Love Food Hate Waste

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign raises awareness of the need for us all to cut back on the amount of food we waste

The campaign shows that by making some simple and easy changes to the way we buy, store, prepare and cook our food, we can waste less, save money and help the environment.

Julia Falcon from Love Food Hate Waste recently answered iVillagers' questions on our Green Living message board.

'Solving the impossible'

dreamteamgirl: I am a terrible food waster. I throw away bread, veggies, fruit - cheese even! Its partly because I forget I have them in there and buy another one, or eat something else instead of using up what I have. And partly because it is just me and my son in the house meaning we don?t finish a whole portion. (Why ARE portions/ packets so huge?). I buy a lot of frozen and tinned things as it is hard to let them go off.

Julia:Why are portion sizes so big? I'm not really able to answer that question specifically but Love Food Hate Waste is working with the industry to changes pack sizes, for example you can now buy sliced bread in a half packs.

We are also big fans of the freezer. If you end up buying value deals or discounted chicken or meats for example, when you get home, instead of popping them straight into the fridge or freezer, why not split into meal-sized portions first and then put in freezer bags with a clip and defrost the night before you want to use it? You can freeze hard cheese either in chunks or grated in freezer bags and it can last an extra month longer. It can be used in sandwiches, and toppings on pizzas, shepherd's pie and salad or straight from frozen in omelettes for example.

dreamteamgirl: What I could do with is a system that made me remember to check dates or buying a bit less.

Julia: Try the Love Food Hate Waste meal planner and shopping list which you can download from our website. This will help you buy only exactly what you need at the supermarket, and will ensure you check your store cupboard, fridge and freezer before you head out.

Another one of our favourite tips is attaching a magnet or a list to the freezer so that you can keep track of what you have in there and it saves doubling up on buying foods you already have in there. When you take something out cross it off the list!