Did you know the average UK household throws away around £620 of perfectly good food every year? For a family of four, that’s closer to £1000. That is money (and meals!) we could all put to better use. Image what you could do with that extra money!

Why does this happen? Much of the waste is a result of over-buying, as well as a lack of knowledge about how to preserve food or how to use up leftovers. It is estimated that UK homes wasted about £17 billion worth of edible food in 2022 (this figure was published in 2025). Wasting food also places pressure on local authorities, who spend millions disposing of waste, as well as on the environment.

Here are some ideas to help you avoid food waste, save money and make a difference.

Tips To Help You Love Your Leftovers and Avoid Food Waste

Try Not To Overbuy

Many supermarkets encourage us to over buy by offering items ‘three for two’ or ‘buy one get one free’. This is actually a trick to help them increase their margins. Unless you will definitely use the item, it’s no saving to purchase more than you need. You may be able to freeze perishable buy one get one free items. However, if you will not use both items and they cannot be frozen, give one to a friend or donate non-perishable items to the food bank on your way out of the supermarket.

Keep a Tidy Fridge

Keep an eye on fresh products and if you feel you won’t be able to eat them by the use by date, pop them in your freezer as soon as you can. Although many items have the wording ‘freeze on day of purchase’ on the packaging, this is not necessary. It’s better to do so if you know you won’t use the item, but unlike what many supermarkets would have you believe, food can be frozen safely up to the use by date unless it shows signs that it has spoiled.

Use Your Freezer

There are many things you can freeze, including:

Leftover lemons, oranges and limes – Simply slice citrus fruits and freeze flat. Once frozen, transfer to sealed containers. Use to make infused water, garnish soft drinks or perk up a gin and tonic.

Most hard cheeses – Grate the cheese and freeze in airtight containers. Use straight from frozen as a garnish on pasta, pasta bakes and baked potatoes. The cheese melts into hot dishes and tastes the same as fresh.

Bread – Freeze half a loaf of bread so that you have one half to eat now and the rest to toast for later. If fresh bread begins to go dry or stale, grate or process it to make bread crumbs which can then be frozen in airtight containers. You can also make croutons or use leftover bread in bread puddings or breakfast casseroles.

Roast vegetables – Aubergine (eggplant), courgettes, onions, and peppers can cut in smaller pieces and roasted. Use them straight away or cool and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze in serving size portions. There are so many ways to use roasted vegetables!

Fresh herbs – There are many ways to safely freeze fresh herbs. Click here to find out how.

Use Leftover Fruit and Vegetables in Baking

All the cakes you see in the photograph above can be made with leftover fruits and vegetables. Use leftover butternut squash in my Butternut Pecan Loaf and leftover bananas in my Banana Rum Raisin Cake and my Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake. Leftover sweet potatoes work beautifully in quick bread as well. For more recipes to use up leftover bananas, click here.

Cool and Chill Leftover Meat Quickly

Leftover meat can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days and used in many delicious recipes like the ones pictured above. You can find them by clicking here.

Know the Difference Between ‘Best Before’ and ‘Use By’

A best before date is just that. In controlled conditions, it has been determined that the product will be best before this date. It’s not necessarily ‘rotten after’. You can generally tell if something is not good to eat just by looking at it and smelling it. Fruit and vegetables should not have best before dates. They should be used as soon as possible as they taste best and are most nutritious when they are fresh. However if fruit is mouldy or ‘off’, you will know just be looking at it

‘Use by’ dates are generally used for meat, fish and other very perishable items. These should be adhered to as the products may be dangerous if consumed after that date.  

Share Your Tips for Love Your Leftovers!

Using these tips to help you love your leftovers will benefit the environment and help you save money. If you love your leftovers and have more great ideas, please share in the comments!