Fruit and vegetable wastage

I linked to this article I wrote for Diet Blog last Friday and the corresponding article about food wastage in the Times – do read them if you haven’t had a chance to already. I want to offer some tips aimed more specifically at office workers for avoiding chucking away fruit and veg:

• Join in with colleagues for 2-for-1 deals.
  You might not finish two bags of satsumas yourself before they go squishy: why not split the cost with a colleague? You’ll be helping them to save money and get healthy too!
• Eat your fruit before your lunch.
  If you buy a nice selection of fruit at the start of the week, and it’s still sitting on your desk (just – like most of us – looking a little tired and bruised) by Friday … make it a habit to always have a piece of fruit before lunch. It’ll take the edge off your appetite (so you’ll be less likely to scoff down that sandwich in a couple of huge bites) and you’ll have no way of “forgetting” to eat your fruit.
• Cook extra vegetables and take leftovers for lunch.
  I wrote on Diet Blog that stir-fries are a great way to use up vegetables. My boyfriend and I love cold vegetable and noodle stirfry for lunch – it doesn’t take much more time to cook extra in the evening, and means that taking a packed lunch is simply a matter of grabbing a Tupperware box from the fridge in the morning.
• Munch crudités while you’re working.
  I’ll admit that vegetables aren’t always the most exciting part of a meal. If you find them a bit dull, try having a box of chopped crudités at your elbow whilst working. You can crunch away on carrot sticks and celery while checking email and gazing at spreadsheets.
• Make some big salads at the weekend.
  Sometimes I’ve taken salads into work, but they’re not always the neatest or easiest thing to eat at one’s desk. Take advantage of the weekend to throw together some tasty, zingy salads for the family to enjoy: my favourite is a Waldorf salad, with its great balance of sweetness and crunch!