Leftovers are often marginalized to a basic microwave reheat, quick snack, or just plain forgotten about. However, with some quick thinking and a few added ingredients, you can transform ordinary leftovers into a brand new meal. Here is some food for thought on what’s often laying around in your fridge:

Chicken

Simply throw together a few salad essentials and mix in chunks or bits of the leftover chicken for a convenient, light, healthy recipe. Dice up grapes, pecans, celery, and chives. Toss with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and seasoning. Mix with greens, chicken.

Heat up some broth, veggies, the chicken, noodles, herbs and all kinds of goodies into a pot. Warm for a timeless, easy classic. We like to use chopped carrots, sautéed onion and garlic, and some chives.

Produce

Leftover veggies, fruits, or both? Blend with ice, milk, peanut butter, and other nutrient rich ingredients for a speedy, delectable smoothie. It’s quick and nutritious! Bonus: even if you don’t have what you need on hand, you can toss leftover produce it in the freezer for future blends.

We use greek yogurt, almond milk, and peanut butter with whatever fruits and veggies are leftover. A sprinkle of grated ginger and a teaspoon of cinnamon also add a nice kick with sweeter flavors.

Herbs

Leftover herbs are packed with flavor, but hard to transition into a meal of their own. We suggest capturing that flavor for meals to come – herb butter is one of the best ways to achieve this. Grab a stick of butter out of the fridge, add the flavor-packed herbs and a few other spices to create a lasting, tasty spread.

Our recipe consists of a tablespoon of butter, a teaspoon of dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and whatever spices we have on deck. Parsley, garlic, and mint are particularly delicious!

Beef

Warm up leftover beef, while packing in more taste with a classic beef stew. The array of other ingredients and flaky beef will create a melt in your mouth dinner! 

Our stew consists of: green beans, carrots, lemon, garlic, onion, lemon, and the beef (in chunks). Once you get it all in the pot it’s pretty easy to finish – and even more delicious to eat!

Fruits

Leftover fruits, citrus and other refreshing flavors? These don’t last long, but can have their flavor transitioned in salads, rice bowls, and other quick, light dishes. One of the most popular ways to use any fruit leftover is with water – create an infused, delicious, refreshing thirst-quencher. Just soak the fruits for a few hours, and leave the rinds on – it will add flavor!