Throughout 2019, 931 million tons of food went to landfill. 11Onze wants to give you some tips to repurpose leftover food cooked at home, always taking into account that, wherever in the world it is cooked, the important thing is to learn to cook repurposing each of the ingredients.

We are all aware of the amount of food that will end up in the rubbish, whether at the same point of sale of the products, in restaurants, or at home.  According to the food waste report made this year by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) together with WRAP, it is estimated that, during 2019, 931 million tons of food was wasted worldwide. The report also states that 11% of waste comes from households, and that, on a global scale, 74 kg of food is thrown away by each household throughout the year. With this amount of food ending up in the rubbish of every household in the world, 11Onze wants to give you some tips on how to repurpose leftover food at home.

Every year, more than 70 kg of food is thrown away in every home in the world

There are thousands of recipes with all kinds of ingredients, thanks to which, with a little imagination, we can repurpose the leftovers of each cooked dish with a few advices that adapt to all kinds of cuisines, because each country has its own cuisine, but we have to know how to repurpose the leftovers of each recipe.

If the dish we cook consists of meat or fish, any recipe will be useful for making good pies, croquettes, or even stuffed aubergines or peppers. If we cook potatoes and we have leftovers, we can use them to make an omelette, an Olivier salad or, for example, a stew. It’s also convenient, when we cook rice, if we make more than needed, to leave it aside without the sauce or the ingredients we want to put in it, so that we can use it for other recipes.

To preserve bread better, as our grandmothers used to do, it is good to keep it covered with a damp cloth: this way, it will not dry so soon. However, if it dries, it can be used to make soups or toasts, or for salads.

It will also be very useful, if we have eggs about to expire, to boil them and use them for soups or salads, or mix them with meat or fish recipes.

And most importantly, let’s not forget to repurpose the fruit that is about to spoil: we can use it to make fruit salads, smoothies, jams, or cakes. In conclusion: the important thing is to reduce the amount of food we end up throwing in the rubbish.

Law against food waste

The volume of food waste in the world is so big and so worrying that governments have had to push for laws to stop it. And, in this sense, the 3/2020 Law of March 11 on prevention of food loss and waste was approved in 2020 in Catalonia. Apart from that, there are different mobile applications where supermarkets and restaurants sell leftover food of the day at very low prices, such as the Too Good To Go app.

There is a lot of work to be done so that food does not end up in the rubbish of every town and city on the planet. 11Onze wants to do its little bit with these tips, wishing that in the very near future, we all act with greater awareness and responsibility against food waste.

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