And food wasted is money wasted: chucking out food costs the average household with children up to \u00a360 a month, with potatoes, bread and leftovers most likely to be binned. The famously frugal King\u2019s project focuses on redirecting surplus food from manufacturers and suppliers, but it\u2019s also been revealed that His Majesty is on a personal mission to curb the amount of food thrown away in his household.<\/p>\n
And Charles insists on eating a daily slice from the same cake until it\u2019s finished. The Monarch\u2019s motivations are also environmental, as food production and consumption is responsible for around 30 per cent of global carbon emissions.<\/p>\n
Angela Terry, a green consumer expert and CEO of climate group One Home, said: \u201cKing Charles has long been an important voice on environmental issues, and he\u2019s exactly right about food waste, too. Not only does wasting food cost money, it causes greenhouse gas emissions \u2013 around 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions are produced to make food that is discarded, which is a huge waste of resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cCutting down the amount we buy will help to reduce this figure, as well as the amount of plastic and packaging we are throwing away. But many families just don\u2019t know where to start on reducing the amount of food they bin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are plenty of simple and easy tips and tricks that could save hundreds of pounds on your shopping bills, and cutting down on waste means being kinder to the planet, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
But is it possible for a busy family of five to make a real difference in their groceries budget with some tips, tweaks and advice?<\/p>\n
We asked the Smith family \u2013 mum Victoria, 44, dad Rich, 46, and kids Baxter, 13, Finn, 11, and Niamh, two \u2013 from Clevedon, Somerset, to keep a diary of all the food they threw away for a fortnight. We then asked Angela to visit their kitchen and give them a food waste makeover.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Victoria, who runs an online preloved clothing business, said: \u201cCutting down on the amount of food we throw away is definitely something I\u2019d like our family to get better at.<\/p>\n
\u201cI seem to throw away yogurts every day, and I buy fresh fruit and veg on offer at the supermarket which we then don\u2019t eat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really frustrating as I might as well be chucking money in the bin. But I find it hard to find reliable information about how long things like leftovers can be saved for, and with school runs, all the kids\u2019 activities, plus our jobs I feel I don\u2019t have much free time to sort this out. I\u2019m interested to hear what Angela can recommend.\u201d<\/p>\n
ANGELA\u2019S ADVICE FOR THE SMITHS<\/h3>\n GET PLANNING<\/strong><\/p>\nAngela says: \u201cWriting down all the food you throw away for two weeks, like Victoria has done, is a great way to figure out where your problem areas are and what you\u2019re buying too much of. Then, start writing a weekly meal planner, and use that to create a shopping list and stick to it. Aim for one night a week where you don\u2019t cook, the busiest day is a good choice. Either get a batch-cooked meal out of the freezer or make extra the night before and have the leftovers.<\/p>\n
\u201cPutting aside an hour or so to do a batch cook at the weekend and then freezing the meals is a real time and money saver. Don\u2019t be fooled by buy one, get one free deals \u2013 these are only saving money if you actually eat the food you buy.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally, if your supermarket offers online shopping, it is a great way to cut down on waste and impulse buys.\u201d<\/p>\n
FRESH FRUIT AND VEG<\/strong><\/p>\nAngela says: \u201cReducing the amount you buy, storing it properly and having variety are the keys here. Instead of putting a bunch of eight bananas wrapped in plastic in the trolley, figure out how many you need for the week and just buy that amount.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuying a bigger pack can save money, but only if you know that you\u2019ll eat them all. Secondly, store fruit and veg properly. Potatoes should be in a dark cupboard and bananas should be stored separately, for example. That will help them to last longer.<\/p>\n
Bags of salad are one of the most common items to be thrown away. Swap them instead for an iceberg lettuce, it lasts much longer and costs much less.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally, make sure you\u2019re not buying the same thing week after week out of habit. Remember, kids get bored quickly, so if you\u2019ve bought satsumas for the past four weeks there\u2019s a good chance no one will want them by week five.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\nThe Smith family \u2013 mum Victoria, 44, dad Rich, 46, and kids Baxter, 13, Finn, 11, and Niamh, two (Image: Rowan Griffiths \/ Daily Mirror)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
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DAIRY PRODUCTS<\/strong><\/p>\nAngela says: \u201cVictoria throws away a lot of yogurt. Kids\u2019 lunch boxes can be tricky, and something perishable that\u2019s been stuck in a school bag all day can\u2019t be safely put back in the fridge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re finding that certain foods keep coming home, have a conversation with the children and see what they\u2019d like to be eating, within the school\u2019s guidance.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuying a large tub of a new food like salad dressing or yogurt is also tempting, especially if it\u2019s a new product and it\u2019s on offer, but if you don\u2019t like the taste then it will all end up in the bin.<\/p>\n
\u201cTry a smaller size first, if possible. If there are still unopened packs left, then instead of binning them use a food app like Olio, which allows users to swap food they don\u2019t want or need, to find a good home for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
LEFTOVERS<\/strong><\/p>\nAngela says: \u201cLeftovers have a bit of a bad reputation as a last-ditch option, and Victoria, like many of us, has ended up throwing hers away. But cooking a bit more the night before and eating leftovers for lunch or dinner the day after means no cooking and no washing up. Try to eat them the day after, as the longer they are in your fridge the less likely you are to eat them. Putting food away in your fridge in date order helps you to eat the things first that are most likely to go out of date, so put leftovers at the front of the queue. The BBC Food website allows you to put in ingredients and then suggests a recipe, so this can be helpful if you need to use up some ingredients that may be left over after preparing a dish.\u201d<\/p>\n
CHECK DATES<\/strong><\/p>\nAngela says: \u201cThe only dates you need to pay attention to are \u2018use by\u2019 dates. These should not be exceeded for food safety reasons, but anything that says \u2018best before\u2019 simply means the quality may not be as good if you eat it after that date. If something has a use-by date coming up, rather than throwing it out, your freezer is your friend. You can either pop it straight in, or cook it, cool it and then freeze it for eating later. Make sure meats are cooked through by checking the juices run clear once you take them out of the oven.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave a clearout and make an effort to defrost and eat any ingredients that have been hanging around for a while in order to free up space for batch-cooked meals and ingredients like meat and fish.\u201d<\/p>\n
PESTER POWER<\/strong><\/p>\nAngela says: \u201cChildren will always try to fill up your supermarket trolley with snacks, drinks and treats that will get forgotten about, or they decide they don\u2019t like after a single bite. Instead, stick to the list and ask them to help you. That might be going off to find certain items in the store for older ones, or putting things in the trolley for smaller ones. If they do all of their jobs, tell them they can choose one treat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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VICTORIA\u2019S VERDICT<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cThis is all really useful. I especially like the idea of giving the kids jobs to do in the supermarket to stop the trolley filling with things I know they won\u2019t end up eating.<\/p>\n
\u201cWriting a two-week list opened my eyes to how much we were throwing away, and none of the things Angela has mentioned will take up too much time or need a lot of thought or energy. I\u2019m keen to get started and start saving money.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT THE FAMILY THREW AWAY OVER TWO WEEKS<\/strong><\/p>\n(Prices based on Aldi website Dec 5, 2023, where the family shop)<\/p>\n
Week One:<\/strong><\/p>\nMonday: Four bananas: \u00a30.64.<\/p>\n
Tuesday: Tub of hummus, yogurt, half head of broccoli, one pear: \u00a32.04.<\/p>\n
Wednesday: Two aubergines: \u00a31.80.<\/p>\n
Thursday: Half tin of spaghetti, four bagels, half carton of barista oat milk: \u00a31.45.<\/p>\n
Friday: Half used caesar salad dressing, half jar massaman curry paste, nearly full bottle of long life sour cream: \u00a31.86.<\/p>\n
Saturday: Bag of salad: \u00a30.89.<\/p>\n
Sunday: Nothing.<\/p>\n
Total: \u00a38.68<\/p>\n
Week Two:<\/strong><\/p>\nMonday: Onken yogurt large, quarter pack of ham: \u00a32.12.<\/p>\n
Tuesday: Leftover Massaman curry from Friday and rice, two white wraps, half cucumber, near full bottle of dressing, one children\u2019s pizza: \u00a31.96.<\/p>\n
Wednesday: Nothing.<\/p>\n
Thursday: Half punnet of grapes, quarter pack of ham: \u00a31.21.<\/p>\n
Friday: Two tube yogurts: \u00a30.27.<\/p>\n
Saturday: Nothing.<\/p>\n
Sunday: Half chicken: \u00a32.24.<\/p>\n
Total \u00a37.80<\/p>\n
Estimated annual total: \u00a3428.48.<\/p>\n
Visit onehome.org.uk for more information<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[ad_1] Angela Terry, CEO of climate group One Home, says we need to reduce food waste (Image: Rowan Griffiths \/ Daily Mirror) Living like a King is simple when you know how \u2013 stop throwing away cake. To celebrate his 75th birthday, King Charles launched the \u00a31million Coronation Food Project, aimed at cutting the amount …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[763],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20253"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}