blahbes Coming up with dinner ideas every night can be difficult even for the most seasoned of meal planners. Tired of your leftovers? Don’t throw them away! Here’s how to store, repurpose, and use them up so you can get a delicious dinner on the table and avoid food waste.
Leftover Storage
Cleaning the kitchen and putting away leftovers isn’t everyone’s favouritejob, but storing your leftovers properly can help you reuse them safely. Think sealed glass containers or freezable containers if you’re saving for more than a couple of days. Portion and freeze meal-sized portions of things like grains and proteins so making your next meal is a breeze. Pull out your frozen portions and add to whatever you’re making.
You can give foods that have been sitting in your fridge a second life as well. After opening avocadoes squeeze some lemon juice on them so they can still be used the next day. Berries that are starting to turn can be thrown in the freezer and used to make berry syrup for Strawberry Cheese French Toast. Veggies that have been sitting around can be frozen for a future date or used as the base for a delicious soup or curry. Fry up an onion with some ginger garlic paste, add veggies, broth and some protein and those floppy veggies will be given a new and delicious life.
Repurposing your Leftovers
The best thing about leftovers? They’re already made! You can even plan your meals with leftovers in mind. Making macaroni one night? Plan to make extra without sauce and use the pasta and National pakora mix in Mac and Cheese Pakoras. Leftover rice? Use it for pulao masala or vegetable bombay biryani. Leftover potatoes? Tomorrow morning’s hash browns!
Leftovers Night
A themed night makes dinner seem much more fun for everyone! What better way to use up all the leftovers in your fridge than a free-for-all. You can brand this night as “Kid’s Choice”, “DIY Dinner” or “Clear out the fridge night”. Put all your leftovers on the table and let the kids choose what they want. They’ll think it’s the best night ever and you’ll be glad you didn’t have to do anything more than open the fridge. If you have picky eaters, include cheese, crackers and jam as a safe option. If you’re looking to clear out your freezer, the same rules apply. Put any opened frozen appetizers in the oven and bring out all the half eaten ice-cream containers (bowls optional!)
Leftovers doesn’t have to be a bad word. There are so many ways to make meal time easier and more enjoyable with food that’s already made. Let’s rebrand and repurpose leftovers to get tasty meals on the table quickly and avoid food waste. It’s a win-win!
