At home with the baby

Name: Rebecca Bradshaw

 With the arrival of our baby, time and money are more scarce but I use the time at home that I now have to plan meals for the week that are healthier and lower in price. We use our blender to mix up fresh veg to make interesting sauces and toppings and we now throw away the bare minimum. It's not just saving waste but also saving money.

Banana tips

Name: Martin Cantell

 There is some debate on the web whether or not to keep bananas in the fridge to keep them fresh or not. Bananas give off ethelene gas which causes other fruit to ripen quicker (which is why they are best not included with other fruit in a bowl). The best way is to keep bananas (either by themselves or in a bunch) wrapped up in newspaper and then stored in the fridge for up to two weeks. The outside will turn black, but the fruit is still quite edible. If you end up with a lot of overripe bananas and can't bear to make another loaf of banana bread, cut them into chunks, wrap them in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. When you want a sweet treat this summer, just pop one in your mouth. Word of caution, do not put unripe bananas in the fridge as they will not ripen.

Buying food loose in Surrey

Name: Anon

Town: Fetcham

This is a question rather than a tip. You say in your literature to save money by buying food loose. Can you tell me where in Surrey you can buy loose ingredients such as rice, cornflakes, oats, lentils etc. There is so much waste in the packaging of such items.

Thanks for contacting us with your feedback which is very valuable. The point of buying your food loose where possible to avoid buying more than you need, is intended to make people start thinking about buying less in the first place. In some foods such as fruit and vegetables it is very easy as they are widely available in supermarkets but in others such as cornflakes it is not, as you have quite rightly stated. You could try the following websites - www.juliangraves.com and/or www.surreyfoodlinks.co.uk as farm shops are more likely to stock one-off items.

Using up bananas

Name: Terence

Town: Haslemere

I was just driving down the road and noticed the Love Food Hate Waste Banner with bananas on it and it reminded me that I have 8 bananas that where about to go out of date. When I got home I looked to see if I have enough ingredients to make banana bread & muffins and it worked out exactly 8 bananas was needed. I also used my flour just before the expiry date so yet another 'save'. It made me think how wasteful we all are, especially myself when it comes to buying fresh things and getting rid of the old not so fresh fruit and veg. I've always kept a shopping list which has not just helped me cut back on my spending, but also over buying and subsequently wasting but now i check my fridge every night to see what is almost out of date and finding a recipe to use it in. 

I took my cakes into work the next day for my colleagues, and I'm happy to say they went down a treat!

Uses for leftover bones

Name: Anon

Town: Kingston

If you're a meat eater boil up left over bones and freeze for use later as stock. Use any left over water used for boiling/steaming veg in the same way.