Två killar står i ett kök och den ena smakar av något som han lagar på spisen

Use your food waste

By taking better care of our food items and leftovers, we do the environment a great service. Find out what you can do with your leftovers and how you can create a kitchen that is better for the climate.

Facts about food waste

While there are many provisions in place to reduce food waste, the UK produces the highest amount of food waste in Europe. Over ⅓ of all food produced globally goes to waste and the UK throws away around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in a single year.

But stay calm – there are simple tricks to reduce food waste, which is kind to both the environment and your wallet.

A person is standing by the stove in a checkered shirt, frying bacon in a frying pan.

Earlier this year, we organised a competition in Sweden, focusing on food waste! People could enter their best tips on how to reduce food waste at home.

Here are some great tips and recipes on how to turn your leftovers into new and tasty meals.

What you can do with your leftovers

Vegetable leftovers

  • Make your own broth
    Make your own broth using carrots and parsnips that have gone soft, the ends of leeks, fennel, celery and stems/leaves from your herbs.

    Put all the vegetable leftovers in a large pot, fill it with cold water and add some salt. Bring to a boil and let it simmer at low heat for about two hours. Strain the broth and let it cool. You can pour the broth into small jars or in your ice cube container and put it in the freezer.

 

  • Make a tasty soup
    Vegetable leftovers are perfect for making a nice soup. Fry chopped onions, carrots, celery stalks, fennel, celeriac and fill with water, broth, a bay leaf and spices. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked through. Serve with a dash of sour cream and some tasty bread.

 

  • Spice up your vegetables
    Vegetables that have gone soft can easily be refreshed by putting them in a bowl of cold water (preferably with a few ice cubes in) for about an hour.

    Tip! Grate your carrots and put them in bags to freeze. Perfect for the occasional stew or for a salad.

Boiled potatoes

  • Stir-fry
    Cold potatoes are perfect for a stir-fry. Dice potatoes, sausages, root vegetables, onions and any other vegetable leftovers.
  • Tasty potato au gratin
    Slice the cold potatoes and mix with onion, cream, garlic, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for less than an hour and enjoy the potato au gratin with fried chicken and a green salad.
  • Mashed potatoes made easy
    Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and add some butter and spices, such as thyme, rosemary and garlic. Bake it in the oven until the potatoes are golden-brown.
  • Minced meat soup
    Dice the potatoes and make a soup with minced meat, onion, tomato puree, parsnip, celeriac and fennel. Don’t forget to use your homemade broth in the soup.

Fresh herbs

Fresh herbs are wonderful in cooking, but unfortunately, they quickly go bad. In spring and summer, you can try replanting the herbs in pots to make them live longer. Also, when you have used the herbs that you want, you simply cut the rest of the fresh herbs and put them in the freezer.

A grater on a cutting board along with a piece of cheese, basil and garlic
Tips!

Homemade pesto

Use your herbs to make a tasty pesto. Serve with pasta or use to season chicken, fish or a steak.

It’s as simple as this:

  • Chop basil or another herb
  • Grate some parmesan
  • Mix with pine nuts, garlic, salt and pepper
  • Slowly add olive oil while mixing
A glass with a pink smoothie. You see a couple of bananas, a pineapple and raspberries in the background
Recipe

Smoothies!

Green smoothie

Mix frozen bananas with baby spinach leaves, lime, kale, grated ginger and orange juice.

Creamy smoothie

Mix frozen bananas with strawberries/raspberries/blueberries, yoghurt and an avocado. If you want to make it extra nutritious, you can add some flax seeds.

Enjoy your smoothie immediately or pour it into a thermos and bring as a snack.

Fruit

  • Brown bananas are perfect for making tasty and nutritious banana pancakes. Mix your bananas with 1-2 eggs. You can also add some flax seeds. Fry the batter in butter or oil and serve with fresh fruit and cottage cheese.

    Brown bananas are also perfect for making banana scones. Mash and mix the bananas into the dough. Bake and serve with butter, jam and cheese. Perfect for a brunch or as a snack. Tip! The browner the bananas – the tastier the scones!

  • You can do a lot with apples that are going bad. Peel an apple and cut it into rings. Then let them dry in the oven (on low heat) for a few hours. You can also make dried apple cubes to enjoy with your yoghurt or salad.
  • Freeze mango, pineapple, raspberries, rhubarb, bananas, strawberries. Cut into small pieces, put them in plastic bags and throw them in the freezer. Perfect when you want to make a smoothie or some ice cream.

Store fruit and vegetables in the correct way!

We all throw away a lot of fruit and vegetables, but if you store them in the correct way, they will stay fresh for longer.

Fruit that should be kept in the refrigerator

Oranges, apricots, berries, kiwis, mandarins, melons, peaches, plums, pears, grapes and apples.

Vegetables that should be kept in the refrigerator

Cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, fresh herbs, yellow and red onions, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, leek, garlic and beets.

Fruit that should be kept at room temperature

Bananas, lemons, limes and mango.

Vegetables that should be kept at room temperature

Aubergine, avocado, basil, cucumber, pepper, tomato, squash/zucchini.

Dairy products

  • Old cream is perfect for making your own butter. Whip the cream (about 5-7 minutes) until it becomes butter. Pour the liquid out and add some salt.
  • The last piece of a cheese can be grated and put in the freezer. Great for potato au gratins or taco dinners.

Other food items

  • Big packs of meat with a short expiration date can be divided into bags and put in the freezer. Then you can take out one portion at the time.
  • Dry bread is great for making your own breadcrumbs. Cut the bread into smaller pieces and run them in a blender. Put the crumbs on a baking sheet and bake in the oven, 180 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Stir every now and then. Allow to cool and then store your breadcrumbs in a cool, dark place.
  • Crispy croutons are easily made by cutting the bread into small cubes and frying them with a little butter. Add salt and allow to cool. Use your freshly roasted croutons for a salad or a soup.
  • You can use leftover rice to make your salad or soup more nutritious. Fancy some Spanish food? Rice leftovers are perfect for a paella.
A person in gray trousers and an orange scarf puts down a brown bag of groceries outside the door of a stairwell

5 tips for how to reduce food waste

  1. Look, smell and taste!
    Instead of throwing away your food - dare to look, smell and taste to determine if it is inedible.
  2. Make a weekly menu!
    Plan your meals for the week and buy only the ingredients needed.
  3. Do a food inventory.
    Check what you have at home before you go shopping.
  4. Smaller plates!
    Use smaller plates and take a second serving if you’re still hungry. This way you avoid unnecessary food waste when you’re done eating.
  5. Use your leftovers!
    Bring them as lunch to work, use them in a new dish or put them in the freezer.
A black plate of spaghetti au gratin with butter-fried cabbage on a black wooden table

Cook with less waste with Landleys kök

Madeleine Landley, who runs one of Sweden's largest food blogs, 'Landleys kök', gives her best tips on how to reduce food waste and how to think when shopping.

Läs mer här!