I hate wasting food and recently I have become really careful to try to use up any leftovers and food near it’s use by date. I have actually managed to save lots of money doing this and hardly throw out any food now. Here are a few recipes and ideas to help you stop wasting food and use u pall that yummy stuff lingering in your fridge!

Bananas:

I frequently have bananas that are going brown or are soft and squishy which my kids won’t eat. When this happens I make use of them in these recipes:

• Banana and Raisin Pancakes
• Banana and Raisin Muffins
• Yummy Chewy Biscuits – this recipe uses up old bananas and also those annoying crumbs leftover in cereal boxes when you’ve nearly finished the pack.

Couscous:

I never know how much couscous to make and usually make enough to feed a small army so I came up with this idea ages ago and it’s now one of my most asked about recipes.

• Tuna Melt Couscous Muffins

Pasta:

• Spaghetti Bolognaise Muffins: – I love searching for clever ideas on the internet and this one is fantastic. I ALWAYS make too much pasta and usually end up throwing it away but this idea uses up leftover spaghetti (you can actually use any leftover pasta you like) and makes lovely little muffins perfect for your little one’s snacks or meals.
• Macaroni Cheese Muffins: Melt some butter in a saucepan then add in 1 tablespoon of flour and stir until it’s a thick paste. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in 200ml milk until it’s smooth. Return to the heat and keep stirring until it’s thickened. Add 100g cooked macaroni / penne to the pan and mix well. Add in saucepan of pasta and combine.1. Preheat oven to 200c. Add 200g of grated cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Whisk 1 egg and mix into the pasta. Spoon into well greased muffin trays or non stick cases and cook for 20 minutes on 200 degrees C.

Vegetables:

I buy lots of vegetables with the intention that we will eat it all but rarely do so I have always thrown loads away. However for the last month I have made a concerted effort to use all these up so once a week I check whats in the fridge and whatever looks like it won’t last much longer I make a vegetable stew with. The Boy won’t touch it but if I puree it enough then I mix it in with some passata and serve it with pasta and he’s none the wiser. Me and Mr MMM eat it with some couscous or rice and Little Lady eats it with the pieces cut up a bit smaller. It freezes beautifully and it’s a lovely warming way to use up lots of veg.

Cook all the veg in some oil then add some Passata and some veg stock then cook on low heat for 3 hours with some herbs (we love paprika) and some garlic, salt and pepper. At the end then add in some chickpeas and some sweetcorn if you wish and cook for another 5 mins. You can change up the veg and the spices and even add some cheese in if you like. I also sometimes add in some red lentils to up the protein content.

Other ideas:

• Leftover mashed potato freezes really well so you can put it into ice cube trays or little pots and keep it in the freezer until you need it. I frequently freeze mash and then defrost it and add to bolognaise sauce or just mix with cheese for a quick and easy meal or add to tuna or salmon to make easy fishcakes.
• Unused / leftover cooked or uncooked lasagne sheets cut up into smaller ribbons or pieces make a really quick dish just mixed with some sauce or cheese
• Stale or leftover bread makes great breadcrumbs. Just whizz it up in a food processor then pop in a freezer bag and freeze.
• Onions can be chopped and put into freezer bags then frozen and just added to dishes without being defrosted.
• Any unused passata or pasta sauce can be frozen and used at a later stage.
• Apples and pears that have gone slightly soft or bruised can be made into a great puree.

If you have any clever ways of using up leftovers or “nearly gone” food please let me know!