Guides ·Dec 16, 2020

How to reduce your food waste at Christmas

The UK throws away 4 million chrimbo dinners every single year. Pretty devastating. But here's the good news - reducing your food waste at Christmas is easier than you think...

Every family has their special traditions, secret ingredients and favourite dishes. Overcooked potatoes, forgotten gravy and run away Brussel sprouts - it's all part of the enjoyment, and it's what makes the Christmas dinner one of the best of the year.

But in the UK alone we throw away about 4 million Christmas dinners every single year. Christmas food waste is catastrophic!

Here's the good news - with a surge in awareness of the mess we are getting ourselves (and our planet) into, there has been a rise in fantastic organisations and initiatives designed to help you cut down your waste at every level. In this post, we will outline some of our favourite ways how to reduce your food waste this Christmas!

1. Go meat free
One of the easiest ways to reduce your environmental impact is to cut down on your meat consumption. Historically, this has meant you'd be stuck with a questionable nut roast recipe, but going veggie at Christmas no longer restricts you to a bowl of sprouts! Check out some of these delicious vegetarian Christmas recipes: Chestnut & Butterbean Wellington, Squash & Pistachio Roast or even a vegan Christmas Pie!

If your family can't give up their Christmas turkey, then why not find a local organic turkey supplier instead.

2. Choose the ugly veggies
It's a fairly well publicised fact that supermarkets are one of the biggest culprits for food waste. Tonnes and tonnes of food thrown out every night - and Christmas is no exception.

The legends over at OddBox are fighting to save some of this food waste from going to landfill by rescuing the veggies that are deemed "too ugly for supermarket shelves". These wonky veggies are then delivered straight to your door instead, saving the waste and providing a delicious and affordable way to help cut down on Christmas food waste! Check out their veggie delivery boxes here.

3. Portion control is key
Whether you're cooking for 4 or 40 this Christmas, it can be almost impossible to work out the right amount to cook. More often than not, this results in a table full of stuffed bellies and a LOT of uneaten food!

One way to reduce your food waste at Christmas is to pay particular attention to portion control (easier said than done). To help you out, the BBC have published a pretty hand Christmas portion planner, click the link to start planning how to reduce your Christmas food waste!

4. Get ready for some leftover cooking
As hard as you try to cut down on your food waste at Christmas, leftovers are inevitable. So here is some of the yummiest Christmas leftover recipes to help you use up every last scrap of food this year!