I can’t believe it’s August already….which means that it’s only a few weeks until X factor starts again, which of course mean’s it’s nearly Christmas…….

So we had a fabulous foodie weekend: The local artisan market was on and it was also the first ever Chesterfield food and drink festival. Lots of delicious pies, cheeses, cakes and drinks (everything that you shouldn’t be eating if you’re trying to shift the pounds) on offer to try and buy (so I did both).

There was also a stand for the Love food, hate waste campaign. As someone who hates wasting anything, I was immediately drawn to their pitch (along with smell of pancakes cooking). It’s a government sponsored campaign with lots of information available on how to cut down on our food waste. The team were giving away fab recipe cards for leftover food that were so unfussy and easy that anyone could and I mean anyone, follow: left over egg fried rice (I for one always cook too much rice), fruit smoothies, fruit pancakes, simple pizzas, vegetable curries to name but a few, all with the added simplicity that they were non specific as to what fruits or veg you could use – you literally could use anything that was going spare (ok, within reason) They were also giving away simple magnetic menu planners to go on the fridge door along with freezer plans, spaghetti portion measurers (that was a surprise) and rice portion measurers (even more of a surprise!!)

I am firm believer that nourishing food doesn’t have to be expensive and this national campaign highlights this without being too patronising. I’m sure that by taking a little bit of time to menu plan each week – we would not only be a little healthier but we would also have a few extra pounds in our pockets which can only be a good thing.

To accompany the campaign there is a user friendly website

http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

You can find hundreds of wonderful tips on being more resourceful with our leftovers. Go have a look and get menu planning and let’s share our successes together.