Creativity = Zero Waste
One of the greatest side effects of cooking your meals from scratch is how you can really stay in control of your leftovers, plan what you need to use when before it goes off, and be a bit creative with how you mix and match stuff so that you waste nearly zero percent of quality, edible food.
It might take a bit of practice to become an expert at this, but we’re on the journey together - so let’s look at some things to consider to bring your food waste down!
The only rule is that it tastes good to you.
Mixing and matching ingredients you have left over is not about any rules, it’s not about making food that looks good in a picture, it’s about being daring and creative and responsible with what you have. My rule of thumb is to go back to what you love the taste of, and what combinations you might enjoy! Grab some boxes and bags out of your fridge and cupboards and pretend like you’re doing an invention test on Master Chef. And remember to taste along the way!
If you’ve got tiny bits of different vegetables, but none of them are quite enough for one dish - mix them in with pasta and some cheese for a hidden veg mac’n’cheese. Stir fry them and chuck some noodles or leftover rice in - with some spices, it becomes a fancy lunch or dinner!
Some ingredients go off quicker than others, and when things start to seriously ripen (like avocados or bananas) they take on a bit of a different personality than they had before. It means that you have to approach them in a different way too. The quality of food like ripe avocados and bananas is very soft, which also means it can contribute to making things lovely and creamy, like a homemade ice cream (bonus! you get to freeze it so it definitely doesn’t go off!) or a smoothie. There are endless possibilities for the ripe banana, and you will find hundreds of recipes online to get you inspired - and it doesn’t have to be banana bread (although, by all means! If you want to reminisce about 2020 that’s the way to do it!). One is my banana pancakes, a suuuuper easy and lovely light breakfast - the recipe is available now!
When you peel vegetables and fruits like potatoes and apples, keep in mind that you can make the peel in to delicious crisps by covering in some oil and salt (for potatoes) or sugar and cinnamon (for apples) and bake at the top shelf in the oven for 10-15 minutes. The stem of a broccoli can be cut in to fries and drizzled in olive oil, and baked in the oven with some salt too! Keep being creative, as long as the food you have in front of you is edible and not out of date, you can play around with it in so many ways. And if you mess up, hey - it was better to try something with it than just chuck it away, right? Now you’ve learned something for next time.
And just as importantly - keep a close eye on what you’ve bought, try to plan ahead and don’t be afraid to use the freezer so you don’t have to throw out perfectly good food just because it went over it’s best before-date. We all have a responsibility and when you’re in charge, there’s no one else to blame!
Thank you for making food at home and limiting waste!
What are some of your best uses of leftovers? Do you have any great leftover tips for bits of food we often throw away? Share your thoughts in the comments or on Instagram and tag me @TheFromScratchBody and use the hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!
