By Kayla Schmidt
Leftovers are inevitable most of the time, but they also lead to immense food waste. Our country in particular suffers from this; according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 30-40 percent of the food supply in the United States is waste. But there is so much you can do with leftover meals and scraps that can help save the planet and money. Here are some that we found.
1. Turn your scraps into salad dressing
Have a craving for salad but don’t have any dressing? Just use those leftover scraps! “Every week in my house, we have something called Scrappy Sunday Dinner with my family. We’ll take everything and make a big Scrappy Sunday Salad, and we’ll also make a salad dressing for it,” says Leslie Lampert, owner and creator of Ladle of Love. Lampert advises you to take anything you have left over and make use of it. For instance, throw together some mustard, leftover strawberry jam, lemon juice, a bunch of different vinegars and olive oil, and shake it up, giving you a delicious dressing for your salad.”
2. Make a quiche
Need to get rid of some eggs before their expiration date? Make a quiche! Allison Turcan of Dig Farms “rescues” leftover produce from her farm and neighboring ones to cook and donate to local food pantries. She says quiches are some of the best things to make with leftovers. All you need is eggs, and you can pretty much add anything to it. Plus, it sounds, looks and tastes like a fancy meal.
3. Throw it all in a pot for a delicious soup
Soups are the perfect lunch or dinner, especially on these cold days, and they’re a great gift. During 9/11, Lampert anonymously delivered homemade soups to the Millwood Fire Department since they were helping at Ground Zero. She says pretty much anything goes with a soup, making it a great solution for leftovers. “If you like rosemary, add rosemary. If you like garlic, add garlic. Any raw or roasted vegetables you have can be thrown in as well. Then blend them all together and add some chicken or vegetable stock.”
4. Just roast it
Lampert also enjoys making a sheet pan roast with anything she has. You can use whatever veggies you have—squash, sweet potatoes, etc.—and any other scraps in your fridge. Then, season with olive oil, salt and pepper, along with any other seasonings you like (consider adding garlic), and roast to your preferred level of doneness.
5. Transform old veggies into a savory curry
“Take all your veggies, chop them up, sauté them a little, and add in some curry seasoning,” says Turcan. It’s great for those leftover veggies no one ate that are just sitting in your fridge. And you can do any seasoning you want—make it Thai curry or Indian. Leftovers are flexible in that way. You can even stir-fry them together with some rice.
6. Layer it all into a shepherd’s pie
The perfect thing for a hodgepodge of leftovers would definitely be a shepherd’s pie. Turcan says you can throw basically anything in there, top it with some mashed potatoes, and you’ll have a delicious pie all ready to go with no money spent and no food wasted.
7. Blend it into a smoothie
Last but not least, probably the most common thing people do with leftover fruit is make a smoothie. Lampert recommends chopping and freezing fruit before it goes bad, adding in some milk and/or yogurt and blending it all together for a healthy and easy breakfast or snack. You can even turn it into a smoothie bowl if that’s what you’re craving.
This article was published in the November/December 2024 edition of Connect to Northern Westchester.
