Walking Mends My Mind

A Publication by Gary @ Blog Fae The Bog

Welcome to Blog Fae The Bog Getting the Sh*t Oot Ma Head

If you’re looking for a mix of random topics, light-hearted nonsense, and the occasional pointless ramble, you’ve come to the right place.

Welcome back to the next instalment of Blog Fae The Bog. I’m Gaz—a writer, keen poet, habitual journaler, and a general scribbler of any old sh*te that happens to spring to mind.

Fair Warning: Please only read my blog if you are not easily offended. If you are, please read something else! 

Blog Fae The Bog | Ep. 6: Nae Scraps Wasted

Welcome back to bog fae the bog 

One thing that bugs the Sh*t out of me is wasting food so todays ramblings is about the one thing that’s hitting us all where it hurts: the weekly shop.

It’s no secret that filling the trolley is getting tougher. In fact, as of April 2026, food inflation has crept up to 3.7%. The average household is now shelling out roughly £119 a week—that’s over £1,100 more a year than we were paying just two years ago. Costs are nearly 30% higher than they were in 2022. “When every penny is a prisoner, we simply cannot afford to let food go to waste”

Home Cooking vs. The “App” Generation: For me good food is home-cooked food. All the staple recipes that have been passed down the generations from your gran to your maw, and then on to you. We’re in danger of losing all that to the younger generation because it’s so much easier to tap a screen and wait for a delivery driver.

Even when you rock up at McDonald you don’t even have to get out the car, nope just park up get the app out and boom wait on it getting delivered. Somewhere along the line, we have materialised into a nation of too much choice, ow, we let the kids dictate the menu, and if they only want McDonald’s, we give in.

Ask yourself:

• Are we too soft on the kids?

• Are we getting lazy with the stove?

• Or are we just so busy that we feel there’s no time left to cook?

Freezing Your Scran & Growing Your Own: Following on from the rising cost of the weekly shop, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how we can actually save those pennies. It comes down to two things: growing what you can and refusing to bin a single bite. You don’t need a massive allotment to start cutting down your grocery bill. Grow your own! Why not look at the windowsill garden or a couple of small planters, even just a few pots of herbs or some veg on the windowsill, can save you from paying £1.50 for a plastic packet of basil that wilts in two days. It’s fresh, it’s cheap, and it’s right there when you need it.

The Leftover Goldmine: In my day, nothing went in the bin, brought up on classics like ham, egg, and chips, mince and tatties or a good old pot stew and tatties. If there were leftovers, they became stovies the next day (with sausages, of course!) I came from an era where a takeaway was a bag of chips—and if you were lucky, a wee bit of fish, so if you like to indulge in a wee takeaway whatever you do, don’t chuck away the leftovers, they have so much potential to save you money.

• The Calzone Rescue: We’ve all been there—you order a 12-inch calzone and realize halfway through that your eyes were bigger than your belly. If you can’t manage the whole thing, wrap it up and get it in the freezer. It’s a perfect “meal for one” for those nights when the rest of the family are out and you can’t be bothered starting the oven from scratch.

• The Pizza Refresh: A couple of slices left? don’t bin it, just add a wee sprinkle of fresh cheese on top, a wee drizzle o something tasty and a load o Jalepinos to finish it off then pop them under the grill, and they’re good to go.

• The Homemade Hoggie: Got leftover kebab meat or the end of a portion of chips from your pudding supper? Grab a tortilla wrap, throw in the meat some chips, wee bit cheese and a squirt of spicy sauce, toasted hoggie wrap—sorted.

. Get loaded: Half a box of chips left no problem just add something tasty and create your favourite loaded fries delight.

• The Pasta Sauce Trick: Don’t use the whole jar just because it’s there. Use what you need and save the rest as a base layer for a homemade pizza.

Why Waste Good Scran: Use your freezer, think about it places like Iceland and Farmfoods make a fortune selling us frozen meals. All you’re doing is making your own “frozen ready meals” homemade style. 

In my opinion, there are some foods—curries, stews, and even certain pizza toppings—that taste so much better a day later once the flavours have had a chance to properly settle.

The “Fakeaway” Challenge: Before you reach for the Just Eat app and blow another £20-odd quid on a delivery, why not try a “Fakeaway” 

The Fiver Challenge: Can you feed a family of four for a fiver? It sounds impossible these days but give it a go. Look for the deals, use the basics, and see what you can come up with.

The One-Month Challenge: I challenge you to try it for one month: Ditch the apps, cook from scratch, and reuse every single leftover.

Count the savings at the end of the month. You’ll be surprised how much stays in your pocket when you stop letting the bin (and the delivery driver) eat your hard-earned cash!

The Bottom Line: Stop looking at leftovers as “rubbish” and start looking at them as a head start on tomorrow’s dinner. When you stop throwing away good scran, you stop throwing away your hard-earned cash.

Waste not, want not!

Thank you for reading , stay safe, i will see you on the next episode of Blog Fae The Bog.

Gaz