Don't feel like going shopping right now, but it's already time to eat? Then it's better to check the fridge first before ordering a pizza. In almost every kitchen there are leftovers that can serve as the basis for various delicious recipes. Food such as fresh herbs, vegetables, stale bread and leftover side dishes from the day before are far too good for the bin. Today we'll show you how to cook your leftovers and turn them into delicious meals. In the article you will find a few useful tips for using up leftovers.
Reasons for food waste
According to a study by the University of Stuttgart on behalf of the Federal Ministry, every German throws away around 82 kilograms of food per year. This corresponds to a value of around 235 euros – cash that ends up straight in the bin. According to the study, fruits and vegetables make up almost half of food waste, followed by baked goods and leftovers. The most common reason for discarding is appearance. Food that no longer seems appetizing enough usually ends up in the trash more quickly, even though it is still edible.
To reduce the amount of food waste, we should take action ourselves. First, we looked for the reasons for food waste. In the first place, many of us buy more than we need because we are lured by the cheaper price of bulk packaging or the appetizing look of many foods or their packaging. Another reason for the waste is that the products are stored incorrectly. This means they spoil more quickly and end up in the bin. Many people continue to think that a “best before” date equals an “expiry date” and don’t give the product a chance, even though it still smells and looks good. We also cook too much and don't use our leftovers. So if we plan our purchases better, theStore food properlyand cooking the leftovers instead of throwing them away, we can keep food waste to a minimum.
Here are a few practical tips to help you waste less food.
How to shop correctly:
– Check your supplies before every purchase to avoid buying unnecessary products.
– Pay attention to your basic needs. These are the foods that you use every day and should always be on hand.
– Write down the foods you really need on a shopping list and don’t deviate from them.
– It is better to buy more often, but not too much.
– Discuss purchases with other family members.
– Choose quality over quantity.
Store food properly:
– CreateOrder in the fridgeand pantry. This makes it quicker to check supplies and find groceries more easily.
– Store food in lockable cans and boxes.
– Cover opened food and cans with cling film.
– Check the expiry date of your foods and use those that are about to expire first.
– Freeze excess herbs, vegetables or whole dishes for later.
Cook and use leftovers:
– Create a weekly meal plan with recipes that contain similar ingredients. This means that the leftovers from the night before can be used to prepare food the next day.
– Pack leftover dinner as lunch for the next day.
– Try to cook the right amount. Cookbooks and recipes from the Internet can help with this.
– Cook your leftovers instead of throwing them in the bin.
Cooking leftovers – recipes for what’s left
If you want to reduce your food waste, you could get creative and cook your leftovers! Leftovers can be used to prepare delicious dishes for breakfast, dinner and lunch that simply taste great. Below you will find a few simple recipe ideas for delicious leftovers.
Cook leftover bread
The fresh, soft bread from the day before yesterday is already hard and no longer looks so appetizing? Stale bread still doesn't belong in the trash. With this you can prepare a few delicacies that will be a real culinary delight without much effort. Whether a nutritious bread salad, a delicious bread casserole, crispy croutons or sweet poor knights, you decide for yourself.
Make your own croutons from stale bread
Ingredients:
stale bread
oil or butter
Salt, paprika powder, herbs for seasoning
Cut the bread into cubes. Heat the fat in a pan, add bread cubes to the pan and fry until golden brown. Season the croutons as desired and turn them several times so that they do not burn. When ready, drain on kitchen paper and use to refine salads and soups.
Recipe for poor knights made from leftover bread
To use up the leftover bread, you can make tasty poor knights yourself. What you need:
1 No
250 ml lukewarm milk
oil
Cinnamon, powdered sugar, chocolate or jam
Whisk the egg together with the milk in a deep plate. Cut the bread into slices and soak well in the egg and milk mixture. Meanwhile, heat a pan with oil, then fry the bread slices on both sides until golden brown and drain the excess fat on kitchen paper. While still warm, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon or spread with a spread and enjoy immediately.
Recipes from leftover vegetables
Half of food waste consists of fruits and vegetables, but they are not always spoiled. Sometimes you throw away one or two tomatoes simply because they have wilted spots. In order not to throw the most expensive and healthy foods into the trash can, turn them into a sauce or a dish in good time. If you cook leftover vegetables instead of throwing them away, you can create delicious, healthy dishes.
Cook vegetable soup from leftovers
Ingredients:
2 potatoes
3 carrots
1 onion
1 piece of celery root
Leek
2 tbsp olive oil
1 liter vegetable broth
Salt
black pepper
200 ml Sahne
1 bunch of parsley
* The ingredients for the vegetable soup are examples. You can of course use what you have leftovers.
Clean the leftover vegetables, peel them if necessary and cut them into small pieces. Then put everything in a sufficiently large pot with olive oil, sauté for a few minutes and finally pour in vegetable broth so that it is completely covered. If necessary, add a little more water and season with salt and pepper. Put a lid on and let it cook over medium heat for about 20-30 minutes. Puree the finished vegetable soup and top with cream and chopped parsley.
Tip: You can freeze excess vegetable soup and eat it after a few weeks.
Make your own herb quark
Fresh herbs don't last long at all in the fridge, so you should use them as soon as possible before they wither. So if you have leftover herbs, you can quickly turn them into herb quark or herb butter.
Ingredients:
150 g sour cream
150 g low-fat yogurt
200 g quark or low-fat quark
Salt
Pepper from the mill
1 tsp sugar
fresh herbs, e.g. E.g. chives, parsley, dill, coriander
Wash leftover herbs and remove the wilted leaves. Then chop finely and mix together with the other ingredients. The herb quark combines wonderfully with baked potatoes and is a delicious spread for whole grain or crispbread.
Use overripe fruit
Fruit with bruises is no longer edible for many people. But that is a complete waste. Because overripe fruit sometimes even tastes better than fresh fruit. Especially when used to prepare delicious pancakes, fruit breads and smoothies. So next time don't throw away the apples with brown spots, instead bake them into a tasty apple pie. However, you can bake one or more banana breads from ripe bananasdifferent combinations for smoothiestry out.
Cook leftover pasta
But what to do if there is not one or two products left over, but a whole part of yesterday's meal? In this case, you can also cook the leftovers and transform them into a completely new dish. Whether pasta, rice, potatoes or meat – the options are many.
For example, cooking the right amount of pasta often seems to be a task of great difficulty. In the end, there is either too little or too much pasta, so that some ends up in the trash later. So it's better to cook more and use the leftovers for another dish the next day, like a frittata.
Recipe for spaghetti frittata with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella
You can make a frittata with any type of pasta. If the leftovers are without sauce, you should think about a suitable variant. A little tomato paste would work wonderfully in this recipe.
Ingredients for 4 servings:
4 eggs, size L
700g leftover spaghetti with sauce
1 handful of basil leaves, chopped
6-7 Cherry Tomatoes
1 small mozzarella, torn into pieces
Salt and pepper
Whisk the eggs and mix with the basil and spaghetti. Season with salt and pepper and mix everything well. Place the spaghetti in an ovenproof pan and top with mozzarella pieces and cherry tomatoes. Bake in the oven at 170 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the edges become crispy. Cut the spaghetti frittata into triangles and serve with some fresh basil.
Use leftover cooked rice
Have you cooked a large amount of rice? Then you can easily make delicious fried rice yourself like in a Chinese restaurant. Here is the recipe:
2 THE BUTTER
2 Owner
1 bag of carrots and peas, frozen and thawed
4 garlic cloves, crushed
4 cups cooked rice
3 spring onions, chopped
soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil to refine (optional)
Salt and pepper
Heat butter in a frying pan, whisk eggs and make scrambled eggs. Season the eggs with salt and pepper and set aside. Then add some more butter to the pan and sauté the garlic for about 1 minute. Add the carrot and pea mixture and fry briefly. Then add all other ingredients except the scrambled eggs and sesame oil to the pan, mix well and fry for about 5 minutes. Finally, mix in the eggs and sesame oil, mix well and you're done.
Recipes from leftover potatoes
The boiled potatoes are the perfect basis for the so-called farmer's breakfast. This is a simple leftover dish made with any ingredients you like. In addition to potatoes, this usually includes leftover meat, as well as eggs, onions and chives. So a great idea if you want to cook your leftovers.
Cook a farmer's breakfast from leftovers
Ingredients:
5 slices of pork ham, torn
1 onion, finely chopped
3-4 boiled potatoes, cut into pieces
3 eggs, size L
1 THE BUTTER
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp chopped parsley
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil and butter in an ovenproof frying pan and fry the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Then remove from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the pan and turn the heat to high. Add the cooked potatoes and fry for 6-8 minutes until lightly browned. Now add the onions, the ham and some salt and pepper and stir. Make three small holes and break the eggs into them. Place the pan in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the eggs are cooked. Enjoy the farmer's breakfast with chopped parsley and cherry tomatoes.
