Five Ways To Reduce Food Wastage While Planning A Party

Food is always the highlight during the holiday season. We have either been invited to or are hosting an extravagant feast for our friends and family during this time. Yet, what we don’t realise is that almost 20-30 per cent of what is prepared during these feasts never gets eaten. During the festivities, millions of tons of uneaten food along with used cooking oil unfortunately end up in landfills.

Food decomposes anaerobically (without oxygen) in landfills releasing methane gas, a driver of global climate change that is up to 86 times more potent in trapping heat than carbon dioxide.

If each household makes small changes, this can help reduce your food waste and support a healthy environment. Follow these simple tips:

Always Follow Up With The Guest List

RSVPs are not common in Indian households, but they are very important. It gives you an accurate head count which helps you plan better and curtail waste.

Plan A Smart Menu

Planning out a menu helps you control the portion size, what you need to buy, and what you may already have on hand. If you are serving up an array of drinks and appetizers, go easy on the mains – if history has taught us anything, it’s that filling up on finger food and hors d'oeuvres along with cocktails kills your appetite for dinner.

If you are new to hosting a large number it’s always nice to ask for assistance from people who have done this before especially to helps you create a menu based on how many people are attending.

Be Practical While Shopping

Check your cupboards and storage, and make a shopping list for only those items that you don’t already have, and stick to it. Buy only the quantity that’s needed, avoid making any impulse purchases.

Get Innovative With Your Cooking

Eat root to stem! Here’s how…

• Slice the stem of broccoli stalks thinly or take potato peels and roast in the oven until they become crispy, use these as the chip for your dip.

• Make a tasty pesto or dipping sauce with leftover greens or carrot tops.

• Cut dry day-old bread into vertical strips. Toss with olive oil and garlic seasoning. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, this makes for a great and addictive alternative to a brand-new packet of crackers.

Repurpose Sweets

When invited to someone’s house we love gifting edibles, especially sweets or desserts. Rather than making an elaborate dessert spread, repurpose them – make one great show-stopper dessert and lay the gifted sweets along with it, so that you aren’t storing a bunch of leftovers.