Love your leftovers this Pancake Day 

With Pancake Day just around the corner, now is the ideal time to start thinking about getting creative with those leftovers to make the perfect Shrove Tuesday treat.

Pancakes were traditionally made to use up any remaining butter, milk and eggs the day before Lent begins. It’s also a great opportunity to use up any leftovers from your fridge or store cupboard.

Recent research shows that around 1.3 million unopened yoghurts are thrown away every day in the UK, and fresh fruit and veg tops the list of the most wasted food type. Each year in the UK we buy and then waste around £12bn on food and drink which could have been eaten. That's an average of £50 per month per household. So instead of sending your leftovers to the bin, why not follow the simple recipe for a Shrove Tuesday treat.

Vik Salisbury, Senior Waste Prevention Officer at Worcestershire County Council said:  “Using leftovers is really easy, especially on Pancake Day. It helps save money and a trip to the shops by using up what you already have at home. Pancakes are so versatile and as long as you have the basic ingredients of milk, eggs and flour you can use anything you like as an accompaniment. Plus, it’s a great chance to get creative with your leftovers.”

“Once you’ve mastered the basic pancake recipe, you can get more adventurous and have savoury pancakes, which taste great too and can be eaten as a main meal with toppings such as ham and cheese or chilli.”

Love Food Hate Waste suggests the perfect recipe for creating something delicious from leftover yoghurt and overripe bananas which might otherwise go to waste. If you have any spare sultanas, flaked almonds or soft berries at home these all make tasty additions to the batter too.

Ingredients:

1 egg lightly beaten

125ml milk

125ml yoghurt

2 overripe bananas mashed with a fork

150g plain flour

A pinch of salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions:

Mix together the egg, milk, yogurt and bananas.

Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl then stir in the ‘wet’ ingredients and the sugar. The batter will look a little lumpy.

Transfer to a mixing jug and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over a medium heat until smoking hot, turn the heat down and pour small amounts of batter into the pan. Cook in batches on each side until golden.

Use a palette knife to flip the pancakes and keep them on a plate in a warm place until you’ve used up all the batter.

For more creative ideas for using up your leftovers visit http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/