With Welsh homes throwing away the equivalent of six meals every week, HAYLEY MILLS finds out what you can do to help reduce food waste.

WE ARE a nation which loves food - but we are also a nation which wastes food too.

As the shopping trollies are filled each week with food for the family, it can almost be guaranteed that some of it will just go straight in the bin.

And figures show that in the average home in Wales, the equivalent of six meals are thrown away each week, costing the nation £610 million a year.

Step forward the Love Food Hate Waste campaign - a national campaign which was launched to raise awareness of the need to reduce food waste and help us all take action to tackle it.

The campaign, launched in 2007, shows that by doing some easy practical everyday things in the home we can all waste less food, which will ultimately benefit our purses and the environment too.

One person who has picked up a couple of tips on how to cut waste in the kitchen is Talywain WI member Ann Cullen, who was the cook at the Goose and Cuckoo pub for 16 and a half years.

She said: “It is important for people to look through their fridge and cupboard regularly so that food doesn’t get forgotten about.

“People can also make a meal plan that will help them to plan ahead and use up any leftover food.”

A good way of using leftover ingredients is by making a soup while a favourite of Ms Cullen's is to make an omelette or even a curry.

She also recommends using potato peelings to add body to homemade vegetable stock instead of throwing them away.

Mrs Cullen is also a fan of pick your own and recommends that people research into what can be picked at different times of year.

She often makes nettle soup and crab apple jelly.

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign also offers food-saving measures, from planning to food portioning, to better food storage and using up leftovers.

Planning doesn’t have to be laborious or time consuming, just a quick check in the cupboards, a rummage in the fridge, then making a quick list before shopping means that we are less likely to spend time wandering around the shops wondering what to have for tea.

A quick check also helps us spot those foods coming up to their use-by dates so we can then plan when to use them.

Even when we are organised in the kitchen, all sorts of things crop up and our plans change. We work late, grab a takeaway, eat out, or just don’t fancy what we had planned.

If that’s the case, why not plan some gaps into your weekly meal plan to leave some wriggle room?

For example, planning for five days’ meals a week allows for those changing plans.

Using meals from the freezer as a regular part of our plans prevents our freezers becoming overstocked with food that we then forget is in there.

It also means that we use our frozen food whilst its quality is high.

Keeping a handy list stuck on the freezer door avoids having to search through our frozen foods to try and work out what we have in stock.

Keep an eye on foods in your fridge that are coming up to their use-by date and move them into the freezer if you are not going to use them in time.

When planning a meal, if you haven’t started cooking, check your portions.

It’s easy to get into the habit of cooking for a certain number regardless of who is going to be in.

If you end up with leftovers, see them as a perfect opportunity to save time and money.

Even just one portion of food is perfect for freezing to use as a ready meal for one at another time.

A serving of stew, a piece of pie or portion of pud used the next day for lunch saves all the bother of making sandwiches or the expense of buying your own.

Try and keep your storecupboard well-stocked with a variety of canned and dried goods that you know your family love to eat.

Tinned beans, vegetables, meat and fish and dried fruit, nuts, pasta and noodles, rice and grains, are all essentials with a long shelf life - meaning you will always have the ingredients standing by to pull together a delicious meal or to jazz up your leftovers.

For more information on the Love Food, Hate Waste campaign, visit http://wales.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

Why not try out these recipes to get rid of those leftovers

Quick fix omelette

Use up whatever’s in your fridge with this tasty recipe. Quick to make and versatile, with plenty of filling this makes a substantial, nutritious meal.

Serves one

Prep time: five mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs (or 3 small)

• Pinch of pepper

• Dash of sunflower oil

• 200g (7oz) any vegetables, sliced (e.g. 4 mushrooms, 1 small leek, ½ red pepper)

• 20g (½ oz) any cheese, grated

• 40g (1oz) ham, shredded

Method:

1. Break the eggs into a bowl, add pepper, beat with a fork and set aside.

2. Add the oil to a pan and cook the vegetables for 5 minutes over a medium heat, stirring regularly until the leek is soft.

3. Stir the egg into the vegetable mixture for 1 minute, then cook gently, using a spatula to ease the omelette from the sides of the pan.

4. When the omelette is cooked, sprinkle the cheese and ham on top and turn it out onto a plate, folding the omelette in half.

Chef’s tip

To make frittata, which is a classic Italian flat omelette, make as normal but, just after you add the eggs, top with a little cheese and place under the grill until it has set. You can then slide it out of the pan and slice, or eat cold at a picnic.

Chopped roast or boiled potatoes, as well as cooked vegetables such as broccoli, peas, courgettes and carrots are all excellent additions. Most vegetables work, root vegetables need to be pre-cooked.

You can also try adding a little smoked fish.

Use different cheeses such as goat’s, blue or garlic and herb cream cheese.

Add fresh herbs such as basil, chive, parsley or tarragon for extra flavour. You could also use smoked ham or add a little pesto, garlic or sundried tomatoes. You could even add a little curry paste or powder.

Baked Vegetable Biriyani

This one pot rice dish is a great way to use frozen or left over vegetables. You can use almost any combination of vegetables and if you like your curry really hot, just add a little more spice.

Serves four

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp oil

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 tbsp curry powder

• 350g (12 oz) frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted, or chopped veg from the fridge

• 250g (9 oz) basmati rice

• 500ml (1 pint) hot vegetable stock

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C, gas mark 6.

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion for three to four minutes, stir in the curry powder and then the vegetables, rice and stock. Transfer to a casserole dish.

3. Cover and bake for 25 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Fluff up with a fork, season to taste and serve.

Cook’s tip

Leftover cooked vegetables can be used instead of frozen. Long grain rice can be used if basmati is unavailable.

Add diced cooked and leftover chicken for a meaty option

Use hot curry powder for extra flavour.

You can freeze the dish in batches for ease of defrosting and reheating.