Being in my current situation…no kiddos and no husband to feed, a Daddio who usually only eats popcorn, and the BF who I don’t have to cook for every night…I usually have lots of leftovers!
I find myself eating leftover enchiladas (I always try to spell that with two ‘l’s) and pizza days in a row but I’m not complaining!
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| Tasty Enchiladas Post |
Leftovers mean:
- Not having to cook again–less clean up
- Saving money
- Saving time–reheating vs prep time and cooking
- Not having to think about what’s for dinner…it’s leftover night!
- Using the resources we have instead of being wasteful! Read this article on how much food Americans waste every year and this may make you think twice before tossing leftovers.
Leftovers are an art…sort of. You have to have a system…otherwise they will get pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten about and found later all moldy. Ewwie.
Here’s my method:
- Put leftovers into portioned containers if possible. Tupperware, ziplock bag, etc.
- If they are leftovers from a restaurant, put them in an airtight container or cover in cellophane wrap to keep the air out ASAP.
- Date them! I use a dry-erase marker on my tupperware, but you can also use a masking tape and a marker.
- Store in the fridge if you are going to eat them within the week, and the freezer if it is going to be longer. Most food should be fine in the freezer a couple of months.
- Keep the leftovers that are in the fridge in an accessible area and make sure to eat them!
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| 3 month anniversary 🙂 |
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| Date nights always seem to produce leftovers… |
Certain leftovers need to be eaten quickly (in a day or two):
- Salads
- Most sandwiches especially if they have lettuce, watery vegetable (like tomato), or a sauce on them
- Chili (only if the increased spiciness of the peppers bothers you..the longer they sit..the spicier they get!)
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| Jason’s Deli Date Post |
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| Panera Sandwich: Busy Weekend and Back to Work Post |
There’s also certain leftovers that may be better popped in the toaster oven instead of nuking them for a crisper re-heat effect:
- Quesadillas
- Pizza
- Burgers (try it)
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| Love Applebee’s burger |
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| Chili’s Quesadillas |
Leftovers can also be useful for making salads or wraps with the ingredient the next day. Get creative! And eat those leftovers!
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| Leftovers from taco night…meat, cheese, tomatoes, chips |
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| Leftover wing-sauce pizza with added broccoli on top! Ate this for lunch 4 days straight and LOVED IT! |
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| Leftover JJ |
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| The container on the right made about 5 chili meals! I often mixed it with mac n cheese to dilute the increased spiciness. |
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| Now that looks like a non-wasteful container yes? |
STILL not convinced?? Check out how much money you can save:
Let’s take the tasty enchiladas from above for example.
My grocery receipt said all the supplies cost about 27 bucks. I got 10 enchiladas PLUS a couple of salads out of the materials. That’s 12 meals for $27! Or $2.25 per meal!
If I went to a restaurant and ordered enchiladas I would probably have two meals out of the serving, but I would end up paying about $15 total (conservatively).
15/2=7.5 so on each meal you’re saving $5.25 each.
Take that times 12 and you get $63 saved total!
Seriously even if I’m doing my numbers wrong and you only save 50 bucks…are you complaining?
That’s why I don’t mind leftovers. 🙂
Do you do leftovers? Any tips or tricks on not wasting food?
~Amanda @ Semi-Health Nut~
