Reduce Food Waste

We throw away 7.2million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year in the UK. This adds up to the average household wasting £480 a year and rising to £680 for a family with children. 

2 main reasons why we throw away good food

1)      We cook too much

2)      We don’t use it on time

 

This New Year, ditch the bad shopping habits and plan to cook fresh food, save money and eat more healthily. Cooking at home is important as it equips families to gain the knowledge and confidence to prepare healthy affordable meals. 

Understanding the fundamental principles of cooking and how to save money, shop smarter and to reduce food waste will not only help us save £££ it will postively impact the environement too.

 KiddiChef.com has helped with these 10tips to reduce Food Waste.

1. Shopping matters: Reducing food waste begins at the grocery store.  Live by the motto “Buy what you need, and eat what you buy.”  Always have a plan and a list before going grocery shopping.  Check your pantry and fridge before you head to the store to make sure you’re buying what you really need.
2. Buy fresh produce a week at a time: Buy fresh fruits and vegetables in bulk only if you will use them before they go bad. If you are able to get to the grocery store weekly, buy only enough fresh produce to last that week.
3. Cook with canned and frozen fruits and vegetables: Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables can be a good solution if you aren’t sure you’ll be able to use up fresh foods before they go bad.  Bonus: they are often more affordable than fresh and can be even more nutritious. Just make sure they have no added salt, sugar or fats.
4. Stock your pantry: A well-stocked pantry can be the secret to whipping up a tasty meal from food that would otherwise go to waste. 
5. Adapt recipes to your needs: Learn to adjust recipes to meet your needs and use up what’s in your fridge.  Make changes to a recipe based on the foods you have at hand, including leftovers.
6. Make the freezer your friend: Freeze bread when it won’t be used right away, or if you have some leftover from a meal (bread can be stored in a freezer for up to 6 months).  Freeze leftover vegetables for use in later soups or stir fries.  Chop and store fresh fruits in freezer to use for smoothies.
7. Use up fresh fruit before it goes bad: Combine fruits into a fruit salad or top cereal with sliced fruit. Cook berries, apples or pears into a tasty pie or cupcakes. Use overripe fruit in muffins, breads, or pancakes.
8. Use up fresh vegetables before they go bad: Add vegetables to soups, stews, casseroles, pastas, sauces, or omelettes.  Combine vegetables and a little salad dressing for a side dish or snack
9. Transform leftovers into a new meal: Transform leftover mashed potatoes into a hearty soup by combining them with stock, a splash of vinegar, onions, carrots and any other veggies you have on hand.
10. Stretch ingredients over multiple meals: Use ingredients more than once to save money and avoid food waste. Add veggies to pasta or combine to make a mixed salad. 

 For further information on healthy afforadble recipes visit our KiddiChef.com Facebook Page www.facebook.com/kiddichef

New year, new start – for you and your child

You know the saying, ‘new year, new start’ – we all promise to eat better, get fitter and feel healthier with a list of resolutions we vow to keep.

But are you the only one whose diet needs a revamp? Your little one may need a ‘new start’ too - and that new start could be KiddiChef.

KiddiChef.com is a children’s catering company for parents, local nurseries, schools, childminders and holiday & afterschool clubs.

We create freshly prepared on-the-day meals for all children aged 6 months and above - capturing young, sensitive palettes and introducing children to tasty, healthy ingredients from a young age.

KiddiChef.com has gone right back to basics – we offer home-style cooking and training, using only locally-sourced, fresh ingredients and omitting toxins, chemicals and preservatives that are often found in retail, convenience and other fast foods.

This is a brand new concept – what makes Kiddichef.com unique is that our meals are made fresh on the day of purchase, without any vacuum packing, sealed jars or preservatives.

 

Our intention is to build a sustainable, healthy lifestyle for families. We want to create a community of experts, education establishments and government bodies, providing an accessible network for advice and support in improving children’s health and reducing obesity.

 

As well as this, we provide children with an education in healthy eating and a palette for nutritious ingredients that they can take with them through life.

Not only will eating better food help a child’s health, it will impact, what KiddiChef.com likes to call, their ‘ABC’ - Attention, Behaviour and Concentration.

Our belief is that any product that can sit unrefrigerated on a shelf for a year is not ‘fresh’.  We aim to provide a healthy alternative for parents and organisations, allowing them to provide their children with nutritious, tasty, fresh food every day.

Our multi-cultural menu is ideal for modern, working parents who want healthy, home-cooked food for their child, but do not always have the time to prepare it.

Parents can either pick up our meals from their local Kiddichef.com hotspot or opt for KiddiChef.com’s delivery service. We also service and deliver to nurseries, schools and after-school & holiday clubs, meaning that children can eat healthy food at school and home.

If you want to give KiddiChef a try for the New Year, or simply want a little more information email info@kiddichef.com or call 0121-554-0469.