Food takes up a big part of your monthly budget and it is really important to learn how to make the most out of your weekly shopping. One of the most efficient ways of ensuring you don’t spend as much money on food is by making sure you know how to use leftovers.
This is not only beneficial for the environment, since you aren’t wasting food, but it will also help you save a lot of money. Here are five simple tips to help you cook with leftovers.
1. Give It A Quick Fry Or A Bake
Almost any leftover food can be turned into something a bit different by changing the cooking method the next day. For instance, if you had some spaghetti and meatballs then dice up the meatballs a bit and throw the mixture on a frying pan. Toss and turn in a tiny amount of cream and cream cheese for some extra flavour.
You could also pour the spaghetti and meatballs into an over proof dish, add a dash of cream and sprinkle some cheese on top. Bake it in the oven and you got a new dish altogether.
2. Get Freezing
It is also a good idea to start freezing your leftover food. Not only does it allow you to eat something different instead of the same food, but it can also help you have something ready at all times.
If you have a few portions of chicken pie in the freezer you won’t be so tempted to order a pizza, for example.
Freezing food also doesn’t mean that your food is going to lose the taste. There are really good tips all over the internet on how to properly freeze your food and it is a good idea to start using them.
3. Go Airtight
You can also make sure that your food lasts longer if you pack it right. For example, bread often goes bad really quickly. But if you seal it into an airtight container and keep it away from light it is possible to keep the bread good for a longer period of time.
4. Utilise The Internet
You don’t need to start coming up with different recipes alone either. There are so many good online websites that give recipe ideas and tips for leftover foods. It is a good idea to just use Google, for example, in order to find more ideas for your specific leftover foods.
5. Pass Them On
It is also a good idea to keep in mind that you can make other people happy with your leftovers as well. For instance, during the holidays and big occasions like birthdays you often end up with extra sweets and food. Instead of using it all on your own you can be creative and pass it on. For example, any leftover Christmas hampers are perfect gifts for your friends and family.
If you also have a lot of leftover food from a party then just give a bit of it for your guests to take home. Or use some of the above recipe ideas and invite your friends over for a second round of partying.
She Knows magazine even recommends organising a leftover food party and sharing facts about food and hunger.
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Tara Robinson is really into cooking and sustainable living. She wants to help people be more conscious about how they are using food and ensure that we don’t keep wasting food so much. She is also really interested in modern dance.