Project Leftover!

How to waste less and eat more! 

Hello beautiful Happy Babe!
Lauren Bragg here! I've been working on a couple of things in my kitchen: reducing food waste, saving money and becoming more efficient with my meals!  From this, I've designed Project Leftover and outlined my BEST tips and tricks.   

• Cook Once, Eat Twice 
  • When you’re cooking dinner, make sure to cook enough for that night AND another meal. 
  • Re-design the meat you cooked in salads, as wraps or chopped up in a skillet with fresh veggies. 
  • Thinking this way will add a bit more to your grocery list, but you’ll end up with delicious food for every meal! 

 

• Know How Long Food Lasts
  • Cooked meats and seafood -3 days. 
  • Cooked veggies, soups, and casseroles – 4 days. 
  • Hardboiled eggs- 7 days. 
  • Raw veggies- 7 days. 
  • Un-refrigerated fruits- 3 days (except apples, they last longer!). 
  • General rule of thumb: use your nose! 

 

• Chillen Out
  • Refrigerate or freeze within 2 hours if the food isn’t hot. 
  • Cool hot foods down uncovered before you store and refrigerate.
  • Make sure your fridge is at lest 40 degrees (F).  
  • The freezer is your friend- try storing broth or berries in ice cube trays. 

 

• Storage
  • Shallow containers are best for leftovers. 
  • Eliminate air and water from whatever storage container you’re using. 
  • Glass over plastic, ALWAYS. 

 

• Reheating 
  • Reheat thoroughly, stovetop is best, avoid microwaving if possible. It’s less convenient but the nutrients/molecules in your food will stay intact. 
  • Add fat to the pan (EVOO, coconut oil, almond oil, ghee, duck fat, rendered pork lard).
  • Rule of thumb: reheat to at least 160 degrees (F).

 

• Over-Ripened Fruit 
  • Make a smoothie and add some greens. 
  • Mash it up and make it into a coulis. 
  • Turn them into a salsa with fresh cilantro, lime and hot peppers (mmmm, pineapple salsa!). 
  • Make something baked- think breads, granola/protein bars. 

 

• Leftover Meats and Fish 
  • Slice and dice, excellent with a dash of salt and pepper on their own.  
  • Use them in frittatas, omelets, on top of salads, turn into a casserole, soup or shepherds pie (I love me some leftover meat and kale soup!). 
  • Freeze for later in a Ziplock (remove all the air). 
  • Turn leftover fish into pan fried fish cakes.

 

• Leftover Veggies
  • Do a simply re-heat on the stove and add some sliced or diced meat for a yummy skillet. 
  • Leftover veggies are amazing in frittatas! 
  • Make a soup and add the cooked veggies toward the end. 
  • If you have leftover raw veggies- PICKLE THEM. 
  • Mashed cauliflower makes an excellent topping for a shepherds pie. 
  • Cauliflower rice can be repurposed as Spanish rice, pilaf or in a veggie and meat skillet. 

 

• Other Leftover Items 
  • Turn leftover mashed sweet potatoes into potato pancakes with green onion.
  • Make deviled eggs from leftover hard boiled eggs. 
  • Leftover spaghetti sauce is awesome as a stuffed bell pepper topping. 

 

• Spice It Up!​
  • Add fresh herbs, oregano and tarragon are my favorites. 
  • Use little fresh ground pepper and sea salt. 
  • Add some broth to create more moisture. 
  • Use your favorite hot sauce or add fresh jalapeños.

There you have it, I hope you enjoyed this post and please leave questions or comments below!