Top tips on how to avoid wasting food this Christmas

Officials at Norfolk County Council are recommending that leftovers from bottles of wines are frozen into cubes, which can then be used in sauces and stews.

It is one of a string of tips they are suggesting, to help people keep waste down.

They say that by following the advice people can also save money at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is hitting families.

Analysis of the waste which goes into Norfolk's bins earlier this year revealed that a third of the rubbish was leftover food.

Christmas is traditionally a time when the amount of rubbish households produce goes up by 30pc, so County Hall officers have shared tips to keep the amount of waste produced down.

Norfolk County Council waste reduction officer Martina Glason (Image: Ian Burt)

Martina Glason, waste reduction officer at the county council, said: "The key to saving at Christmas is to have a plan."

The tips include:

• Checking the allergies and dietary requirements of any visitors, to avoid wasting food and money by buying the wrong items.
• Plan carefully to avoid overbuying.
• Provide one major dessert, rather than a selection.
• Free up freezer space in the run-up to Christmas, by having frozen meals in the days before, so there is plenty of room to freeze leftovers.
• Be creative with what items can be frozen.

Ms Glason added: "Some people are very confident about what can be frozen but others are less so.

"For instance, people often find they've bought far too much cheese and might not realise that it doesn't have to be wasted - it can be frozen.

Tips are being offered on how to save waste - and money - this Christmas (Image: Adrian Judd)

"If you haven't finished off a bottle of wine, then that can be frozen into cubes, which can then be used in sauces or stews."

She said people might also want to consider buying frozen, rather than fresh vegetables, which are just as nutritious.

She said it made more sense to go for one "showstopper" dessert, rather than several different deserts, which might go uneaten after a big Christmas dinner.

Many more tips on cutting food waste, recipes for leftovers and other ways to have a thrifty Christmas - are available at www.foodsavvy.org.uk/christmas

Food Savvy Norfolk is also running a Facebook competition, with £100 of vouchers up for grabs, for people who suggest their own ways to save money and cut waste this Christmas.