Christmas is a season brimming with joyous celebrations, quality food, and togetherness.
It’s no secret that Brits become more forgiving when it comes to stacking their plates high with a little extra stuffing, pigs-in-blankets, and roast potatoes.
However, beyond all the festive fun, there’s a key underlying issue at stake.
Last year, in the UK alone, almost 270,000 metric tonnes of food were disposed of during the Christmas period, as Commercial Waste estimated that more than two million turkeys, 74 million mince pies, and five million Christmas puddings ended up in landfills, despite being edible.
Furthermore, around one-third (33%) of Brits said food waste is worse over Christmas compared to other times of the year, while half (50%) admitted to drastically overspending on food.
Excess waste is a major factor negatively influencing pollution. The Energy Saving Trust reports that approximately 10% of the world’s greenhouse gases are linked to food waste.
Senior recipe development manager at HelloFresh, Mimi Morley, states:
“Why throw away perfectly good food when there are so many ingenious ways to inject life into your Christmas leftovers? You could go for a classic bubble and squeak or try something different, like following an out-of-the-box TikTok trend that you would never have imagined otherwise.”
“More needs to be done about people carelessly overspending on the amount of food they buy for Christmas. We all need to think more before we spend and ask ourselves, “Is this excessive or will it actually get eaten?”
Mimi Morley and the team at HelloFresh have provided their favourite ways to enjoy leftovers and reduce the amount of food waste in your household.
Leftover potato skins with melted brie
Transform your leftover roasties and create extravagant potato skins with melted brie left over from the cheese board, accompanied by cranberry sauce, for the ultimate Boxing Day savoury treat.
If you’re looking for alternative turkey recipes to impress your guests, step out of your traditional comfort zone and encase leftover roast potatoes and turkey in filo pastry parcels. Deliciously served with tangy mango chutney and sprinkled with Indian spices.
Christmas dinner toasties
Christmas dinner toastie’s packed with leftover stuffing, turkey, pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, and melted cheese; the perfect meal to finish off Christmas with a bang.
Croquettes with cranberry sauce
Crispy croquettes dipped in cranberry sauce are the ultimate Boxing Day starter. Simply mix flour, eggs, one tablespoon of bread sauce, and breadcrumbs into shallow bowls and use your hands to shape the stuffing into the size of a golf ball. Roll in the seasoned flour, then into the beaten egg, coat well in the breadcrumbs, and fry in oil for 2–3 minutes.
Brussels sprout pancakes with smoked salmon and poached eggs
This could cause some controversy, but for those Brussels sprout lovers, you could try Brussels sprout pancakes with smoked salmon and poached eggs.
Simply stir shredded Brussels sprouts into a pancake mix and serve with smoked salmon, poached eggs, seasoning, and lemon zest.
OK, we wish that we came up with this one, but TikTok user @joelnwoseh created this incredible Christmas leftover wrap.
Mimi Morley says, “Yorkshire pudding wraps have been blowing up the past few years, but who would’ve thought to get the whisk back out on Boxing Day? It’s so simple and can be ready in no time. The only suggestion I have is to include a touch of cranberry sauce to add to the overall festiveness of the wrap.”
