The idea of leftovers used to make me somewhat queasy, the idea of picked-at food, half eaten, and then stored in a cardboard container to be reheated the next day never sounded appealing. Now that I’m an adult and responsible for our family’s grocery budget, I have a new found appreciation of leftovers. [blockquote size=”full|half|third|fourth|two-thirds|three-fourths” align=”left|center|right”]Leftovers and I are budget BFF’s. [/blockquote]
I should explain though that just like my taste in music has evolved as I’ve grown up (although I still love me some N’Sync), my use of the word “leftovers” has also evolved. I still don’t enjoy the type of leftovers I described above (think “doggy bag” style), although I will scrape every macaroni noodle off my kids’ plates and take them home to be reheated the next day because kid’s meals are expensive.
My new found use of the term “leftovers” in our house means preparing extra when I make dinner of certain items to be used the next day (usually for lunch). For example, if I’m making chicken, I’ll make extra to have on salads the next day or an extra piece of steak for my lunch, etc. I find it’s usually a bit cheaper to buy more meat/chicken/fish at one time, as opposed to buying two separate packs of smaller servings.
Plus I find it’s easier for me to stay on track healthy eating wise if I have something already prepared for lunch, as lunch seems to be my most hectic meal time.
A recent example of a leftover meal was a couple weeks ago. I made this Grilled Pork & Fontina Sandwich for lunch and I grilled extra pork to be saved for the following day. The next day at lunch, instead of making a sandwich, I made these awesome Grilled Pork Salads. They were so simple since I had already grilled the pork and really filling.
What’s your take on leftovers?
Yes, leftovers are my friend too. They make mornings that less hectic. :]
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