Enjoy a low-waste Christmas Dinner with top tips from Hisense

This year will see Christmas celebrations unlike any before – but nonetheless, the nation is clamouring to get yuletide-ready and prepare a delicious dinner to enjoy on Christmas day.

While Christmas meals may be enjoyed on a smaller scale this year, we think it’s still important to consider ways to reduce your food waste during the festive period. Did you know that UK families throw away up to £60 worth of food each month [1] according to Love Food Hate Waste, which adds up to around 4.5 million tonnes a year!

We decided to do a little of our own research into this topic to see why we waste so much food and how we can minimise this to benefit both our pockets and the environment. The most common reason that was found is because we simply make too much food, 1 in 5 (20%) of us prefer making too much than too little, with a further 23% saying that it’s tricky to know how much to cook, or that they’re trying to use up food before it goes bad.

We’ve compiled all the findings from our research together to offer some handy tips and trick that you can use this Christmas and beyond to help minimise food waste.

Christmas Dinner Portion Sizes – Tips & Tricks [2]

• - Turkey: Two thin slices of cooked turkey is generally enough for an average adult. After serving, you can store the turkey for up to two days in the fridge (ideal for making curries, buffets and sandwiches) before freezing the excess if you still have leftovers!
• - Roast Potatoes: For the perfect roasties, you’ll need around two egg-sized potatoes per person or the equivalent. Leftover cooked potatoes can be frozen. You can roast plain boiled potatoes straight from the freezer!
• - Parsnips: Around 80g – or one medium-sized parsnip – is a good guide per person and should be enough.
• - Sprouts: Love them or hate them, sprouts are a Christmas staple! For a good portion of sprouts adults will eat between six and eight of the green veggies, which is the equivalent of around 80g.
• - Pigs in Blankets: Two rashers and two sausages – meat based or meat free – is the suggested portion guide for regular sized pigs in blankets.
• - Stuffing: As stuffing products vary, keep a close eye on the recommended serving sizes on the packet. Bear in mind you can freeze it should you make too much!
• - Gravy: Estimate around 50ml per person – but passionate gravy lovers might want a lot more!

Arun Bhatoye, Head of Marketing at Hisense, says:

"Food waste is on everyone’s agenda. It has a huge impact on the environment, but also on our pockets – shopping and cooking wisely can save the average family around £730 per year according to WRAP [3]. Hisense’s objective is to equip home cooks with the appliances they need to help their food go the extra mile.

"This Christmas, we’re encouraging everyone to maximise their food usage and serve the amount that’s right for them. While plans have had to change and be flexible this year, you can cool leftovers quickly, within two hours, cover and store in the fridge. Eat up within two days or freeze for later, splitting into smaller portions to enjoy the taste of Christmas at another time.

"We can and should avoid unnecessary food waste while still enjoying the most wonderful time of the year!"

Our range of PureFlat fridge freezers boast some impressive hi-tech features that help with food optimisation, including My Fresh Choice for flexible cooling options so you’ve always got places to store those tasty leftovers.

We hope these tips come in handy over the Festive period and from all of us here at Hisense, we wish you a very happy and healthy Christmas and New Year!

For more information on Hisense’s PureFlat range, please visit here.

*Portion guidance taken from the Love Food Hate Waste Portion Planner.

[1] Source: Love Food Hate Waste

[2] Source: Love Food Hate Waste Portion Planner

[3] Source: WRAP, Food Surplus & Waste in the UK, Updated January 2020