Trees are cropping up in every house, markets are bustling, and fairy lights are glinting… This means only one thing: Christmas is coming! As the most magical time of winter rolls around once more, we must be mindful of our consumption now more than ever. Sadly, Christmas is guilty of being a period in which eye-watering amounts of food are wasted. So, how can we combat this? Read on to discover more!
Use Up Your Leftovers
If you don’t want to tackle another Christmas dinner, why not mix things up a bit with some online Christmas leftover recipes? This could include a range of tasty dishes, including turkey soup, pie, curry, chili, and, of course, sandwiches. So, instead of throwing your leftover food away, it might be wise to incorporate your ingredients into some homely staples. Alternatively, invite a couple of friends around one evening to host a second Christmas dinner.
Use Your Freezer
You may know this by now, but the freezer is undoubtedly your friend concerning sustainability. To prevent your leftover food from going rotten, store it in tubs and place it in the freezer until you feel like you want to consume it at a later date.
Only Buy What You Need
In the process of mindful consumption, it’s worth only buying what you need. You can do this by checking your kitchen cupboards, fridge, and freezer before doing your big Christmas shop – this will show you what you already have available, thus stopping you from buying anything you already have. Furthermore, consider how many guests you will feed on Christmas Day and how much they usually eat. This will help guide you with portion sizes, ensuring you only cook the amount that will actually be consumed.
Share The Love
You could share the food if you have a lot of leftovers and no room in the freezer. For example, you could send your visitors home with Tupperware boxes of scraps on Christmas Day. This will create a tasty lunch for them on Boxing Day and ensure no food goes to waste. Alternatively, you could think about reaching out to local charities. Food banks generally only take dry foods, but local homeless shelters may be thrilled to take your cooked goods.
Key Takeaways
- Food waste is a crisis that needs to be given more attention. You can avoid contributing to our planet’s environmental problems by transforming your leftovers into something beautiful.
- Furthermore, companies may be able to profit from encouraging customers to tackle food waste. For instance, by selling recipe books for Christmas leftovers, providing storage containers suitable for freezing, or having charity food drop-off points, businesses will be able to put themselves in a better environmental light to consumers.
- Overall, it’s crucial to note that any shopper can have a colossal impact on our planet. Our consumption processes can inflict eye-watering amounts of harm on our world – and only we can change this.
