A pumpkin isn’t just for Halloween. It’s a reason to eat loads of tasty food! So why are only 5% of the pumpkins we buy in the UK used for soups, stews and pies?

A pumpkin is not just for Halloween. We can all save money and food by using those delicious insides all year round. Let’s stop 18,000 tonnes of squash going to landfill – that’s the weight of 1,500 double decker buses – one Halloweeny horror we can avoid.

If this gets you thinking, why not join our movement to Eat Better? You’ll get free tips and recipes to help you eat sustainably all year round:

Six tips for avoiding pumpkiny food waste:

1. Start from seed and grow your own, then save your seeds to grow another
Really good fun with to do with kids. If you want to grow some different varieties then you could get these: Jack be Little, Baby Pam and Baby Bear – a sweet selection. Here are some fantastic tips for growing your own in the Spring.

Pumpkin grown from seed © Laura Ferreira/FlickrCC

2. Choose the perfect pumpkin

If you’re buying, ask in the shop for a tasty and tough pumpkin. There are so many varieties. Why not buy from your local market/producer? They will probably have a bigger range of these beauties. If you’ve grown your own already here’s tips on how to harvest and store them.

Some pumpkin varieties © Tambako the Jaguar/FlickrCC

3. Scoop out as much as you can – and store it

Fresh pumpkin will keep in the fridge for around 3 days, or frozen it will last up to 8 months.

A pumpkin scooped © clarkmaxwell/flickrCC

4. Make a delicious meal with these easy pumpkin recipes

Here’s 10 recipes and 30 more if those aren’t enough – the seeds are delicious roasted too.

Tasty pumpkin bites © Djuliet/FlickrCC

5. Compost your pumpkin

Make more lovely soil with the bits you don’t eat. Tips on easy composting here.

Lovely compost © Istock

6. Save wasted pumpkins on a fun day out

Save pumpkins and other lovely veg all across the UK by joining the gleaning community who do just that.

Pumpkins and other veg gleaned on Trafalgar Square © Adrian Brooks/Imagewise

For more free tips, ideas and recipes to help you eat amazing food all year round, why not sign up to Eat Better with us?

Post originally written by Lorena Vila, 30th October 2015