have a look at my previous post where my £5 spent at Coventry Market would have cost £13 at Tesco.
It is pointless buying food that you're not going to eat. I know people that maintain a fruit bowl for decoration only. Diet tip: If you eat fruit rather than eating pasties you'll lose weight. If you buy fruit, eat the pasties and then throw the fruit away then you're only going to lose money.
USE IT!
Leftovers are good. They're quicker - and cheaper - than take aways. Just one example: bubble & squeak is magnificent and doesn't need to be restricted to breakfast.
Fruit on the way out can be used in cooking. My current obsession with adding apples to all manner of dishes (liver, bacon & apple - delicious) shows the way. Squishy tomatoes are fantastic fried. Stale bread works for toast and bread & butter pudding.
Stocks and soups are fabulous for avoiding waste. I even keep peelings in the freezer for making stock.
If you can't use it - freeze it!
BEST BEFORE
The three saddest things in food?
1. Children that don't know what a carrot is.
2. People that think that fruit on trees and in hedgerows is 'dirty'
3. People that pay any attention to best before dates
I'd say that you can easily tell when almost any food is off. Be careful with pork, chicken and seafood - but even these are pretty obvious.
If you're throwing cheese out, I despair. Use it in a nice cheese sauce.
I could rant on and on about this but I'll sign off with a great tip from Callie. No normal person can eat a portion of chips from the chippie. Well, keep them in the fridge and refry them the following day. When you think about it, good chips should be double-cooked, and some places triple-cook them - so Callie is taking frugality into gourmet territory.
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