How to reduce food waste at Christmas - six tips from a Warwick Gates cookery teacher

Anne Marie Lambert started Get Cooking! in 2009, running cooking classes across the Warwick district, as well as raising money for food banks. Here are her tips for reducing food waste this Christmas.

Have you found yourself with more food in your fridge than expected? Not sure what to do with it all or the leftovers? Ultimately your freezer is your friend but there are other things you can do too.

1. Cook meat and slice when cold and pop in manageable portions into the freezer. Use in pies, sandwiches and pasta dishes.

2. Cooked pigs in blankets can be sliced and used on top of pizzas or in pasta dishes as well as frozen.

3. Vegetables can be roasted in the oven with different herbs and spices. Keep in the fridge and use in salads or soups. Can be frozen too or popped in a pie with leftover meat.

4. Root vegetables such as celery, spring onions, Brussels sprout ‘trees’ broccoli and cauliflower stalks can be popped into shallow vases of water.

5. Soup is always a great way to use sad vegetables. Don’t forget about vegetable peelings too! They make great crisps and toppings for soup. Just pop them on a roasting tray with a little oil and seasoning for 15-20 minutes at 160C.

6. Puff pastry sheets are a fab way of using leftovers. Spread with tomato puree or chutney then cover with random fridge bits and sprinkle a little cheese. Alternatively spread with mincemeat or jam and sliced fruit for an easy pudding which takes 20 minutes to cook in the oven.

Alternatively use a food waste sharing app such as Olio and pass onto people locally who will use it.

Another idea is to ‘share a plate’ Pop a note through neighbours' doors who may be struggling or on their own. Cooking a roast for one not always on everyone’s agenda so why not share yours. We may not be able to have loved ones round but we can bring a bit of love to people around us.

To find out more about Get Cooking! visit www.get-cooking.co.uk