Chef tips aiming to help families budget better tend to revolve around savvy ways to shop. However, Melbourne cook and author Julia Busuttil Nishimura has taken another route, revealing how you can save before even stepping into a grocery store.
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Sustainability Victoria research shows around a third (30 per cent) are throwing away some of their fresh produce each week, with a large majority (62 per cent) saying it’s because their food gets rotten too quickly.
Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s tips for reducing food waste
Busuttil Nishimura says with these stats in mind, she works to encourage families to use up their vegetable scraps to reduce household food waste and turn leftovers into tasty and delicious meals.
“When we talk about sustainability, it can often seem like an out-of-reach concept that is very hard to tackle,” the sustainability advocate says.
“While it is complex, avoiding food waste is an area where we can all positively impact our day-to-day lives. Small acts, like using up leftovers every week to create new meals which would have otherwise been thrown away is an incredibly powerful act.”
Below are Busuttil Nishimura’s top tips to reduce waste at home, save money, and work towards creating a more sustainable society.
Organise your fridge and keep leftovers insight
Busuttil Nishimura says staying organised is a game changer for those wanting to reduce waste.
“Organising your fridge is one of the best ways to avoid food waste. Store things correctly to extend the life of your produce – clear, airtight and labelled containers are best,” she adds, noting that keeping things in clear containers is key to avoid forgetting about the leftovers.
Apart from constantly reshuffling the fridge to keep the leftovers in sight, she also suggests doing a quick audit before heading off to the supermarket.
“Before going to the shops, do a mini stock-take on what food you already have in your fridge and pantry to avoid doubling up on
items,” she says.
And don’t forget – your freezer is your friend.
“Shuffle your leftovers to the front of the fridge so that they are front of mind, and make sure you’re freezing food which won’t be eaten in a few days.”
Dedicate one night a week to eating leftovers
That’s right – calendar, not colander. Making a habit of things is proven to be a great way to change your lifestyle.
To become more broadly sustainable and save money as you go, Busuttil Nishimura suggests that making leftovers a priority works best when you set a date.
“Dedicate one night a week to eating leftovers and turn any food that needs using up into tasty new meals,” she advises, adding she practices this habit herself.
“I love repurposing leftovers to create entirely new meals, and I aim to have a leftovers night at least once a week to reduce household food waste and save money.”
Use up stale bread
Use up stale bread Although it’s rare to meet someone who doesn’t like bread in some form, it seems our eyes as a nation can be bigger than our stomachs, with the
baked goods being a common food item to go to waste.
“Bread is one of the most wasted foods in our homes,” Busuttil Nishimura says. So, it’s time to think beyond sandwiches and toast. “Leftover stale bread can be added to soups or blitzed into breadcrumbs for crumbing, topping gratins or pan-fried in extra virgin olive oil to sprinkle over pasta.”
And don’t forget – bread freezes well too.
Turn your scraps in to stock
Using leftover ingredients in your fridge to make stock is not only a great way to reduce waste but also to save some dollars.
Busuttil Nishimura regularly makes vegetable scrap stock with an easy recipe that guarantees fresh and delicious stock.
To create your own tasty homemade stock, simply place any vegetable scraps you have sitting in the fridge (or stored in the freezer while you’re collecting them) in a large saucepan.
“This can be anything you have left over in the fridge. Think onions, carrots, celery, spinach, herbs, anything that’ll otherwise go to waste!”
she says. After covering the scraps with cold water, season with salt and any herbs you have lying around, like bay leaves and parsley. Bring the water to a boil, then simmer the stock for 45-60 minutes before straining. It’s best to keep it warm if using immediately. Otherwise, store it in the fridge for up to five days.
When in doubt, make soup
If you feel like something warmer during the colder months of the year, leftovers can be turned into a range of wonderful winter soups.
“Odds and ends of vegetables are a great base for warming winter soups,” says Busuttil Nishimura.
“Simply fry the vegetables in extra virgin olive oil, add stock and some lentils and you have a hearty meal.”
Get creative with your leftovers
It can be difficult to keep your eye on leftover food scraps when you have a container of takeaway from the night before staring at you.
However, Busuttil Nishimura has some incredible recipes that’ll make you want to grab those scraps without a second thought.
“Get creative with your leftovers!” she says. “Leftover ingredients in the fridge such as cheese, ham and tomato can create a frittata, leftover herbs into salsa verde, or leftover roast chicken into a salad or sandwich. The possibilities are endless.”
Her ideas don’t stop there, with the cook finding amazing ways to repurpose rice, spaghetti and meat.
“Leftover rice is turned into Okayu, a Japanese rice porridge similar to congee,” she says, “[and] I always make a Maltese pasta frittata called Froġa tat-Tarja with leftover spaghetti.”
Roast vegetables in Busuttil Nishimura’s household are made into frittatas, and she notes she likes to “keep the odds and ends of cheese to turn into a cheese pie.”
Meanwhile, the author turns leftover meat, such as chicken or beef, into a salad the next day.
As a part of Sustainability Victoria’s I Love Leftovers Challenge, Julia has released the following leftover recipes.
Lemon and thyme yoghurt cake
Get the recipe for Julia’s lemon and thyme yoghurt cake.
Julia’s recipe to use up steak leftovers
Get Julia’s recipe for steak leftovers.
Raspberry, oat and banana muffins
Get Julia’s banana, oat and raspberry muffin recipe.