In our household nothing gets wasted. We keep the leftover food either in the fridge or we freeze it for future use. It is then steamed whenever we want to eat it. We also use that stuff to create exotic dishes such as cutlets, patties and 'wadas' We prepare wadas with leftover bread. I soak the bread in water and squeeze out the stuff and make balls. They are then deep fried and soaked in curds (yoghurt) to which a good helping of sugar and salt is added and garnished with chopped coriander leaves and red chilli powder.
Even if the food is three days old, I would most likely eat it. There is no sense in wasting good leftovers, at least not to me. Though I usually keep leftovers in the fridge.
Fridge is such a money saviour as long as food is concerned. We steam the leftover food as it gets back its moisture and tastes as good as new. We even create new dishes with it.
I too eat leftover food. Sometimes I freeze it, but mostly I try to creates something new with it so it won't seem like leftovers. I was from the workforce, so I'm accustomed to eating different everyday. I don't like to wast money so I'd eat all the food. I recently found a salad bar at a supermarket, Foodland at Ala Moana. I can buy the kind of vegetables I like, it's ready to eat and it doesn't cost too much. I love it. Buying fresh vegetables in the regular sizes just is too big for me right now, so finding the salad bar is a great find!
Actually all those cutlets and patties which are a rage were started by using left overs. Now we make cutlets and patties following recipes where no left overs per se are included. Sometimes left over food tastes better than when it was just prepared. Pork is one such example.
Here at home we waste absolutely nothing. Usually we reuse leftovers trying to make some kind of recipes (and the results are usually good) or make donations.
We do not actually want food being wasted no matter how small the quantity is. It's either we finish eating everything or if ever there are left overs, I make sure I would use them for a new recipe the next day. Like if there would be left over fish, I would make an omelet with fish flakes the next day.
That is a great idea using fish for making an omelette. Do you add egg too or how else would you get the binding effect. It is nice to see how conscious one is when it comes to using leftover food.
So is stew and curries. I love stew and curry with some kind of macaroni salad. I hate leftover mac salads! The mayonnaise gets all greasy and tastes like paper. Thus I make a small amount to eat mac salad at one sitting. It's just that sometimes you got to cook just enough for one meal, so there will be no leftovers. Japanese has a teshoku, or variety of foods for meals...one shrimp tempura, 3 pieces of beef cutlets and pickled vegetables on the side. So having leftovers and something new is just fine for me. We have food wagons that we can get what is called mix plate or 2 main dishes, mmm good!
When it comes to salads where a lot of those greens are present it is wise that they are thrown out as greens are not safe if eaten after they are exposed for long hours. I never eat salads at parties.
I refuse to waste food that can be reused, but I limit this habit only to the products I am sure to be good the next day. Personally, I can't stomach the leftovers, but it is not by my own choice. Apparently, I had an overly 'reactive' stomach, so in my case, it is not worth the pain. I don't leave much food over the night in the refrigerator, but I deep freeze some because of it is safer.
That a food is a leftover in one's house doesn't necessarily mean it's a waste in another's home. Believe me there are some homes and families out there in the world that finds it very difficult to eat even once in a day as a result of the situation of the country today. As a result of these, I believe a food tagged a leftover should not be wasted but made to serve a good purpose to the less privilege in the society. My leftover food is channelled to the less privileged ones around my community because I see no need in wasting and throwing away the food when I am 100% sure that it would save a life within my environment. So I tend to give to those I know it will still be a good full meal to even though it was a leftover to me.
Even those who are well off prefer to make use of leftovers for themselves simply because they do not have the means to cook each time fresh food. It will save some work for them which is what most households crave for.
What do you do with food that is left over in your house then? I do not think cooked food kept in the fridge will deteriorate. Steaming it will moisturise it and give it freshness. We do it often and I can tell you it is as tasty as how the fresh food tastes.
I always save them for later. It is either I just reheat them or make a new dish out of them. That is why I always cook something ordinary like stew or the likes so at least it won't be hard for me to reheat them.
I suggest you steam your leftover food. Steamaking it will gets its moisture back. Reheating will dry it up further. Sometimes we even serve our potions in a plate and steam the plate. We have been using this method even for cakes and stuff.
Thanks for the advice. Actually, that is what we are doing here in Saudi. We use our steamer to reheat food because it is dry. I am going to adopt this practice share this to my family back home.
We keep our left food in the fridge to eat it later. In case this is not happening I donate the food to a poor family that lives on my street. I have donated them food many times and they appreciate and accept my gesture, in fact, they asked me to do this often. I never throw the food that is left over, if it is too old I give the food to my dog or the street dogs but I never throw it away.
As long as you have an outlet for your leftover food and that outlet is not your dustbin all is well. It is not just the cost of food but the time one spends on making it has to be considered. And home made food is a luxury these days.
