WHAT'S LURKING IN YOUR CUPBOARDS?

Debbi Marco, 46, decided to use up the packets and tins lingering in her cupboards instead of throwing them out

- DEBBI MARCO

Tackling the kitchen cupboards is the ultimate in spring cleaning, but I'm keen not to be one of the 49% of Brits who will throw away the equivalent of nearly 20 tonnes of food during kitchen spring cleans, according to research.

Instead I'm challenging myself to spend the week using up all those tins and packets I bought on a whim or to make that recipe I never quite got round to. Over the next seven days I'll use it all up and hopefully cut back on my ever-increasing supermarket spending.

MONDAY

I've decided the best thing to do is tackle the problem head-on, so I empty all my cupboards onto the kitchen table to see exactly what I have. It's like a horror show unfolding before my eyes - one that includes three opened bottles of Worcestershire sauce, jars of jam and marmalade dating back to 2019, three open jars of peanut butter and 13 bottles of hot sauce of varying age. I've also discovered multiple bags of icing sugar and pudding rice along with long-forgotten dried chickpeas, dried black beans and some random ingredients including a tin of shredded jackfruit. I’m not keen to throw out anything just because of its Best Before date so I’m going to use the ‘sniff test’ to decide if anything needs to be binned. Within reason, of course — the last thing I want is food poisoning.

It’s day one so I need some easy wins. I throw together a rice pudding and soak some dried beans so I can cook them tomorrow for dinner (once I've searched the internet for a good recipe).