Watched a program of food waste last night.

Australia wastes $20bn worth of food a year.

OzHarvest picks up from supermarkets, airlines, etc and distributes to the poor, but the vast majority of waste is in our own homes.

I throw out no food at all. Here's how. /2

2. I plan meals 5-10 days ahead.

Let's say I want Bolognaise. For the mirepoix I need celery. I have a choice of $2.50 for a whole bunch, $3 for a half (and this, in itself, encourages waste). I buy the whole bunch and plan to use some in a Cassoulet or... /3

3. Boeuf Bourguignon the next day or day after.

I freeze two 2-person serves of the Bolognaise, Bourguignon, Cassoulet.

I still have celery left so I plan a Waldorf Salad.

The Cassoulet required one chorizo which I buy in a two-pack. I use the second in an Amatriciana sauce./4

4. So that's five meals.

Let's say I next want a Thai Green Curry. Not all the bag of bean shoots will be used, nor the bunch of coriander, so the next night it'll be Mee Goreng followed by Honey Pork Balls (half of which are saved for subs for lunch). /5

5. The Mee Goreng uses only half a bag of the frozen prawns, so next up will be chilli prawn pasta or an Asian prawn salad.

So that's nine planned-ahead meals with zero waste.

I defrost the double-serve of frozen Boeuf Bourguignon and make into pies. /6

6. I defrost the Bolognaise and serve with penne in a pasta bake. I defrost the remaining Cassoulet and bulk out the sauce with a light bechamel.

So there's 12 meals, zero waste.

The secret, of course, is plan ahead, write meals on a fridge-mounted whiteboard, /7

7. shop only for those ingredients you need, plan subsequent meals to use excess of anything you buy that's too much for one dish, freeze larger serves for future use.

I hope this is of use.

Throwing away food is absurd and immoral - and it makes no sense financially.