Special Days & Holidays

Christmas is a time to get together with family and friends, celebrate the year behind us, and to look forward to the future. Another staple of Christmas is the food, and for all the wonderful roasts that are cooked over the festive period, there is unfortunately an excessive amount of food waste. 

We're here to show you that there is another way! Read along to find out how!

Plan Your Christmas

Most households tend to overbuy the amount of food they really need. Plan as much as you can in advance: how many people you need to feed, what their dietary requirements are, how much they typically tend to eat, etc. Once you have a good idea of this, you can calculate roughly how many of each food item you will likely need.

Reorganise your fridge and freezer in advance to make the most of the space available.

Don't Buy in Bulk Unless Necessary

Supermarkets will sell vegetables in bulk bags to make you feel as if you're saving money, the same applies for discounts or multi-buys. A lot of this bulk food ends up getting thrown away as it will rot before being used. Buying loose vegetables will encourage you to only buy what you need, plus you will save money too!

Communicate with relatives before the big day, so you can ensure they don't bring unneeded extra food.

If You Do Buy Too Much

If you do end up buying too much, you can always donate any excess food to a food bank or local charity. Food bank reliance is becoming more and more necessary, so donations are always welcome.

Christmas dinner leftovers can be reused for the days following Christmas: make bubble and squeak, turkey sandwiches, and so much more! If it's suitable, you can also freeze certain foods for use at a later date.

Recycle

Be aware of what your local council can take in terms of recycling, some ideas aren't as recyclable as you might think. Planning in advance will allow you to recycle correctly and make sure that items don't have to go to landfill unnecessarily.

You can also recycle your food waste by using a composter or wormery. Not only does this stop waste going to landfill, it also provides usable compost for your garden!

Quick Tips

• Fridge too full? Take advantage of the cold weather and store food items outside. Just make sure they can' be reached by rodents!
• Take photos of the inside of your fridge and freezer, that way you will always know exactly what you have in there, and won't end up overbuying.
• Allow guests to choose how much they want to eat, serving a standard plate for every guest can cause food to go to waste as not everyone will eat the same amount.

Can You Compost Pasta?

There are many food items you can add to your composter, but is pasta one of them?

Today is World Pasta Day, a day to celebrate, promote, and most importantly: eat pasta! Established in 1995, World Pasta Day is now commemorated the world over, with some people choosing to set up and attend events, while others just choose to participate by cooking their favourite pasta dishes!

Food is a topic that we like to explore, whether it's growing your own food, or composting food, we've got a large variety of items to help you on your way. Today we want to explore the topic of pasta, and specifically it's use in compost.



Composting Pasta



Both cooked and uncooked pasta is perfectly fine to be composted. However, there are a few caveats to this which need to be explained.

If you are adding cooked pasta to a regular composter you need to be aware that without certain precautions it will attract pests and vermin. Pests can make your compost ineffectual, and all your hard work will go to waste.

Make sure that your compost container is sealed tightly with no way for pests to get inside. You can also make sure that any pasta added is buried under a pile of carbon rich materials such as leaves or cardboard, this will make it harder for pests to access, and more difficult for them to detect in the first place. Use an aeration tool to mix the pasta deeper in to the pile.

Pasta tends to be cooked with meats and dairy products, you also need to be careful when adding these to your compost. Usually it is better to add these sort of food items in moderation, as they are very prone to attracting pests. Hot composters such as the Aerobin use a process which speeds up compost production, so this becomes less of an issue.

Pasta Sauce



One of the most common bases for pasta sauce is tomato, tomatoes are acidic by nature, and acidic foods can cause issues when it comes to composting. Small quantities are usually okay, but anything more substantial will need an alkaline agent such as lime mix to counteract the PH level of the sauce.

Uncooked Pasta

Uncooked pasta is ideal for composting, as it won't having any extra ingredients added to it, making pests uninterested. Due to the size of some pasta varieties such as spaghetti, it is advisable to break them down as small as you can before composting, this will speed up the decomposition process. 

Maybe you don't have the space for composter in your garden, but that shouldn't stop you from composting. There are a few options available to you, with most being able to be placed right next to your kitchen bin, making it all the more easier to dispose of your leftover pasta!

A Bokashi Bin is one of the most popular choices when it comes to household composters. With a sleek and ergonomic design, it's sure to fit in to your kitchen cupboard, shelf, or counter-top with little fuss, with no smells and zero insects.

Like a lot of special days in the calendar, Valentine’s Day can be an eco-nightmare. With cards, food and plastic wrapping, you may be looking for ways to show someone you love them whilst also loving the planet.

Read through our top 7 tips to make sure you have a more sustainable Valentine’s Day:

Although it is not an officially recognised awareness day, Blue Monday usually falls on the third Monday of January (the 20^th this year). According to life coach and psychologist Cliff Arnall, this day highlights a mood drop that some feel during the first month of the year due to a mix of things such as post-Christmas credit card bills, lack of daylight hours and the end of festivities. If you are feeling the effects of January Blues this month and want to pull yourself through to a positive mindset, our ideas guide for Blue Monday and beyond may help.