Cut back on waste and save

Think differently about how you use your food and you’ll spend less, throw less food away and have a more sustainable kitchen.

Savings based on a weekly saving for a family of four.

1.  Use your freezer

Get the most out of wine, lemon juice, stock, tomato paste, pesto etc by freezing unused portions in an ice cube tray or ziplock bag. Leftover pasta sauce and coconut milk freeze well, too.

• Chicken stock $2-4
• Save $2-$4

2.  Make the most of leftovers

Extend leftover casserole or stir-fry by wrapping in filo, topping with potato or encasing in a wrap. See Spend less: Waste not, want not article for lots of creative ways to make last night’s leftovers into tonight’s delicious dinner.

• Dinner from scratch: $4 per person
• Dinner from leftovers: $1 per person
• Save $12

3.  Date it

Keep on top of what’s still fit to eat and avoid throwing mystery products out by investing in a permanent marker. Keep a few sheets of sticky labels in your kitchen drawer and stick them on your freezing containers. When you pop meat or leftovers in, make a note of the item and date on the container.

• Throwing out 1kg of chicken: $13+
• Save $13+

4.  Store the surplus

Make maximum use of your freezer: freeze leftover herbs, chopped celery, halved and seeded peppers and chillies when they’re cheap. They’re perfect for stews, casseroles and pasta sauce. Consider getting into bottling fruit, making jam, chutney and sauces to stock your pantry with super-cheap and tasty basics.

• Capsicums frozen in season: 50c each
• Capsicums from supermarket out of season: $3 each
• Save $5

5.  Add a few special ingredients

A stir-fry that uses a particular sauce may seem pricey the first time you make it, but once you’ve got the sauce on hand it may be very cheap the next time. The trick is finding ways to use up special ingredients so you don’t end up throwing them away. Experiment and have some fun.

• Throwing away half-full forgotten sauce: $6
• Save $6

Weekly savings: $39