Reducing our food waste has had more attention in the news as food costs rise.
Sometimes after having a large family dinner, or buying more food due to a sale, we end up with a lot of cooked leftovers. To avoid eating the same food over and over again, here are some different ways to use up some of these leftovers:
Leftover Chicken?
- Make a soup: Boil some chicken broth, add in some frozen/cut up vegetables, leftover rice and your leftover chicken = Chicken Rice Soup
- Build your own sandwich: Mix the leftover cooked chicken with some diced apples, sliced onions and a little bit of mayonnaise = Chicken Salad Sandwich
- Mix up a stir-fry: Dice up the leftover chicken and stir-fry it together with some leftover rice and frozen vegetables = Chicken Fried Rice
Leftover roasted vegetables?
- Mash it up: Reheat the vegetables, add some milk and mash away = Mixed Vegetable Mash
- Make a pie: Use the above mixed vegetable mash, cook up some diced onions and ground meat and layer the vegetable mash on top = Shepherd’s Pie
- Create a flavourful soup: Boil some vegetable broth, add in some cooked macaroni, some diced tomatoes and add the leftover roasted vegetables last = Hearty Vegetable Soup
Leftover salad?
- Make a sandwich: Add it to a sandwich to add in some extra crunch and nutrition!
- Add it to a rice or pasta bowl: Finely slice up the salad and use it on the bottom of a bowl of rice/pasta, so with each spoon you get some extra vegetables.
- Make a new salad: Add some cooked meat, nuts, cheese or fruit on top to make it into a different salad altogether!
Be creative! There are so many options you can try!
Here’s to reducing our food waste footprint!
For more recipe ideas, search ‘recipe’ on the Pregnancy to Parenting blog and check out unlockfood.ca
To speak with a Registered Dietitian, contact Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 from Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
