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Reframe your view of leftovers -

Try to think of them as ingredients, not leftovers. Any leftovers you have can be used as ingredients in a new meal. Leftover rice can be used for stuffed peppers or fried rice. Leftover pasta can be added to a minestrone soup or a pasta salad.

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Store your leftovers well -

Store your leftovers in the fridge in glass containers if possible. Glass containers have the most benefits: they’re sustainable, they keep your food fresh as they usually have high-quality silicone lids, and you can see what’s inside so you don’t lose track!

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Plan your portions -

When you’re making dinner at night, try to portion it so there will be enough left for lunch the next day. This means you’re taking care of two meals in one go and nothing goes to waste.

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Leftovers night - Plan one night a week where you eat the leftovers in your fridge for dinner to try to get rid of everything and avoid waste. This will also give you an opportunity to get creative at least once a week!

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Save your "waste" for stock -

They might look useless, but the odds and ends left over from chopped vegetables will make a wonderful stock for soup or other dishes. Collect your vegetable scraps for a few days, then boil into stock and store in the fridge. You can also build up your scraps over a longer period and store them in the freezer until you want to make your stock.

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Pickle leftover vegetables -

Pickling your own vegetables at home is so easy, and it's really useful to have a range of pickles handy to add that little hit of acidity to your dish. You can do cucumbers, carrots, onions, radishes, jalapeños, and pretty much any other vegetable you can think of...

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Breadcrumbs -

Bread is one of the most commonly wasted food items in the world. If you have some bread going stale, whizz it into breadcrumbs in a food processor and plan a meal around it. Plenty of casseroles and Italian dishes are topped with a breadcrumb crust, like eggplant Parmigiana. You can also coat it in olive oil and herbs, toast it, and cut it into croutons for your salad or soup.

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French toast -

French toast is another great recipe that takes care of stale bread. Once it's soaked in egg, fried up, and covered in maple syrup, it won't matter if it was going a little dry.

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Stale pita bread or tortilla wraps -

If you’ve got either of these going stale in your pantry, fear not! You can cut them into small triangles, drizzle with oil and spices, and bake them in the oven until you’ve got yourself some delicious homemade chips.

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Save your Parmesan rind -

Never throw away the waxy rind of your Parmesan, Grana Padano, or pecorino cheese. They are packed with flavor, so you can save them and toss them into a minestrone soup or risotto. Just don’t forget to take it out before you serve!

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Freeze fruit for smoothies -

If your fruit is about to go bad, you can chop it up and stick it in the freezer. Frozen fruit is amazing in a morning smoothie because it makes it nice and cold!

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Freeze bananas -

Frozen bananas can definitely be used in smoothies, but you can also defrost them and use them to make banana cakes or muffins.

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Leftover herbs -

If you have leftover herbs in the fridge, then try blending them into a unique salsa verde before they go off. Add lemon, garlic, and olive oil. It’s perfect over fish, or you can simply dip some fresh bread.

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Chilli oil -

If you often buy a pack of chillies but only need one or two for your recipe, this is a great way to use them up. Fill a jar halfway with olive oil and throw in a clove of garlic. Chop up leftover chillies and throw them in the jar whenever you have them. Over time they’ll marinate and you’ll have homemade chilli oil!

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Make kebabs -

If you have a mix of vegetables, meats, fish, and even fruit in your fridge, you can make yourself an interesting kebab! Mix sweet with salty for an interesting contrast. This would work great on the barbecue in the summer.

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Make veggie burgers -

A great way to use up your old vegetables in the fridge before they go off is to make veggie burgers. Blend them up with some canned beans or chickpeas, a little flour to bind them, and any spices you’ve got for flavor.

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Make it into a salad -

There are few leftovers that can’t be made into a salad. Leftover pasta bake? Make a pasta salad. Leftover ground beef from taco night? Taco salad!

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Bowl meals -

Buddha bowls are a health food trend and they always look glorious in Instagram photos, but they also highlight that you can easily throw a bunch of stuff from your fridge onto rice or couscous and you've got yourself a meal!

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Leftover baked ham - A top tip for baked ham leftovers is to cut them into thin slices, stack in between pieces of parchment paper, and freeze. You can take out a slice at a time whenever you’re making a sandwich!

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Leftover cheese board -

If you’re lucky enough to have some leftovers from a cheese board after hosting a party or a dinner, don’t throw away the small pieces. You can make an amazing cheesy sauce by starting with a roux and throwing in the leftover pieces of cheese.

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Yogurt flatbreads -

If you've got some natural yogurt in your fridge that might go off soon, try mixing it with an equal amount of self-raising flour and a sprinkle of cumin seeds. This will make a simple dough you can roll out and fry on a pan to make the easiest ever flatbread.

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Stir fry salad leaves -

When lettuce starts to go limp we usually assume there’s no coming back. But an interesting way to use them up is to stir fry them with sesame oil, soy sauce, and garlic. This works best with iceberg and romaine lettuce.

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Coconut milk -

If you made a recipe with coconut milk but you’ve got some left over, you can mix it with confectioner’s sugar to make a delicious icing for a baked good or dessert.

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The anything burrito -

Here’s a secret for you: you can put anything in a burrito (it might not technically be a burrito anymore, but it’ll still be delicious). The breakfast burrito has already become a sensation, but there are really endless possibilities for what you can stuff into a tortilla wrap.

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Soups -

If you have any leftover vegetables from a meal, whether cooked or uncooked, they’ll make a great start for a soup the next day.

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Stuffed vegetables -

If you’ve got vegetables in the crisper and no plan for them, try stuffing them! Roasted stuffed vegetables are extremely versatile and can help use up other things like leftover rice or ground meat. They can be Mexican or Greek style, and it works with bell peppers, tomatoes, or zucchinis.

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Curries -

If you have some curry paste in the pantry, or even just a can of coconut milk and some spices, you can get rid of half the leftovers in your fridge by throwing them into a curry! Add whatever vegetables you have and any kind of protein.

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Leftovers omelette -

There are few leftover foods that can’t be thrown into an omelette the following morning to upgrade your breakfast.

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Compost -

If all else fails and you really can't find a way to use up the leftover fruit and veg in your fridge, then the best option is to start composting. For those lucky enough to have a garden, this is the best way to keep your plants healthy and prevent food waste at the same time.

Sources: (BBC Good Food) (UC Davis) (I Value Food)

See also: How to make your own vegetable patch

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