Managing your leftover food effectively and creatively

After a party or a lavish meal, food that is leftover can be of great concern for any any host. It is easy to use leftovers to create a healthy and delicious meal. It is only bad planning that means you have to throw away leftovers. Here are few ideas to manage leftovers.


Leftover bread crumbs: Collect left over bread slices, shred them and store them in a large bowl. Leave the bowl uncovered in the refrigerator till the shredded pieces become hard and crispy. When you have collected enough grind them to a fine powder. Store in an air-tight container and use them whenever required.

Dont throw blackened bananas: Bananas blacken in no time. But nect time do not thorow it away. Next time, use it to make delicious snack out of them such as Banana Fritters. Mash three over ripe bananas. Add one beaten egg, two tablespoons sugar, two tablespoons milk, a pinch of baking powder and a half a cup of flour. Mix properly, and make a batter of 'pakoda' consistency. Now heat oil and drop spoonfuls of batter into oil, fry till golden brown. Mouthwatering Banana Fritters are ready to gorge on. Besides banana fritters, you can also add blackened bananas with vanilla ice-cream.

How to avoid left over yogurt from getting sour:To prevent curd/yogurt from getting extra-sour, pour water over it gently without breaking the curd. Keep the curd immersed in water and throw the water away only before consuming the curd. If it has already turned sour and a yellowish layer has formed on top, remove the layer carefully and gently rinse the curd with water. The sourness will reduce.

How to make spiced cheese with left over cheddar: Do you often find leftover cheese that's hardened. You can use the cheese effectively. For this you will require 2 tablespoon chopped garlic, 1 teaspoon mustard powder, ½ teaspoon pepper powder, 2-3 tablespoon double cream, 1 teaspoon table vinegar and Salt and sugar to taste. Add to this ½ cup grated cheese. Put all the ingredients in a blender. Blend well to get a smooth texture. This deliciously spiced cheese spread can be taken with breads, French fries or pakodas.

Cold Potato: Don't throw away a cold, cooked potato ever again! They make a delicious potato salad. Chop your cold potatoes and add a mixture of mustard, mayonnaise, and yoghurt. Snip in some fresh herbs like coriander leaves and whatever you have in the fridge like as chopped boiled eggs, pieces of ham, chicken or cheese, some grated carrot etc. And lo, your salad is ready. Beside cold potato salad, you can also make a delicious supper with your fried leftover potatoes by reheating it and mixing with baked beans and place a fried egg over it.

Left over rice: One most common solution for this is to make fried rice which I believe everybody knows to make. The other option which is very healthy, filling and make your stomach feel cold is by storing the rice in the fridge mixed with lots of water in a bowl. In the next morning, add little bit of mustard oil, salt to taste and a dash of lime juice. You can also use few tsps of curd if you dont like to have it with mustard oil and lemon. Just see how cool you feel. This is highly recommended to be used in summers. You can also make a rice pudding. Boil milk till it thickens, add sugar and some amount of left over rice and mix properly and your rice pudding is ready.

ALWAYS REMEMBER
Make sure whenever using left over food in any recipe that it has been stored properly and cooked right through on reheating. It should not be left sitting on the kitchen counter for days on end.