So you have leftovers, but you don’t want to eat the same food for the next five days in a row! So I will be introducing fun and creative ways for you to use leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Leftovers are convenient, fast, and easy to work with, so your taste buds don’t recognize you have been eating the same meal over and over! All you’ll need is an open mind, some spices, and a reheating mechanism! As we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, we will have an overload of leftovers! Holiday leftovers can last weeks, and we can get over holiday meals quickly. Luckily we can get creative with any leftovers!
Leftovers for Breakfast
Tacos
Let’s TACO-bout being creative with leftovers from taco Tuesdays! If your tacos consisted of rice and beans-even better! With beans, you can wrap them in a tortilla topped with tofu and avocado slices for a breakfast burrito.
You can substitute regular cheese with plant-based cheese and create chilaquiles with leftover rice and beans from last night’s taco dish! Chilaquiles is a Mexican dish that traditionally consists of fried tortilla chips topped with rice, beans, vegetables, and tomato sauce. Chilaquiles can easily be made into a healthier meal by baking the tortilla chips instead of frying them and using brown rice instead of white rice.
You can top Chilaquiles with crumbled tofu. Tofu contains 10 grams of protein per 0.5 cups. Starting your day off with a heavy protein dish will keep you full longer! Tofu is high in omega-3 fatty acids, generally found in fish. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation within the body and have been shown to reduce cognitive decline in diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Adding vegetables to your morning will also provide you with additional fiber to keep your bowel healthy and regulated! The fiber from vegetables and protein from tofu will maintain a healthy blood sugar level.
Sweet Potatoes
We are now in the heart of the holiday season, which means there are many squashes and sweet potatoes available! So if you have an abundance of sweet potato leftovers, and don’t know what to do with them, save it for breakfast!
Eating sweet potatoes for breakfast will provide you with energy! For example, make delicious breakfast toast using leftovers! Linearly cut leftover sweet potatoes into thick slices. Drizzle them with olive oil, sprinkle cinnamon, and then toast in an oven.
After that, top toasted sweet potato slices with fresh bananas and plant-based yogurt.
If you are looking for additional fat, you can create a sweet potato avocado toast! Just top them with smashed avocado and sprinkle with nutritional yeast!
Sweet potatoes are magical because they have a low glycemic index compared to regular white potatoes. The glycemic index of food measures how fast food causes blood sugars to rise. Foods with a lower glycemic index will slowly raise sugar levels vs. food with a higher glycemic index, immediately increasing blood sugars. Low glycemic index foods are high in fiber, proteins, and rich fats.
Cornbread
Cornbread is a great Thanksgiving meal leftover, which is perfect to use for breakfast! Traditionally cornbread is a holiday dish and is often seen around this time of year due to its Native American history. Because cornbread derives from corn, it does have a sweeter taste.
The cornbread originated from Native American tribes, made from cornmeal, which is simply corn kernels ground to grit size consistency, then mixed with ingredients to make bread.
With leftover cornbread, you can make a casserole with vegetables. You can also use leftover bread to make a vegan sausage breakfast sandwich!
Leftovers for Lunch or Dinner
Curry
Curry originated in the Indian subcontinent, which uses savory spices and herbs. Depending on the spice tolerance level you are trying to achieve, you may have a red, green, or yellow curry.
Curry is very beneficial for our health because of the powerful spice and herbs used in this dish. Curry is generally presented as a soup, but with rice and refrigeration, the soup will thicken. The longer the casserole is in the fridge, the longer the flavors will marinate, bringing out more robust flavors.
Curry spices such as cumin, turmeric, and curry spice have been used for medicinal purposes. Turmeric has high anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to benefit cognitive functions. Because turmeric is bright orange, it contains beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant that fights against oxidative stress within the body. Cumin has been proven to speed up the digestive process by increasing digestive enzymes. One teaspoon of cumin contains 17.5% of the recommended value of iron! Maintaining a healthy iron level is important because iron is the oxygen transporter to the brain.
The best thing to do with your curry leftovers is to make a curry sandwich! All you need to do is reheat your curry, toast a few slices of bread, and ta-da! Add some lettuce or arugula to give it a bit of a crunch!
Traditionally curry is paired with meat options such as chicken, adding additional protein. But for the plant-based option, use chickpeas. Because each individual weighs differently, protein needs from one person to the next will differ. For example, someone who is sedentary and weighs 140 lbs will need around 51 grams of protein a day.
(Convert weight in lbs to kg: 140 lbs/ 2.2 kg= 63.6 kg. Then multiply 63.6 kg by 0.8 grams protein/kg= 51 grams of protein per day)
Raise your hand if you have ever been asked: “Where do you get your protein from?”. Clearly, one can of chickpeas nearly cover most protein needs for the day!
Pasta
Pasta is a comfortable and warm dish to make during fall/winter. Leftover pasta can be cooked as a casserole with green beans or zucchini. Use whole grain or bean pasta for the healthier alternative to regular pasta. White pasta is refined and losses most vitamins and minerals during the refining process. It’s also higher in starch and can cause spikes in blood sugars because of its low fiber content.
My favorite is chickpeas pasta. It has higher protein content and is very high in fiber, containing and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.
Squash
If you have leftover squash from a soup or side dish, you can use it in a quesadilla lunch dish! It is a Latin dish similar to a taco and made with tortillas, beans, vegetables, and cheese. If you are plant-based, you can purchase shredded vegan cheddar cheese! Adding squash to this dish gives beneficial nutrients and great flavor. You may also smash sweet potatoes and use it as a dipping sauce for the quesadillas!
Make a vegan quesadilla using squash, black beans, onions, and tomatoes. Lycopene is an antioxidant found in tomatoes, shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. With the addition of the immune fighting onion, I’d say these recipes are beneficial and nutrient-dense.
A Lot of Leftovers
Were you left with many leftovers that you are unsure what to do with them? So here is a suggestion, add your bits to a crockpot and make a soup! Because your leftovers have already been cooked, you would not need to keep the crockpot cooking for long but just enough to revive your leftovers!
Using all the products in your fridge before it spoils is essential. Nothing hurts the heart more than throwing away spoiled food on which you spent your hard-earned money! Soups are hearty and good for the body around this time of the year. When vegetables, spices, and herbs are cooked, the heat releases their nutrients. The nutrients then marinate and sit in the broth with the remaining vegetables.
Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash is autumn produce from the pumpkin family. Its yellow pigment holds beta-carotene, which reduces oxidative stress.
It is high in fiber and vitamin c and can aid in digestive discomfort. Spaghetti squash also is low in carbs (10 grams per cup), making it the perfect substitute for regular spaghetti.
Don’t worry if you made too much spaghetti squash and have leftovers! You can use squash to make a burrito bowl or turn it into a taco dish.
How many days after the holiday do you continue to eat leftovers? Don’t get me wrong; we wait an entire year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Eating the same leftovers for a few days after isn’t a bad thought, but there are fun and easy ways to use them without getting bored! Stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce, and a vegan roast can go a long way with creativity!
Being creative with leftovers will keep your wallet and taste buds happy. All you have to do is piece them together! You will have fewer dishes to wash and more time to look up your next creative recipe! I hope you learned a few new things about the food you eat and how to incorporate leftovers in new recipes!
