Top 10 recipes to reduce food waste

The answer to reducing food waste is to eat your food.

But sometimes you may not be excited about eating last night’s leftovers or that brown banana.

Keep these 10 recipes in easy reach for next time you are considering chucking something away.

Stale bread -> Savoury Bread Pudding

Turn stale or leftover bread into this savoury bread pudding. Not only is this a filling meal, you can freestyle it to use up what food you have. For a sweet version, try this banana and chocolate bread and butter pudding. 

Brown bananas -> Banana Spice Loaf

Anyone who eats bananas will know the struggle of brown banana. This banana spice loaf is a healthier version of your traditional banana bread. Check out some more recipes for the bananas taking up space in your freezer.

Limp greens -> Soggy Greens Dressing

If you’ve got a bag of limp spinach in your fridge, don’t toss it. Use it to make these soggy greens dressing which can be used in so many ways. For something different, try Sarah Wilson’s super greens fondue. 

Broccoli stalks -> Broccoli Fritters

Don’t throw away your broccoli stalks – there are so many things you can do with them, like these delicious broccoli fritters with yoghurt sauce. If fritters aren’t your thing, try broccoli balls, empanadas or these broccoli and cheese filo parcels. 

Leftovers –> Lattice Pies

Even a small amount of leftovers can be turned into a pie. These lattice pies are easy to make using a muffin tin. For other pie ideas, check out our “how to pie” guide. 

Half-eaten fruit -> Jungle Gelato

If your kids come home with half-eaten fruit in their lunch boxes, don’t throw it away. Freeze the fruit and use it to make this icy jungle gelato – perfect for afternoon tea on a hot day.

Potato peels -> Crispy Potato Skins

It’s totally unnecessary to peel your potatoes (or most vegetables), but if you do, keep the peels to make these crispy potato skins. They make an excellent snack to munch on while dinner cooks. They work well with kumara peels too.

Leftover chicken -> Mexican Chicken Rolls

There are lots of different things you can do with leftover cooked chicken. We love these Mexican chicken rolls that can be whipped up quickly.  For other ideas, check out this chicken and cranberry strudel, these chicken croquettes or this chicken lasagne.

Old Yoghurt -> Pizza Base

Did you know that you can make a pizza base out of just two ingredients? That’s right, made with yoghurt and flour, this pizza base is a great way to use up yoghurt that is about to turn a bit funky. The best thing is, you can use sweet yoghurt to make a sweet pizza.

Limp carrots -> Carrot Cake Cookies

Don’t throw away your limp carrots, give them new life with this carrot cake cookie recipe. If these don’t take your fancy, check out these other recipes for limp or crooked carrots.