“RECYCLE” LEFTOVERS
We won’t go into details on the general recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other waste products (as this is now well covered by many sites and books), but will focus on the recycling leftover food or ingredients. Good, nutritious food is precious, therefore investing a little time to cook some basics, a few minutes to plan out simple meals, and understanding how to recycle leftovers or waste can save food and money - not to mention eating in a more nutritious and mindful manner.
“Simple/quick”:
Just the right amount: Good, nutritious food is precious, and one simple way to not let it go to waste is to make just the right amount for each meal.
Freeze it! Since it takes time and effort to cook, another simple solution is to cook extra servings to be frozen and enjoyed on another day - just make sure you label it so you don’t get stuck deciphering the frozen globs (we find cheap masking tape and a pen works well and peels off easily from reusable containers or bags). Also labeling with the food/dish name and date also promotes timely consumption so that your freezer is not inefficiently stocked with mystery dishes that “you will eat someday.” Can You Freeze THAT? is a helpful reference that we found and are trying out.
Uses for byproducts: There are infinite uses for leftover ingredients and food which are byproducts of cooking; it just takes a little time and creativity to figure those out, while considering what is easy to do given your lifestyle and environment. Here are a few things that we do, and we’ll grow this list as we try more:
Spent coffee grounds: As we brew coffee at home, we’ve been using the spent grounds as a deodorizer or to absorb odor in our trash or indoor compost bin. We also use the grounds to sprinkle around garden beds (especially for acid-loving blueberry bushes), and it also is purported to repel unwanted pests. This reference on how to Repurpose Used Coffee Grounds also offers other ideas (we haven’t tried them all yet).
Make crackers: Left over crusty breads such as baguettes can be upcycled into crunchy melba toast-like crackers that deliciously accompanies soups, soft cheeses or pate - in about 10 mins! Simply pre-heat the oven to around 325 F, slice the bread about 1/4 inch thick or less, spread it on a oven-proof tray, and let it bake for 8-10 mins. If you are making extra to store, make sure you allow the crackers to cool completely before packaging up. We like these crackers so much that we are now buying fresh baguettes to make our crackers instead of buying them - the bonus is that it also saves on packaging.
Vegetable or Meat Stocks: We use a fair amount of stock in our basic cooking, especially soups and stews. The easiest is the immediate use of byproducts of our cooking - for example the water that was used to boil the beans are used as stock in our chili. Another method is to keep a bag of vegetable peels and scraps in the refrigerator and make stock with it, or time it for when you’ll have some meat bones or scraps from preparing a meal. Here are a couple helpful recipes: How To Make Veggie Stock, Stock by Food Waste Feast.
Feed your pet: We have two guinea pigs who eat up our vegetable bits such as kale, parsley and celery stalks, which saves us from having to purchase fresh produce just for them. Just research what your guinea pig, rabbit or other critter can eat and it will help reduce kitchen waste. In addition, the byproduct (poop) from our guinea pigs are added to the compost, which helps add nitrogen back into the soil (or as they are fed a pure vegetarian diet, we can also add it directly into plan soil as fertilizer). The following are some helpful references: Animals in the Compost Cycle, How to Use Guinea Pig Manure,
Save the seeds: If you are eating or cooking with fresh produce, don’t pitch the seeds - save them for growing more food! Easy beginner seeds to harvest are bell peppers and hot peppers - just pick them out, spread them on a towel or newspaper to dry out for a couple of weeks (occasionally turn them to ensure they are thoroughly dry), and plant or save the seeds!
Make vinegar and beauty products: Although we have not fully explored the vast world of fermentation, we have started brewing kombucha on a regular basis. Aside from producing a refreshing beverage, it also quickly produces a surplus SCOBYs (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), which were tossing into the compost until we learned from The Big Book of Kombucha of the number of uses from the by-products that you can make - including vinegar, skin toner and body cream. Check out the author’s site Kombucha Kamp for some of these recipes.
…..And lastly if you don’t have the time to think too much, a “catch all” option is to compost!
“Slightly more involved”: Another option is to transform the leftover food or ingredients into a different dish for the next day. This encourages eating food at its freshest, and can be a fun exercise with the family or friends to figure out what dishes can be created with the minimal addition of a few other (preferably already available) ingredients!
The following three basic “dish sequencing” that we take turn to weave into our weekly menus:
From Chili to Mac: When we make chili, we usually make extra to have chili mac during the week, which makes a tasty and hearty meal in 10-15 minutes, or however long it takes to heat up the leftover chili and cook whatever pasta you want to use (elbow macaroni works well, but any pasta you want to use up will taste delicious when doused in chili). To serve, place the pasta in a bowl or plate, pour on the hot chili, and sprinkle with your favorite chili toppings (ours are shredded cheese, chopped onions and a dollop of sour cream).
From Grilled Steak (or Pork or Chicken or Lamb) to Pressed Sandwiches: Every time we kick up the grill for a weekend family dinner, we will invariably have leftover meat that we then slice and make into sandwiches. And if you invest in a simple countertop grill press, our favorite is making panini sandwiches which, with the help of some cheese, allows you to convert almost any leftover into delicious hot meal. All you need is some kind of bread (a crustier or heartier bread such as baguette or sliced sourdough or peasant bread), some cheese that melts nicely (such as cheddar, taleggio, gruyere, mozzarella), and leftovers such as meat, tomatoes or artichoke from a leftover salad or other leftover vegetable. Panini sandwiches can make an enjoyable dinner when coupled with a simple salad and glass of wine!
From Grilled Steak to Salad: Another option for leftover steak (or other meats, although we’ve found that steak tastes best so far) is to cut the meat into pieces and place it atop a basic salad of greens, along with a few generous grinds of black pepper, for a tasty lunch. You can use any of the greens and the simple vinaigrette recipe in our Salads section. We tend to prefer a more robust greens such as arugula or dandelion for this salad, although any other greens or combination of greens will taste good. Also you can top with any other leftovers, such as diced tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado or grilled asparagus.
“All In”: Here, it i about food parts that you should not throw away, but repurpose into something delicious!
Use for Tea: When harvesting herbs, don’t discard the traditionally unused parts such as stems. For example, we have saved and dried sage and shiso stems to be used for tea.
Pulp in the smoothie: To reduce the use of plastic bottles we buy loose oranges (vs. prebagged) and make our own juice. However, instead of pitching the pulp, we save it and use it in our morning smoothies.
…..More tips to come as we experiment more!