Life
Christmas lunch really is the shining star of the festive season. Whether you go down the traditional turkey, stuffing, and roast veg route, or try out alternative Christmas recipes, more often than not food takes centre stage. But it can be easy to get a bit carried away over the Christmas period and end up buying enough food to feed the 5,000. The truth is — Christmas can be very wasteful.
According to GoodToKnow, 9.8 million cups of gravy is wasted over Christmas, that’s enough to fill an Olympic sized pool, and 2 million turkeys end up in the bin. Needless to say the most controversial Christmas veg Brussels sprouts also produce a lot of waste. In fact in 2017, one council recommended residents only eat six sprouts per person - which didn't go down well.
Obviously, the best way to prevent waste is by trying to make sure you only buy what you actually need. Of course, it’s hard when you walk in the supermarket and there are a million festive deals on — but stay strong! Yet, even then, there is often, inevitably some leftovers. It might be tempting to get rid, but instead of throwing away all that perfectly edible food or making the same old turkey sandwiches — why not try out these leftover Christmas recipes.
1
Christmas Stollen Pudding
This is Christmas stollen pudding is a perfect way to use up any of your leftover German fruit bread popular at Christmastime. Similar to a traditional bread and butter pudding but swap in stollen. You can also do a similar dish with pattone.
2
Turkey Ramen
You might not want to see a turkey ever again after Christmas day, but with two million turkeys going to waste, there’s plenty of recipes outside of a roast. This turkey ramen recipe uses turkey gravy as well as shitake mushrooms, soy and ginger for a different twist on the turkey leftover.
3
Roast Potato Turkey And Stuffing Pie
This roast potato turkey and stuffing pie from BBC Good Food marries a number of common leftover item together into one delicious pie. There are leftover pigs in blankets in the ere, some tangy mustard and some cheese for a bubbly crispy top.
4
Chocolate, Orange, And Mince Pie Brownies
A staggering 74 million mince pies go to waste over the festive period. You might as well transform them into a delectable alternative pudding! Give these tangy chocolate, orange mince pie brownies from Love Food Hate Waste a go.
5
Christmas Leftover Veg Tart
Use all your leftover Christmas root veggies including carrots, parsnips, sprouts and potatoes for this yummy cheesy veg tart from Waitrose.
6
Cheeseboard Muffins
Didn’t get round to finishing the mounds of cheese over Christmas? Why not turn them into cheeseboard muffins? Not only do you add your bries and stiltons, the recipe also calls for leftover roast carrots and parsnips so you can use up some leftover veg as well.
7
Creamy Sprout, Hazelnut & Leek Pasta
The leftover to end all leftovers – brussel sprouts. They aren't always the fan favourite but if you treat them like teeny cabbages, the recipe possibilities are endless. Give this cream brussel sprout, hazelnut and leek pasta from BBC Good Food a whirl!
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