About a third of America's food available for consumption is thrown in the trash, about a pound a day for every American, according to a report in the New York Times. And this while over 20,000 people a day die of hunger, 16,000 of them children. Saving your leftovers won't directly save the life of a malnourished child, but it will save you significant time and money on your grocery bills--resources that you can then re-direct in any number of positive directions.
The over-abundance of food constantly available in farmers markets, supermarkets, pharmacies and minimarts has numbed us to food's sacred value, much less its economic value. The cost of grabbing an iced coffee and a bunch of munchies on the road adds up quickly, both in dollars and negative health effects, but because it dribbles out a few bucks at a time we tend to ignore it.Getting used to using leftovers stops the hemorrhage of snack money and lets you squeeze every penny's worth out of your food budget in a significantly healthier way.
Here's a laundry list of leftover techniques to get you thinking about it:
Freezing. I freeze leftovers of just about every variety both for reasons of frugality and health. Bake a traditional two layer cake recipe, for example, but just top one layer with frosting and fruit and slide the other layer in a zipper-close freezer bag, suck the air out of a corner, and pop it in the freezer for another occasion. You won't over-eat dessert, and you already have a nice treat made for another night. I freeze even the smallest leftover bits of icing as well as gravy, bechamel, and cheese sauce. But removing a cup of these rich sauces from the pot and freezing them before they even hit the table, I have dinner started for another night and that's one cup less to needlessly devour at that night's meal. Baked beans, grain pilafs, muffins, soups, casseroles, pasta sauces and cooked vegetables all freeze just fine. When we've inadvertently bought two containers of milk or buttermilk, I just stick one of those in the freezer too, unless I can foist it on a neighbor.
Label your freezer goods well, and group them together by use, such as putting all the sauces and all the desserts together. If the day promises to be hectic, take a peak in the freezer in the morning and pull out a container of sauce, veggies, rice pilaf, some leftover baked beans, and stick them in the fridge to thaw through the day. A quick heating at night and you have a nice balanced meal.
Omelets. Eggs are getting redeemed in the eyes of nutritionists, who have realized that their cholesterol is not as bad as they once thought, and they provide valuable protein and micronutrients that protect vision health. Improve the healthful qualities of eggs by whipping up an omelet with last night's leftover vegetables and rice. Even a couple tablespoons of leftover green beans, cooked carrots or peas add vitamins and fiber to eggs and don't cost you an extra dime.
Pizza. Throw leftover spaghetti sauce and vegetables onto a homemade pizza. Go crazy and throw on leftover fruit, mushrooms that are getting beyond where you'd eat them fresh in salad, or leftover fish, chicken or beef.
Muffins. Bananas going bad, fruit that's got brown soft spots on it, a bag of cranberries or half a can of pumpkin puree never cooked at Thanksgiving, are all perfect fodder for muffins. Cook up a basic bran muffin recipe and throw in the extra fruit. If it's very juicy you might cut down slightly on the liquid in the recipe; if it's more than a cup of chopped fruit you might also add another egg to make sure it holds together.
Loaves and patties. Add an egg and some breadcrumbs to leftover mashed potatoes and beans, roll them into patties, spray lightly with cooking spray and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, until they are golden brown, for an easy-to-grab lunch treat. Throw leftover mashed potatoes into a bread recipe for a high-rising loaf, or use whatever chopped vegetables you have in place of zucchini in a zucchini quick-bread recipe.
Soup. Dump last night's leftover vegetables, rice and beans in a pot, add stock, and call it soup.
Sandwich Spreads. Most folks think a leftover turkey, cranberry and stuffing sandwich is even better than the turkey dinner the night before. Leftover meats sliced thin, or fish mixed with mayo and celery make obvious sandwich material, but leftover beans and veggies thrown in the blender -- with a touch of hot sauce if you're into that sort of thing -- make a fabulous sandwich spread or hummus-like dip.
What's YOUR favorite way to use up leftovers?
Here's a laundry list of leftover techniques to get you thinking about it:
Freezing. I freeze leftovers of just about every variety both for reasons of frugality and health. Bake a traditional two layer cake recipe, for example, but just top one layer with frosting and fruit and slide the other layer in a zipper-close freezer bag, suck the air out of a corner, and pop it in the freezer for another occasion. You won't over-eat dessert, and you already have a nice treat made for another night. I freeze even the smallest leftover bits of icing as well as gravy, bechamel, and cheese sauce. But removing a cup of these rich sauces from the pot and freezing them before they even hit the table, I have dinner started for another night and that's one cup less to needlessly devour at that night's meal. Baked beans, grain pilafs, muffins, soups, casseroles, pasta sauces and cooked vegetables all freeze just fine. When we've inadvertently bought two containers of milk or buttermilk, I just stick one of those in the freezer too, unless I can foist it on a neighbor.
Label your freezer goods well, and group them together by use, such as putting all the sauces and all the desserts together. If the day promises to be hectic, take a peak in the freezer in the morning and pull out a container of sauce, veggies, rice pilaf, some leftover baked beans, and stick them in the fridge to thaw through the day. A quick heating at night and you have a nice balanced meal.
Omelets. Eggs are getting redeemed in the eyes of nutritionists, who have realized that their cholesterol is not as bad as they once thought, and they provide valuable protein and micronutrients that protect vision health. Improve the healthful qualities of eggs by whipping up an omelet with last night's leftover vegetables and rice. Even a couple tablespoons of leftover green beans, cooked carrots or peas add vitamins and fiber to eggs and don't cost you an extra dime.
Pizza. Throw leftover spaghetti sauce and vegetables onto a homemade pizza. Go crazy and throw on leftover fruit, mushrooms that are getting beyond where you'd eat them fresh in salad, or leftover fish, chicken or beef.
Muffins. Bananas going bad, fruit that's got brown soft spots on it, a bag of cranberries or half a can of pumpkin puree never cooked at Thanksgiving, are all perfect fodder for muffins. Cook up a basic bran muffin recipe and throw in the extra fruit. If it's very juicy you might cut down slightly on the liquid in the recipe; if it's more than a cup of chopped fruit you might also add another egg to make sure it holds together.
Loaves and patties. Add an egg and some breadcrumbs to leftover mashed potatoes and beans, roll them into patties, spray lightly with cooking spray and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, until they are golden brown, for an easy-to-grab lunch treat. Throw leftover mashed potatoes into a bread recipe for a high-rising loaf, or use whatever chopped vegetables you have in place of zucchini in a zucchini quick-bread recipe.
Soup. Dump last night's leftover vegetables, rice and beans in a pot, add stock, and call it soup.
Sandwich Spreads. Most folks think a leftover turkey, cranberry and stuffing sandwich is even better than the turkey dinner the night before. Leftover meats sliced thin, or fish mixed with mayo and celery make obvious sandwich material, but leftover beans and veggies thrown in the blender -- with a touch of hot sauce if you're into that sort of thing -- make a fabulous sandwich spread or hummus-like dip.
What's YOUR favorite way to use up leftovers?
No comments:
Post a Comment