Your New Year’s resolution included eating more vegetables. This is a great goal that I have supported all year. However, there are some learning curves. This is something we all have experienced. We bought a bunch of vegetables in a big shopping cart at the beginning of the week, and then half of them ended up in the fridge by Friday. It’s almost the same thing as throwing away your money. I decided to compile six simple ways to reuse leftover vegetables that anyone can do with minimal planning. Let’s reduce food waste, save money, and enjoy delicious food! Sound good?
This list is a must-have so that the next time you look in your fridge, you have a quick reference to this list.
STIR FRY
Excellent for: Bell peppers, onions and carrots, squashes, mushrooms, eggplants, cabbages, spinach, tomatoes, and peas
Stir-fries are my favourite easy meal. They’re quick, and you can add any meat or vegetable. And they’re always different. You can add different vegetables to your stir fry and change the sauce each time. You can use a basic soy-based stir fry sauce, such as the one in my Ground Turkey Stir Fry (pictured below), or a coconut-based sauce, such as in my Spicy Coconut Vegetable Stir Fry. Or, you could even go short and use a bottled sauce, such as my Sweet Chilli Chicken Stir Fry Bowls. While you’re simultaneous, garnish your stir-fry with any leftover green onions and cilantro. 😉
PIZZA
Great for: spinach, kale, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, eggplant, zucchini
Before I became a blogger, one of my jobs was to work at Whole Foods’ pizza counter. I don’t mean to say that we made pizzas from everything. Every ingredient that we could find in our kitchen was used in one of our “specialty” pizzas. We also discovered some incredible flavour combinations. When Friday rolls around, look in your fridge for any leftover vegetables, cheese, or meats from the week, and then toss them onto a pizza. You can also make French Bread Pizzas (pictured below), a Quick Fix tortilla pizza or a Pizzadilla.
PASTA SALAD
Excellent for: yellow squash and zucchini, onions, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers. Broccoli, cucumbers, peas. Radishes.
Make some pasta and chop the vegetables. Add some cheese to taste. Finally, drizzle with your favourite dressing. DONE. Pasta salad is so easy and versatile. You can make this dish even more versatile by changing the dressing. You can use any bottled dressing, such as my Sweep The Kitchen Pasta Salad (pictured below), or make your balsamic vinegar like my Greek Chicken Pasta Salad. Or, you could even make your own creamy lemon dill Pasta Salad.
FRITTATAS, OMELETS, AND SCRAMBLES
Excellent for tomatoes, onions and, yellow squash, spinach. Kale, mushrooms. Asparagus, bell pepper, broccoli, and avocado
Vegetables and eggs are best friends. I chop any vegetable in my refrigerator, add it to a skillet with two eggs, and make a quick vegetable scramble. You can also bake vegetables in your eggs, like the Ratatouille Frittata, and then bake them in little egg cups, fold them into an egg omelette or even a breakfast quesadilla.
SOUP
Excellent for: sweet potatoes and potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, kale, cabbage, corn, peas, and cauliflower
Soup is the “catch-all” recipe. It’s great for limp vegetables (they will soften after being simmered in the soup) or root vegetables that require longer cooking. Soup is a great option. It’s easy to make soup. All you need to do is to combine the ingredients in a pot. A great quick way to use up leftover vegetables in soup is to toss them into a bowl of instant ramen. Many soups, such as the Vegetable Barley Soup above, my All You Can Eat Cabbage Soup or Beef & Cabbage Soup, can be made with any vegetable you like without altering the flavour profile. It’s also freezer-friendly to save a lot of food waste.
ROAST THEM!
Use it for potatoes and, sweet potatoes, carrots. Radishes, carrots. Mushrooms. Eggplant, bell pepper, broccoli, winter squash (butternuts, acorns, delicata, etc. Beets, cauliflower
Roasting vegetables is like giving them another chance at life. This is a great way to roast vegetables already a little soft. Toss the vegetables in oil and season with salt, pepper or your favourite seasoning mix. Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes. Once roasted vegetables can be used in salads and bowl meals. They also make great pasta, burritos, tacos, omelettes, and other dishes. You can also roast them on a sheet pan and meats like my Smoky Roasted Sausage & Vegetables and make a complete meal on the sheet pan.
Your New Year’s resolution included eating more vegetables. This is a great goal that I have supported all year. However, there are some learning curves. This is something we all have experienced. We bought a bunch of vegetables in a big shopping cart at the beginning of the week, and then half of them ended up in the fridge by Friday. It’s almost the same thing as throwing away your money. I decided to compile six simple ways to reuse leftover vegetables that anyone can do with minimal planning. Let’s reduce food waste, save money, and enjoy delicious food! Sound good?
This list is a must-have so that the next time you look in your fridge, you have a quick reference to this list.
STIR FRY
Excellent for: Bell peppers, onions and carrots, squashes, mushrooms, eggplants, cabbages, spinach, tomatoes, and peas
Stir-fries are my favourite easy meal. They’re quick, and you can add any meat or vegetable. And they’re always different. You can add different vegetables to your stir fry and change the sauce each time. You can use a basic soy-based stir fry sauce, such as the one in my Ground Turkey Stir Fry (pictured below), or a coconut-based sauce, such as in my Spicy Coconut Vegetable Stir Fry. Or, you could even go short and use a bottled sauce, such as my Sweet Chilli Chicken Stir Fry Bowls. While you’re simultaneous, garnish your stir-fry with any leftover green onions and cilantro. 😉
PIZZA
Great for: spinach, kale, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, eggplant, zucchini
Before I became a blogger, one of my jobs was to work at Whole Foods’ pizza counter. I don’t mean to say that we made pizzas from everything. Every ingredient that we could find in our kitchen was used in one of our “specialty” pizzas. We also discovered some incredible flavour combinations. When Friday rolls around, look in your fridge for any leftover vegetables, cheese, or meats from the week, and then toss them onto a pizza. You can also make French Bread Pizzas (pictured below), a Quick Fix tortilla pizza or a Pizzadilla.
PASTA SALAD
Excellent for: yellow squash and zucchini, onions, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers. Broccoli, cucumbers, peas. Radishes.
Make some pasta and chop the vegetables. Add some cheese to taste. Finally, drizzle with your favourite dressing. DONE. Pasta salad is so easy and versatile. You can make this dish even more versatile by changing the dressing. You can use any bottled dressing, such as my Sweep The Kitchen Pasta Salad (pictured below), or make your balsamic vinegar like my Greek Chicken Pasta Salad. Or, you could even make your own creamy lemon dill Pasta Salad.
FRITTATAS, OMELETS, AND SCRAMBLES
Excellent for tomatoes, onions and, yellow squash, spinach. Kale, mushrooms. Asparagus, bell pepper, broccoli, and avocado
Vegetables and eggs are best friends. I chop any vegetable in my refrigerator, add it to a skillet with two eggs, and make a quick vegetable scramble. You can also bake vegetables in your eggs, like the Ratatouille Frittata, and then bake them in little egg cups, fold them into an egg omelette or even a breakfast quesadilla.
SOUP
Excellent for: sweet potatoes and potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, kale, cabbage, corn, peas, and cauliflower
Soup is the “catch-all” recipe. It’s great for limp vegetables (they will soften after being simmered in the soup) or root vegetables that require longer cooking. Soup is a great option. It’s easy to make soup. All you need to do is to combine the ingredients in a pot. A great quick way to use up leftover vegetables in soup is to toss them into a bowl of instant ramen. Many soups, such as the Vegetable Barley Soup above, my All You Can Eat Cabbage Soup or Beef & Cabbage Soup, can be made with any vegetable you like without altering the flavour profile. It’s also freezer-friendly to save a lot of food waste.
ROAST THEM!
Use it for potatoes and, sweet potatoes, carrots. Radishes, carrots. Mushrooms. Eggplant, bell pepper, broccoli, winter squash (butternuts, acorns, delicata, etc. Beets, cauliflower
Roasting vegetables is like giving them another chance at life. This is a great way to roast vegetables already a little soft. Toss the vegetables in oil and season with salt, pepper or your favourite seasoning mix. Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes. Once roasted vegetables can be used in salads and bowl meals. They also make great pasta, burritos, tacos, omelettes, and other dishes. You can also roast them on a sheet pan and meats like my Smoky Roasted Sausage & Vegetables and make a complete meal on the sheet pan.
