Christmas and moderation do not play nicely.
And after the year we’ve had, who doesn’t want to forget it all with a stack of mince pies and sherry or ten?
But left over food during the festive period is a huge problem.
Wasting one portion of Christmas dinner produces the same emissions as your tree lights running full beam for the whole holidays.
But worry not.
Zero Waste Scotland communications consultant Miriam Adcock is here with advice on Christmas food waste.
“Christmas is a nightmare when it comes to consumption,” she says.
“We all get a bit carried away. Especially just now, we need it. We’re desperate to have a bit of fun. But there’s so much we can do to cut down.
“We all want to buy loads of food Just in case the neighbours pop round and we don’t want anyone to go hungry. But then we’re left with mountains of food left over.
“We’re all nervous about not cooking enough.
“But there are loads of ways to cut down.”
Stay loose
She says we should get our veg loose from local grocers to minimise Christmas food waste.
“Veg like your parsnips, your potatoes, all that sort of stuff.
“If you buy them loose, rather than in a bag, then you can buy what you need.
“Especially brussels sprouts. There are loads left because there’s normally only one person in the family who likes them. So you feel you have to cook them.”
The freezer is your best pal in the world (ever)
“The freezer is your friend all year round, but especially at Christmas.
“You’re probably going to buy too much milk in case people come round and want a cuppa. Or you’ve got people staying and they want it on their cereal.
“You can freeze any left over milk. Which is fantastic. When we went into lockdown last year, and suddenly the shelves were empty, I had some in my freezer.
“If you’re freezer is like ours, your big cartons won’t fit. Do decant it into smaller bottles.
Get select on selection boxes
“Look at the size of the boxes. They’re absolutely crazy.
“And most always have one or two bars that most people don’t like. So if you want to buy people chocolates, maybe buy individual chocolate bars.
“That goes for lots of different things. When things come in a gift box, it looks nice but it wastes an awful lot of packaging.”
Plan, plan, plan
“If you can – plan your meals.
“Have a look at what you already have in the cupboards And base your plan around that. Although that’s more difficult at Christmas.
“Make a list and stick to it. Don’t get tempted by those two for one offers.
“You can also check out the recipes on the Zero Waste Scotland website for more ideas.
Buffet to tackle Christmas food waste mountain
“We’ve been working with Gary Maclean, who’s a top chef.
“He suggests that at Christmas we should serve food in a buffet style.
“Rather than putting it out on people’s plates. So people avoid having more food than they want or ending up with those dreaded brussels sprouts they are not going to eat.
“Get people to help themselves. They they’ll only take the food that they are going to eat.
“Then any leftovers are untouched by human hand and can be used in another meal afterwards. Or put in the freezer.
“We all like to be proud of putting on a good spread. None of us likes to see food wasted so it’s better if we can do our best to reduce it.”
