Brrr, the weather has certainly changed since I last blogged about summer barbecues, and although it’s not quite freezing, that’s exactly the subject I want to discuss this month.

I recently attended a conference which focused on how food waste can be reduced in the UK, whilst moving towards a more sustainable food system that is better for all and I was pleased to hear that, like myself the Queen of Easy Green, many of the experts agreed that the freezer was one of the best and easiest ways to reduce food waste in the home.

Great news – however did you know, many families in the UK under use their freezer, which is not only a waste of energy, it is a waste of money and potentially food too?

So how can we get the most out of our freezer and reduce our food waste?

Buy frozen

Without a doubt, one of the easiest ways to reduce food waste, save time and keep your portions healthy is to buy frozen produce.

When using frozen you can save waste during food preparation, frozen produce also has a longer shelf life than fresh, which ensures it won’t spoil before it is used and when cooking with frozen, you can use as little or as much food as is needed, the rest can be stored and used at a later date.

Frozen food also reduces the time spent preparing in the kitchen – peeling, chopping, de-boning and de-skinning are already done for you, leaving you free to do other things.

Frozen food also makes it easier to keep your portion sizes under control as you only prepare what you will eat and frozen food such as fish, meat and poultry are sold in consistent size packs, which means there are no extra large or small portions, which could go to waste or indeed your waist!

Buy One Get One to Freeze

Although many people blame BOGOF offers for increasing food waste, I believe that as long as they are stored correctly, i.e. freezing, BOGOF’s do not increase food waste, but do benefit families with cost savings and time. Purchasing BOGOF’s such as frozen fish, bumper packs of frozen vegetables or frozen desserts are a great way to save money on your weekly grocery bills, as well as limiting energy-guzzling car trips to the supermarket. They also ensure the convenience of frozen produce to hand, whatever time of year.

UFO’s – Unidentified Frozen Objects

We’ve all been there, rooting through our freezer only to find an unidentifiable frozen goodie which has been left, unloved in the frozen hidden depths. Unfortunately these lost lunches add to the 800,000 tonnes of avoidable food waste that is thrown away each year in the UK (WRAP 2013). Luckily, there is an easy way to avoid this frozen waste and that is to keep an eye on the ‘Best Before’ dates. By noting the dates and rotating your freezer, i.e. using the oldest food first, you’ll ensure everything gets eaten and nothing gets wasted.

So if you want to ensure your have plenty of food stored without worrying about wasting it – think Freeze!

Lyndsey Young, Queen of Easy Green™ is an easy green living expert, ecopreneur, eco columnist and social media influencer. ‘Living Green, Loving Saving’, Lyndsey is passionate about sharing her practical, time, money and energy-saving tips and advice, as well as reviewing and designing eco-friendly products which make a positive difference to you, your home, your pocket and the environment. To find out more, pop over to her website at www.queenofeasygreen.co.uk, follow her on Twitter @QueenEasyGreen, become a fan of Queen of Easy Green on Facebook or visit www.count-on-it.co.uk.