Change how you cook for good

Food waste campaigner Kate Hall reveals how your freezer can help you eat better, make the food shop last longer and save hundreds in the process

- LUISA METCALFE

There were two moments in Kate Hall's life when she fell in love with her freezer. The first occurred in 2006, when she was suffering with blood clots in her shoulders caused by a condition called thoracic outlet syndrome, where blood vessels and nerves are compressed, stopping blood flow.

She was in her early 20s, living far from home and her mother loaded up a small freezer with meals, helping to feed her daughter in her time of need.

"My vein got trapped behind the top rib, like a kinking hosepipe," explains Kate, who lives in Orpington, South East London. "My arm really hurt and it turned out I had a 6in blood clot in my shoulder.

"The way my condition was later diagnosed was when my doctor lifted my arms over my head and said, 'you haven't got a pulse'. It was quite horrific and I was living away from home.

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"I was on a placement year at university. When I went back to work, my mum came with me, she brought a freezer and filled it with batch-cooked meals - it was the only thing she felt she could do. It meant that even if I was feeling absolutely rubbish I could have a good home-cooked meal."