AS the credit crunch continues to bite families are being encouraged to cook up savings in the kitchen.

Army chefs took to the frontline in the battle against food waste and helped shoppers in their mission to save pounds.

A third of the food we buy in this country ends up being thrown away, which if saved would be an extra £610 in our pocket each year.

So army cooks from 33 Field Hospital Support Squadron cooked up a storm as shoppers in Sainsbury's, Fareham, enjoyed some of their tasty treats.

The special recipes on offer demonstrated how left-overs can be turned into mouth-watering meals, as part of Fareham Borough Council's support of the Love Food, Hate Waste campaign.

Those looking for top tips on how to cook once but eat twice were shown recipes to recycle lamb, how to get more from banana that were past their best and how to make the most of Sunday roast.

It also pays to plan when it comes to the most effective ways to cut wastage and shopping bills.

This can be as simple as planning what meals you will have in a week so you don't buy unnecessary items and checking cupboards and fridge's before you go so you do not buy things you already have..

Councillor Brian Bayford said: "The Love Food, Hate Waste campaign carries such an important and useful message for us all, which is why Fareham Borough Council is keen to promote it with these weeks long events.

"Our officers will be on hand throughout the week to give valuable advice on creating less waste, better storage and recipes to use up those left overs."

Mid-week risotto - leftovers from roast Ingredients 1-2 tablespoon cooking oil 1 onion, chopped 1 stick celery, chopped 2 garlic cloves finely chopped 180-200g uncooked rice Leftover cooked meat, vegetables Leftover gravy or stock made with a stock cube Salt and pepper Tabasco sauce if available Method Heat the cooking oil in a heavy frying pan and when hot, add the rice, about 50g per person.

Stir until lightly browned, then add the onion, celery and garlic.

Fry until translucent, then add the gravy, chopped vegetables and meat.

Simmer until the rice is soft; while it is cooking, adjust the liquid according to how much gravy you had - add more water if required.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a couple of drops of Tabasco sauce.

For more recipes for bread and butter pudding, using stale bread, and banana slices, using bananas that are past their best log onto dailyecho.co.uk.

Bread and butter pudding - Using stale bread With warm slices of grilled candied orange. Serves 4 Ingredients 8 slices of white or brown bread 115g butter 115g castor sugar 115g sultanas 3 eggs 500ml milk 1 orange 30g castor sugar Method 1 Remove the crusts from the slices of bread 2 Melt the butter and dip the bread on one side into the butter.

3 Cut the buttered bread into even triangles.

4 Place the bread neatly into a suitable oven dish, slightly overlapping, making one layer at first. Sprinkle with the sultanas and sugar.

5 Place the second layer of buttered bread neatly on top of the first layer.

6 Place the eggs into a bowl and whisk together 7 Boil the milk and then pour over the egg mix and whisk well.

8 Place into a warm oven of 180° centigrade, 360° fahrenheit or gas mark 4 and cook until golden brown and lightly set.

9 Using a knife, slice off the orange peel and the white pith from the orange. Be careful to avoid cutting into the fruit as this will reduce the size of the portions.

10 Slice the peeled orange into 4 even slices and place onto a baking tray. Cover with the sugar and place under a hot grill until caramelisation has taken place.

11 Spoon onto a dish and garnish with a slice of caramelised orange.

Banana Slices - Using bananas past their best Ingredients 1lb of bananas ½ cup of coconut cream 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds a pinch of salt Method Slightly mash the overripe bananas.

Put them in a non stick saucepan over a warm heat.

When it is getting hot, reduce the heat.

Stir the slushy banana all the time with a wooden spoon until it is reduced to about one third.

Add the coconut cream with a pinch of salt and stir until it becomes just soft and quite dry.

Pour the contents over a tray and level the top.

Meanwhile, toss the sesame seeds over a hot pan and sprinkle them over the warm banana.

When it is cooled, slice it and serve.

Can be kept for a few days in a fridge.