Freezing the food you haven’t had time to eat acts like a pause button, giving you more time to eat the food you've bought.
Lots of people don't realise it’s safe to freeze food right up to the use-by date, and then defrost in the fridge when you want it. In reality, you can freeze almost all foods (except those with a high water content, like lettuce or cucumber).
Freezy peasy
Fruit – Did you know that 81.25% of the fruit we waste is wasted because we haven’t used it in time? Freeze your fruit to stop this happening! You can freeze almost all fruit, and simply grab a handful next time you’re making a dessert or smoothie.
Potatoes – If you’ve got loads left after dinner, pop it in the freezer for another day – this works for mash, roasties, or even chips! If you need to freeze uncooked spuds, boil them for about five minutes and freeze them for later. When you want them, thaw overnight and roast the next day!
Cauliflower and broccoli – Try making a big batch of cauliflower or broccoli cheese and split into individual portions for freezing. This is a great option if the veg isn't going to last much longer or you’ve bought too much. It's very tasty with garlic in the cheese sauce, then topped with breadcrumbs and parsley.
Milk – It’s best to freeze milk as soon as possible after buying. When you need it, thaw it in the fridge. Plastic containers are okay for freezing milk in, but the milk will expand so pour out a small amount before you freeze it (for example, in a cup of tea) to allow for this. Shake well before using.
Or try using an ice cube tray to freeze your milk in perfect tea-sized portions! If you’re off on holiday and there’s just a little bit of milk left in the bottle, freeze it in cubes, and when you make your homecoming brew you can pop in a cube to milk up your drink.
Cheese – Grate up your cheese and then freeze it – you can just grab a handful whenever you want a topping for a pasta, pizza, shepherd’s pie… whatever you like!
Bread – Freezing bread stops it being wasted, whether the whole loaf goes in as soon as you buy it, or you freeze the last few slices at the end of the bag.
You can toast bread straight from the freezer, and it tastes just as great! When you’re freezing loaves, slice them up, and loosely tap them on a hard surface before freezing to stop the frozen slices getting stuck together.