Easy tips to stop Christmas food waste
Ho, ho, ho – the festive season is upon us! Food waste is a huge problem over the Christmas festive period. In Europe alone, around 88 million tonnes of food waste is produced every year. And in the EU, its households are responsible for more than half of the total food waste. (Source: Euronews)
Nobody is perfect and you don’t have to be either. The most important thing is to start somewhere. If we all make little changes in our lives, the world will be a better, more sustainable place. We hope Grandma Sita’s easy tips, you will be able to reduce your foot (or food 😉 print and inspire you to have a more planet-friendly festive season.
1 Plan your Christmas dinner
Planning is key for any dinner especially for the holidays as we tend to go a little overboard – it is the naughty season after all. To avoid food waste, plan. How many meals for how many people will you need to cook? Having an overview of what you need to buy, will help you to avoid falling for unnecessary deals. After all, two-for-one offers and the like won’t save you any money if you cannot eat the extra food. Another tip is to buy loose food as you can purchase exactly the amount you need.
2 Have a plant-based Christmas dinner
Plant-based is anything but boring. Plant-based dishes are an exciting way to ramp up your seasoning skills to make a batch of vegetables and fruit taste delicious. An entire plant-based dinner is too big of a step? Replace one course with a meat-free/fishless alternative. If you need inspiration for what to cook, go check out Grandma Sita’s plant-based recipes.
3 Have your family and friends bring containers
Although meal planning will prevent a lot of food from being wasted, there will surely be leftovers at the end of the (holi)day(s). Ask your family and friends to bring food containers so that they can take leftovers home. They will certainly be more than happy to help you demolish the remnants of your Christmas feast.
4 Use leftover jam and chocolate for baking
Next time you roll out the cookie dough, check your fridge and shelves for almost empty jars of jam or chocolate spread. They are the ultimate glue to build stacks of cookies – twice the size, twice the joy. Got any leftover Christmas chocolate? Fantastic, use it to glaze your cookies. Check Grandma Sita’s vegan Christmas cookie recipe to learn how to make use of your leftovers.
Bonus tip: Instead of baking/parchment paper, use a durable alternative like a silicone baking sheet. Not only will you create less waste, but bleached types of parchment paper also contain chemicals like chlorine and dioxin. These toxins are potentially dangerous to your body and can cause a variety of health issues.
5 Store leftovers in the freezer
Chances are that you will end up with more Christmas food than you can eat. Instead of tossing the leftovers in the bin, you can always “upcycle” them and turn them into a new meal and/or store them in the freezer to enjoy after you’ve had a break from them for a little while.
♻️ Every little action makes a difference
There are many actions you can take to reduce food waste before, during, and after Christmas, and every single one counts. Let us know if Grandma Sita could inspire you with her suggestions or if you have a tip yourself by tagging Grandma Sita in your posts and stories @grandmasitamov. And now off you go and…
- plan your meals for the holidays
- have a plant-based Christmas/New Year’s Eve dinner
- use leftover jam and chocolate for baking
- store leftover food in the freezer
- have friends and family bring food containers
For more tips & tricks for a more sustainable festive season, read about Grandma Sita’s advice on wrapping presents, homemade gifts, and Christmas tree alternatives.
📷 & 🖋️ Words by @theroadbeneathmyfeet