Caitríona Redmond: How portion control can cut down on food waste

Plus a recipe for rocky road that will use up any leftover Easter eggs

Pic: iStock

Why is it that communicating with teens and tweens descends into farce at times? A to/fro between myself and the boys today ultimately led to me exclaiming in exasperation: “It’s not rations, it’s portion control, kids!” 

The catalyst for my reaction was leftovers on plates and half-drunken glasses of milk. In my book, perfectly acceptable food that makes its way to the compost bin or is poured away is money wasted. 

It all adds more pressure on the grocery budget because you’re constantly buying food to replace what has been thrown away. Nothing gets my goat more than a half-eaten, discarded sandwich or dinner, because their eyes were bigger than their stomachs.

How can you measure your household food consumption if the food you buy isn’t eaten and instead thrown away? The short answer is you can’t. 

What you buy in the supermarket can never accurately reflect what your family eats. Instead, you are in a perpetual cycle of buying items you know the family likes but throwing out some of what you cook or eat.

I can solve the leftovers conundrum by serving smaller portion sizes. The idea is that nobody goes hungry, and there is still plenty of food to choose from; a smaller portion has to be cleared before anybody reaches for seconds. 

I have discovered that using a smaller plate for meals is the knack to dissuading the family from piling a large portion high on a dinner plate. Instead, we use tea plates, which are smaller and can contain less food.

Second helpings are always on hand, and if they are not consumed at meal times, I chill or freeze what is left behind for another day. It’s a win-win situation: there is so much less waste, and I can regularly take a day off from cooking dinner.

And so to the milk, and I have to emphasise I am delighted one of the kids is a massive fan of milk and will drink several glasses daily. He only has so much capacity, though, and I discovered that when he filled a 400ml-sized glass, he would never finish what he had poured. 

I put the large glasses high up and kept smaller glasses within arm’s reach. Problem solved. We are using less milk, and he is still drinking plenty of it; just less is getting poured away like money is going down the drain.

I am so grateful that there is always a supply of food at home and that there is always something to choose from to eat. 

The kids maintain that they are like ruminants and have a second stomach exclusively for sweet treats, and I don’t think I will ever be able to satisfy the sugar cravings. The phrase “I’m hungry” is often responded to with “eat a banana” in this house. 

It’s a phrase I remember well from my childhood. Some things never change… 

Home Truths

If you intend to take a few days off for a holiday in the coming months, you’ll be clearing out your fridge in advance. You might be surprised to learn that most foodstuffs can be frozen for a couple of weeks.

Fresh tomatoes can be frozen; in fact, defrosted tomatoes can be easily skinned, leaving the flesh for use in soups and sauces. Chopped brassicas such as cauliflower, broccoli, and turnip/swede can also be frozen for use in soups and stews on another day. I wouldn’t say carrots or courgettes are at their best as standalone ingredients after freezing, but they are perfectly fine if included in a bigger stew recipe.

Butter, cheese, and milk can all be frozen and kept in the freezer for several weeks. I’d argue that some cheeses benefit from the deep freeze treatment if you like grating or crumbling on top of bakes or into sandwiches.

My best advice is to examine what you have and consider freezing your food before discarding it or giving it to a neighbour.

Rocky Road

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

The perfect treat to make using leftover Easter eggs!

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 75g unsalted butter

• 3tbsp golden syrup

• 220g milk chocolate

• 150g Rich Tea biscuits

• 120g mixed mini marshmallows

• 75g dark chocolate chips (optional)

Method

1. Melt the butter, golden syrup and chocolate on a very low heat until completely melted and combined. Bash the biscuits into tiny pieces. Mix the biscuits and marshmallows into the chocolate mixture.

2. Press the biscuity, marshmallowy, chocolatey goo into a lined baking tin. Press chocolate chips on top. Chill for at least 2 hours before slicing and enjoying.