In Italy, food waste costs each family around 450 euros per year, which equates to 37 billion euros in total. Small changes every day can make a big difference in helping to reduce food waste. Read on to see what we can do. How we can use leftovers and kitchen waste.

• Smart leftovers

You might cook too much and have to put cooked food in the fridge or freezer. We need to know how to store it. It’s best to have special containers (preferably transparent ones so you can see at a glance what’s inside; even better if they are made of glass to limit the use of plastic). Making a note of the date is essential, since most food waste is food from the fridge or freezer which is thrown away because we can’t remember how long ago it was cooked.

• Soup can be made from anything

The rind from Parmesan, surplus vegetables or meat makes using leftovers easy. All you need is a blender, some vegetable or chicken stock, and the soup is ready to eat! Season with a little oil or add some croutons to use up any bread that’s perhaps past its best.

• Boil milk

How many times have we opened the fridge to find a carton of milk about to go out of date that we won’t be able to drink? One solution might be to boil it. Turning milk into cream or as the basis for dessert, makes it last longer in the fridge and therefore helps to eliminate food waste.

• Pulp! 

If you have a juicer for homemade juices, you can use the waste. Leftover pulp can be turned into jam or jellies, baby food and sauces for sweet or savory dishes.

• Give peel a new life

Not only can you use leftovers, but we often discard parts of food that can easily be turned into something new and tasty. For example, we often throw away apple, pear or orange peel, salad stalks or leaves. All these can be used as flavorings or combined with minced meat, vegetables or bread to make tasty meatballs.