Throwing out food is pretty painful. After all, you work hard for your money, spend time and money on your groceries, and you don’t want to see it all go in the garbage. But what about that banana turning brown on the counter, or the bread that’s sure to go stale before you can finish it? It’s sad, but almost inevitable that they’ll go to waste at the end of their life spans. Well, think again! Here are 10 creative ways to use leftovers that will give new life to old food!
1. Bananas: It’s almost like a staple in every home- the sorry brown banana that no one wants to eat. So you leave it there a few more days until the only thing to do with it is throw it away. Not anymore! Save a banana by peeling it, slicing it, and sealing in a zip top bag. Keep it in the freezer and you’re always ready for banana cake, smoothies, or banana ice cream. Here’s a recipe for One Ingredient Banana Ice Cream you’ve got to try!
2. Almost empty mustard jar: You know how there’s always a little bit of mustard you can never seem to scrape out? You can use it up when you make salad dressing right in the jar. Add some olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper and shake until it’s well blended.
3. Bread: You could make a bread pudding if you want, but that’s a whole event in itself. It’s way easier to turn old bread into home made breadcrumbs or croutons. For breadcrumbs: Grind in a food processor and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. For croutons: cut into cubes and place on a cookie sheet. Toss with seasonings of your choice and bake in 350 degree oven until toasted.
4. Tomatoes: Don’t toss those tomatoes just because they’re getting mushy! That makes them perfect for a delicious tomato sauce.
5. Vegetables: Leftover cooked or roasted veggies, or raw ones on their way past their prime are great to toss into meatloaf or omelets.
6. Meat or chicken: Create a healthy, delicious, easy meal by adding slices of cooked chicken or meat to a salad.
7. Pasta: Mix leftover pasta into beaten eggs for a hearty frittata. Any shape is good.
8. Cake: Throwing out cake is just sad! Crumble it up and mix with some frosting to make cake pops.
9. Cola: I hate it when I have too many open bottles of soda after a party because I know I’ll never finish it all before it goes flat. The solution is barbecue sauce! Here’s an easy, tasty recipe for Coca-Cola Barbecue Sauce.
10. Coffee: For those times when you brew too much coffee you can use it in chocolate cake or brownies in place of water for some extra zip. Or freeze in ice cube trays and use to chill your ice coffee without watering it down. Try these suggestions, and instead of feeling bad about throwing something out, feel good about creating something new!