It is high time you stopped wasting the leftover foods, especially now when foodstuff is on the high price side. Making the most of leftover food not only saves you money, but it’s also good for the environment.
Before we see some recycling ideas for your left over foods, here are quick tips to note:
a. Store leftover foods smartly. Glass storage containers are not only reusable and sustainable; they allow you to see what’s inside. That way, you’re less likely to lose track of leftovers. For freezing, use zip-top gallon bags (which can be washed and re-used), and label and date the contents on a piece of tape. b. Think ingredients, not leftovers: whenever you have leftovers, do not just think trashing them, think what better things to use them for. See them as ingredients and be open to learn what you can do with them. That way, you are becoming a veteran in kitchen and food matters. That said, here are some different dish you can make out of your leftover foods.
1. Spaghetti Fritata: you should have heard of the word fritata… sounds kinda familiar, right? Left over spaghetti gets hard as time goes by and personally, I wouldn’t like to eat it. Burt with this recycling idea, I have come to appreciate my left over pasta. Simply mix the spaghetti in well beaten eggs, milk and some veggies (carrot, green peas, etc) and sauce, then fry in a pan and pheww, you’ve got your spag-fritata. 2. Stir Fry Pasta: aside spag-fritata, this is another new recipe you can turn your pasta into. Just throw together some leftover plain, cooked pasta, butter, veggies, a protein source such as meat or tofu, and your sauce of choice and stir fry. Unlike spgahetti fritata, there is no egg in this. 3. Breadcrumbs: yay, breadcrumb is one of the ingredients in my article last Friday and here again. Personally, I hate stale bread and overtime, I trash it. I can’t eat a bread from yesterday, dipping into tea used to be my thing but really for how long do I do that? Now that I can make breadcrumbs out of it, I rather have been crumbing and storing, till when the need arises. If your leftover bread is frozen already or not, just ensure it is dry enough to be crumbled and yeah, blend it. If you love it seasoned, then season it any way you like (but go easy on the salt to keep it low-sodium). Breadcrumbs are of good use when baking or pan-frying. Here’s one of the things to do with the breadcrumbs. 4. Veggie Fried Rice: I trust you know that you can make fried rice from leftover rice, yeah? So, go ahead and enjoy the rice instead of throwing it in the trash. Simply fry dice or slice your veggies and fry them. Remove from the pot and pour in your rice (fry it in the stead of cooking since the rice is boiled already). When done a bit, add in the already fried veggies and mix well together and stir fry a little more, then serve with the chicken or meat or fish of your choice. This way, your are giving that leftover rice some personality and you are having a nice dish without having to spend hours in the kitchen. Another thing you can do with your leftover rice is fry it (but not like fried rice). Simply combine leftover rice (white or brown) with all the seasoning ingredients – seasoning cubes, powdered crayfish, ginger and garlic and all you may want to add, then fry. As you fry, sprinkle (lightly) with salt then serve plain or with spicy ketchup! (If you’re not into frying of any sort, you could try baking instead.) 5. Beans: the very first time I tried to use my leftover porridge beans was to make a toast bread and gosh, it really was amazing! What did I do – I simply cut my leftover bread to the size my toasting machine can take (just like sliced bread), spread butter on both sides, smear the beans on top of one of the sliced loaf, cover it with another, then place in the machine to toast! Try this and thank me later. So delicious and yummy.
