Be an eco food guru

Being green in your attitude to food and how you prepare it will not only help reduce your carbon footprint, you will economise with your food shopping bill and waste less food. These tips will help you start with a greener shopping list

Odds and ends of vegetables in the fridge at the end of the week can be arranged in a gratin dish, topped with a cheese sauce and grated cheese and baked until golden.

Tomatoes that are going a bit too soft to use fresh can be whizzed in the blender with some garlic, a dash of balsamic and fresh herbs and either frozen to use as a tomato sauce base or kept in the fridge for a day or two.

Most food wastage comes from the fridge. A well-stocked larder not only saves on energy to store food but also contains plenty of foods that will keep for months or years. Make more use of your cupboard space!

Special half-price offers at the supermarket or low-cost near-sell-by-date items may not be the bargain they appear to be. Only buy them if you know you can use these products.

In the shop, it pays to spend time seeking out the packs with 'use by' dates furthest away so you have more time before they get stale or over the top. Most shops make sure these are at the back of the shelf, with the oldest goods at the front.