Seasoned meal planner finds fresh ideas with Every Bite

“Nobody’s perfect, especially when it comes to food waste,” says Becky, a keen meal planner who’s always looking for ways to improve.

She moved to Aotearoa from the UK five years ago, bringing with her a love of cooking. “When I was living in the UK, I had a lot more food waste, and that was when I started meal planning. I've got into quite a good rhythm and routine now.”

Becky’s fridge meal planner. Images - supplied.

Buoyed by this experience, Becky wanted to keep learning. She joined the Every Bite programme run by Sustainable Hawke’s Bay and found it really helpful. “I love the fact that it was in one of the local restaurants, and utilising one of the chefs to give some inspiration around what you can do with leftover ingredients. It was a fun group of people, learning about why everyone else was there, and sharing their own stories as well.”

She also appreciated the information elements of the presentation, and the ‘homework’. “It was nice to have a kick-off and a finale event, rather than just the one workshop - a good way to finish up. I think the weekly check-ins were really useful, and learning that it's not about perfection, it's just about trying to do a little bit better.”

Her favourite activity was creating an ‘eat me first’ space. “I think it's really good, particularly in my pantry. So now I've got a dedicated little pull out drawer for those ‘eat me first’ items, and I've got the Love Food Hate Waste sticker on there.” Despite already meal planning and making shopping lists, Becky found this habit has made a surprising difference. “It wasn't always in the forefront of my mind to actually physically double check what I've already got.” 

An ‘eat me first’ area in the pantry.

Becky also appreciated getting a reminder that there are delivery boxes available. “One of the things that I really enjoyed through COVID was being able to get veggie boxes and meat. I didn't think you could still get them. So being introduced to Misfit Garden was really good, and I've started getting that veg box every couple of weeks.” This also helps the whānau eat more seasonally, and the box includes educational content on storing vegetables.

Even the furry members of Becky’s household are doing their bit to reduce waste. “Our cats can be a bit fussy so now I put out a smaller portion to make sure that they eat it, rather than it getting left and drying up.”

An experiment that didn’t land was the idea of a veggie scrap soup. “For me scraps are often from quite bitter veg - the tail ends of the leeks or kale stalks and that kind of thing. I thought I’d make a soup and it, yeah, it didn't taste good!” However, she continues to look out for new ideas. “I love the local Every Bite Facebook group - it's quite nice to see quite a few different people contributing and having a look to see what they're up to.”

Meal planning remains a staple activity for Becky, enhanced by the additional tips she’s picked up from Every Bite. “I think at the end of the day, that's my number one top tip, because you're planning your meals in advance, so there's no getting home and then having to think about what you're going to cook. You're only buying what you need to make those meals, and you're saving money at the end of the day.”

Becky’s favourite tips to reduce food waste:

• Write down favourite meals on some lollipop sticks, put them into a mug, then randomly pick out sticks to plan your meals. “You don't have to accept a stick you pull out - you can simply pick another to suit. It can make planning a lot quicker as there is less thinking involved, so it’s great when time is scarce! I also put in a couple of wildcards, like 'leftovers meal' or 'new recipe' to try and mix things up a bit.”

• Investing in a magnetic meal planner to put on the fridge. “It even has a handy side section where I can write down what I need to use up in the fridge and freezer - that combined with pulling out my pantry ‘eat me first’ drawer when planning makes things so much easier!”

• Put stickers or labels on freezer food. “It can be a black hole. You put things in diligently, and then you're like, what is in there?”