What to make with your Christmas dinner leftovers, according to a Rutland food waste expert

Two-thirds of people reportedly bought too much food last year, which ended up being thrown away

Author: Thomas Corcoran Published 24th Dec 2023

With the big day nearly upon us, we're being urged to not let our Christmas leftovers go to waste.

Last Christmas, it was reported that around two thirds of people bought too much food, which ended up being thrown away.

Claire Crowley, from Rutland-based food surplus business, Root and Branch Out, says there's a number of tasty ways to reuse our Xmas dinner ingredients.

“If you do buy a big turkey, then you can use it for other things like you can make stew the next day or curry. Or you could boil up the bones right at the end, once all the meat’s come off, and make a broth to make soup.”

She also recommended being a bit creative with some ingredients, like cream: “Obviously it tastes really nice in coffee and in custard… or in a chicken and mushroom pie… or if you had loads of it left over and you had some energy left, you could make some butter.”

She added: “At the end of the day, supermarkets have their reduced stock. If you find all of the vegetables you fancy on your Christmas plate to be going cheaper, then buy them now… get them in the freezer and get them out on Christmas Day.”

“Head to your local community fridge, because they will have picked up the food that would’ve been wasted at Christmas Eve.”

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