Cook to avoid food waste

By planning and cooking the right amount of food, and creating meals with leftover ingredients, you can save money and avoid wasting valuable resources.

The best things you can do to cook without waste are:

• plan your meals and shop smart
• cook the right amount of food for your needs
• get creative to use up ingredients.

Plan meals before you cook

Making a meal plan can save you time and stress. It will help you buy what you need and use up what you have.

Measure ingredients and portions

Taking a moment to measure out ingredients can save you from ending up with too much food.

• Adjust recipes up or down to make only as many servings as you need.
• Get to know the right portion sizes for your household. For example, 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of dry rice and 75 g to 100 g of dry pasta per adult are good starting points. Try it and adjust based on how much your household members like to eat.
• If you love your leftovers, make extra portions to freeze or eat for lunch. This can save food, money and time.

Turn leftovers into another meal

Turn excess food into something exciting. There are lots of creative ways to use up leftover ingredients:

• Turn stale bread into breadcrumbs or croutons.
• Use leftover meat and cheese to make a tasty toastie.
• Toss chopped vegetables into a simple stir-fry or hearty stew.
• Blend overripe fruits into a smoothie or use them for baking.

Search online for recipe inspiration or check out quick and easy recipes from OzHarvest to transform commonly wasted ingredients into tasty meals.