Get more from your fresh fruit and veg

FOR every five bags of groceries consumers buy, one ends up in the bin. More conscientious shopping, cooking and storage could save families $6 billion a year.

FOR every five bags of groceries that consumers buy, one ends up in the bin.

That's the staggering amount of food waste we generate each year - three million tonnes of it - and experts say that if you want to save money, the kitchen is a good place to start.

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More conscientious shopping, cooking and storage of food could save Australian families $6 billion a year.

In 2005, the Australia Institute looked at exactly what we throw out: $2.9 billion worth of fresh fruit and vegetables, $876 million in leftovers and $630 million worth of uneaten take-away food topped the list.

According to the latest figures from the Bureau of Statistics, food costs are also up by four per cent across the board, so food waste makes no sense in the present climate.

The Foodwise website (www. foodwise.com.au) has lots of handy hints on what to do with food you may normally throw out.

Fiona Gaven has a degree in engineering and an MBA, but the Sydney mother of two is happiest in her gumboots, tilling the soil in her cramped inner-city back yard.

"Every square centimetre is growing vegies or herbs," she said. Ms Gaven's four chooks, which lay three or four eggs a day, eat most of her food scraps.

She is also following her own waste-not-want-not campaign, saving money in the process.

"I get the local grocer to put aside any old tomatoes for me and he sells them to me for $1 a kilogram," Ms Gaven said.

"It's so much cheaper than normal. Sometimes they have a bit of mould or squashy spots, but I just cut that bit off.

"Most people throw out old tomatoes, but they make a fantastic soup, pasta sauce or pizza base sauce, all of which can be frozen."

Fiona's recipe
In a large pan, gently fry garlic, celery (about 3-4 stalks) and 1-2 onions until onion is soft and translucent. Add 4kg of tomatoes and two cups of water and simmer for an hour. Puree - and freeze in portions for use later.