How to Plan Your Holiday Table to Minimize Food Waste
To uphold traditions and set a lavish table, many buy unnecessary items or prepare too much. Let's explore how to approach this consciously and avoid the guilt of discarded food.
How can you extend the freshness of your favorite holiday dishes? What should you do with leftovers? We've gathered answers to all your questions and shared practical recommendations.
Why So Much Food Is Left After the Holidays
Typically, a holiday spread doesn’t stop at a few appetizers and mains — on special days, we want to fully enjoy our favorite dishes and surprise our loved ones with culinary experiments. This results in countless dishes that linger long after the celebrations and often end up in the trash. Here’s why this happens.
- Traditions— many cannot imagine Christmas without a turkey and a dozen sides. Sometimes this results in more food on the table than can possibly be eaten.
- Fear of too little food— every host fears leaving guests hungry or serving something they won't enjoy. This leads to more dishes than necessary.
- Desire to prolong the celebration— delicious dishes create a festive atmosphere and evoke pleasant emotions, prompting many to stretch out the enjoyment as long as possible.
- Poor planning— not everyone spends holidays at home. Some travel or visit family. These plans are often overlooked, leaving prepared food sitting in the fridge.
- Preference for fresh food— many prefer eating fresh meals and are reluctant to give yesterday’s salads a chance, resulting in a lot of uneaten dishes.
Easy Tips to Avoid Wasting Food
You can rely on intuition and hope there won’t be too much food. However, we recommend considering these simple rules — they’ll clear any doubts and promote a mindful approach to preparing your holiday table.
Buy Groceries with a List
A shopping list is a simple yet effective idea. Amid the holiday rush, it’s easy to forget necessary items or toss extras into your cart. After deciding on a menu, make an exact shopping list on your phone or in a notebook. It will help you quickly gather what you need and keep you from getting sidetracked with unnecessary goods.
Organize Proper Food Storage
To prevent food from spoiling too quickly, ensure it’s stored correctly. Modern refrigerators typically have dedicated sections for meats, vegetables, and other foods, maintaining conditions ideal for each type. Familiarize yourself with these features to avoid discarding recently purchased items.
5 Simple Rules to Extend Food Freshness
- Avoid storing dairy and other perishables on side shelves—it's the warmest spot in the fridge. Use it for sauces, drinks, or canned goods.
- When storing cooked dishes in the fridge, be sure to remove the spoon. It can oxidize and cause the food to spoil faster.
- If items are opened, wrap them in wax paper or place them in a container. This maintains freshness longer and prevents bacteria spread.
- Wash vegetables and fruits only before cooking or serving. Washed items can retain moisture and spoil rapidly.
- To keep food fresh longer, remember to clean the fridge. Before placing post-holiday dishes inside, mix water with vinegar to wipe down shelves.
Choose Dishes with Similar Ingredients
To avoid scattered leftovers, select recipes using repeated ingredients. For instance, sautéed mushrooms can be used for casseroles and some salads. Planning such a menu takes a bit more time but allows maximal use of pantry supplies and reduces time spent in the kitchen.
Calculate Portions
When planning the menu, consider the number of guests and their appetites. A banquet typically accounts for 1-1.5 pounds of food per person, while children consume much less — about 0.5-0.75 pounds. Stay within these guidelines to prevent over-preparation.
Select Appropriate Serveware
The number of guests and the party format will help decide serving styles. Sometimes a large shared salad bowl is better than individual portions. Or, serve dishes in small bite-sized options. Guests can serve themselves as much as they want, eliminating uneaten portions.
Let Guests Serve Themselves
If your plates often get piled up by generous neighbors, this tip will sound familiar. Try not to insist on serving your guests; someone might feel uncomfortable refusing and end up with a full plate they didn’t want. Instead, genuinely recommend a dish and explain why you enjoy it.
Effective Use of Leftovers
Completely avoiding leftovers is nearly impossible, but you can thoughtfully use them. Here are some ideas to help.
Create a New Dish
If a salad is your go-to holiday breakfast, lunch, and dinner, don’t deny yourself the pleasure. However, if you're tired of the same salads, use remaining ingredients to craft a new dish. For example, combine meats and cheeses on a pizza or make a light broth from vegetables. This diversifies the post-holiday menu and reduces waste.
What to Cook with Holiday Leftovers
- Meat (cold cuts, roast beef, chicken) — sandwiches, casseroles, soups, pies, pizzas.
- Vegetables (peas, carrots, tomatoes) — omelets, vegetable broth, stews.
- Fruits (mandarins, pineapples, kiwis) — fruit salad, compote, jelly, smoothies, sorbet.
- Bread — croutons for salads, breadcrumbs.
Donate to Charity
Sharing food with those in need is a wonderful way to do a good deed while freeing up fridge space. You can share prepared dishes or offer up untouched items for a small fee. This practice is quite common in major cities, known as food sharing.
Foodsharing began in Germany thanks to journalist Valentin Thurn. In 2010, he made a film about the issue of discarding fresh food. Following this, the project foodsharing.de launched two years later, allowing anyone to post ads for excess food to share with others.
Take It as a Gift
If you find your holiday table was too much for your group, share your prepared treats with friends or family. You’ll visit with goodies in hand, and your fridge will be free of extra plates. Just ensure your gifts are fresh and appealing.
Freeze
What’s left after the holiday meal can easily become homemade stocks for later use. Portion what can be frozen into bags or containers, label, and freeze them. These can be used later: meat for pasta, vegetables for stews or broths.
Alternative Ways to Arrange Your Holiday Table
A successful celebration doesn’t require shouldering all the cooking. There are many alternatives to enjoy a delicious feast and avoid food waste.
Dishes from Guests
Don’t hesitate to ask guests to bring at least one dish to the table. First, it reduces how much you need to prepare and stores loads of supplies in the fridge. Second, it allows you to expand your recipe book and enjoy new dishes.
This is ideal, especially if guests have specific dietary preferences. Everyone can bring what they enjoy, and the group benefits from a wide variety of tasty offerings.
Order Food Delivery
Try celebrating without traditional pre-holiday cooking by ordering food for delivery. Options including sushi, pizza, or a full banquet for a large group are available. Even if you don’t finish everything, you’ll have less leftover than if you were to cook yourself.
Dinner at a Restaurant
Celebrating at your favorite restaurant is perfect for avoiding extra grocery purchases and home cooking. You can enjoy delicious food without standing by the stove, or fretting over what to do with leftover ingredients.
Themed Table
Host an unforgettable event by opting for themed dishes rather than traditional ones. For example, celebrate with smoked salmon, foie gras, and a cheese platter for a French twist, or have a festive Chinese meal with spring rolls and rice noodles. With such variety on the table, guests will certainly want to sample everything.
Buffet Instead of a Full Table
Organize a delicious and ample spread in buffet format. Small canapés and tartlets help control portion sizes and allow guests to taste everything. Plus, such treats can be packed to-go, adding a thoughtful touch and simplifying cleanup.
Conclusion
Holidays are not only about abundance and fun but also about mindful consumption. Consider this during preparation to set a table that doesn’t waste time, money, or energy, while fully enjoying the treats.
FAQs
Are there holiday meal planning apps that help prevent food waste?
Yes, several apps like Plan to Eat, Mealime, and SuperCook can help you plan portion sizes, track ingredients, and suggest recipes based on what you already have, reducing waste.
How can I compost holiday food waste and reduce my environmental impact?
Compost vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, and non-meat leftovers in a backyard composter or through a local composting service. Composting enriches soil, reduces landfill waste, and lessens greenhouse gas emissions.
What are the best holiday leftover recipes to use up extra food?
Transform leftover turkey into pot pie, stuffing into breakfast frittatas, and cranberry sauce into a glaze for ham or pork. Get creative and search online for specific leftover ingredient recipes.
