Grocery shopping yesterday was less of a hassle than I imagined it would be. It seems everyone else in my neighborhood is sick of eating and decided to stay out of the supermarket, which meant no long lines and a lot of our staples in-stock. Fitting everything into the refrigerator after getting it home was another story. There are leftovers are far as the eye can see and little room to add anything new. I kind of wish I'd read Liz Goodwin's advice prior to shopping, but glad I found it before I started tossing any leftovers.

The estimated amount of food wasted in Britain during the holiday season increases 80 per cent, with approximately 230,000 tonnes of food heading for landfills around the country. I'm scared to think of what these numbers look like in North America. Goodwin believes reducing these numbers could offer more of an impact than most people realize.

“I’ve identified food waste as our number one priority. Of everything that we could do, if we could reduce food waste, that would make the biggest difference in terms of carbon. Every tonne of it saved means you avoid 4.5 tonnes of carbon. That’s enormous and it’s not well known. If you think about all the energy that’s gone into producing that food, all the farming, the storage, the distribution, the preparation and then, if it’s wasted, it then goes into landfill and produces methane . . . I think that weekly food waste collection has a big part to play.”

Goodwin's tips are simple and require only basic common sense:

☆ Measure out your portion sizes so you aren't making too much food

☆ Even if the expiry date on food labels is approaching or past, smell and taste a small amount to see if the item in question has truly gone bad. If it tastes fine, find a use for it.

☆ Take inventory of your refrigerator before you go shopping so you don't buy too much.

☆ If you buy too much of something, freeze some of it immediately for later use instead of unnecessarily disposing of it once it's gone bad.

☆ If you make a meal and have leftovers, freeze those for a quick, easy meal.

My father seems to have gotten this message. Every year he takes leftover Christmas turkey and makes a big pot of soup with fresh vegetables and whole wheat noodles. This year my parents invited over all relatives still hanging around and made a meal of it the day after Christmas. Likewise, there is almost nothing better than a turkey sandwich with leftover stuffing, cranberry sauce and even a little bit of gravy. If you've already tossed your holiday leftovers, there's no better time than the new year to start employing Goodwin's advice and using smart strategies for shopping and meal preparation to reduce food waste.

Hit the jump to read more of Goodwin's advice and opinions on issues such as store packaging and recycling.

» Times Online (UK)