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Pop Culture

People share the ingenious ways they use leftovers to make creative, delicious meals

Zero waste, all the taste.

Photo credit: Canva

Everyone is looking at ways to make thei food last a little longer these days.

Whether you’re trying to cut back on food waste or stretch your dollar a little further on groceries, finding creative ways to use leftover food is a good place to start. And thanks to the internet, crowdsourced tips and tricks are only a click away.

A Redditor who goes by DAGuardian shared how they had recently shared how a quick Google search led them to discover how to make a soup paste from pea pods, followed by a recipe for a “Cinnamon Sugar Treats” using leftover breadcrumbs. This led them to asking the community:

“What are some of your ‘leftover’ ingredients that other people throw away but you use?”

Below are some truly ingenious answers. And the best part is: you don’t have to be a culinary whiz in order to incorporate some of these into your meal-making routine.

1. “Broccoli stalks , I either roast them and serve them like any other roast veg or chop them up finely and add to stews, they are delicious.” -Guilty_Nebula5446
food, recipes, leftovers, ideas for leftovers

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2. “I’m obsessed with using everything that’s edible. One thing that comes to mind that’s probably rare for home cooks: carrot tops. They literally taste like a carrot if it was an herb, and can used as such. One thing I love to do is eat it with the carrots by turning it into a chimichurri with other herbs and olive oil. It’s also a tasty garnish on its own.” -Hot-Celebration-8815

3. "Pineapple peel tea. When you cut a pineapple, save the core and peel. Boil that with two sticks of cinnamon, an inch of ginger, and a tsp of turmeric for maybe 20-30 min, let it sit for a hour, strain and yum!" -Rachilllii

4. "Berries that are juuust past the point where you want to eat them as-is make great jams or sauces, that's an old school thing to do." -CaptainLollygag

food, recipes, leftovers, ideas for leftovers

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5. "Lots of cheese rinds are edible. They can be used to add funk to soups and braises, blended into powders that can be added to bread doughs, crackers, all sorts of stuff."—Hot-Celebration-8815


6. "The stems from shiitake, oyster, and other of the more flavorful mushrooms. I dry them and then throw them into broth, which I make with all the left over chicken bones I save!" -AccidentalNarwhal

7. "I see a lot of people throw away the stems for cilantro and just use the leaves. I use every last inch of the cilantro! Heck, the stems have even more flavor in my opinion." -DisneyAddict2021
food, recipes, leftovers, ideas for leftovers

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8. "When my kids were little their favorite treat was when the jam jar was empty except for the last little bit, we would put some ice in it and fill with milk, seal it up and they would take turns shaking it then each had a little glass of flavored milk as a treat. Clean jar, no waste probably less sugar than commercial flavored milk and they thought it was the greatest thing ever.😁" -nomiesmommy

9. "I never dispose of pickle juice. It's so good for you. It has a lot of electrolytes so it's great for dehydration. It releives muscle cramps. It's great for your digestive tract. It can even help relieve menstral cramps. I usually drink about 2 to 4 oz and follow it up with at least 8 oz of water. I also sometimes use it in place of lemon juice in recipes. It has that great acidity and tang like lemon but it's different enough so it makes people go hmm what is that. It's my secret tuna salad weapon." -BeautifulHindsight

10. "I collect the heels. Store them in an airtight container in the freezer. With 8 heels, I can make a large, killer bread pudding that disappears within hours…" -Haughty_n_Disdainful

food, recipes, leftovers, ideas for leftovers

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11. "I freeze vegetable scraps to make vegetable stock. It couldn't be easier; it contains nothing processed, has no salt, and is delicious. Whenever I chop vegetables, I drop whatever is left into a Ziploc, like onion and carrot tops, fennel tops, zucchini tops, anything. When I have a gallon-sized Ziploc full, I dump it into a pot, cover it with about two inches of water, bring it to a boil, and then simmer it for about an hour. Strain and freeze."—u/nerdzen

12. "Potato peels! After you peel potatoes, wash and dry the peels. You can fry them later like chips, and they make a delicious snack; just need some salt." u/No-Access-1761

food, recipes, leftovers, ideas for leftovers

Photo credit: Canva

And there you have it, some delicious ways to cut down on food waste and get a little more taste bud bang for your buck. Bon appétit!

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Albertsons
O Organics
Sponsored

Easy, organic recipes for under $5 per serving

All photos courtesy of Albertsons
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Summer is officially over, which means we’re looking for any excuse to get together and watch a game or grill outside in the cooling temperatures.

The thing about hosting though is figuring out what to feed your guests—especially with rising prices all around. And frankly, everyone is sick of pizza.

Albertsons has you covered with fresh, organic ingredients to create delicious meals that cost under $5 per serving to create. The philosophy of their O Organics® product line is “NON GMO. AND YES GTF (Great Tasting Food).”

All photos courtesy of Albertsons

Eating organic is good for your body and the planet, but it doesn’t have to break the bank. By following a few suggestions, you’re almost guaranteed to impress whatever crowd you’re serving: friends, family, colleagues, even a romantic interest.

You’ve got this in the bag, friend—so create a party playlist and get your cutting board ready.

Starting with appetizers, Roasted Tomato Salsa is a crowd favorite. It’s versatile and easy to customize and can be served with eggs for a festive brunch or with tortilla chips as a cure for the munchies while everyone waits for the main course. There is some prep work involved, so we recommend making the salsa ahead of time and storing it in the fridge. While the recipe doesn’t specifically call for organic tomatoes, organic Roma tomatoes can be swapped in or out, depending on your mood.

Another option is to pick up a few bags of O Organics® baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, celery and cucumbers to make a crudite tray. For a main course that is sure to please a crowd, Killer Beef Chili costs less than $3/serving to make, and can easily be morphed into taco salad if desired.

Main Ingredients

  • 1 lb. lean (93/7) O Organics® ground beef
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (divided into 1/2 tsp. and 1/4 teaspoon)
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 (6 ounce) can O Organics® Tomato Paste
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans O Organics® Pinto Beans
  • 2 cups fresh pico de gallo (from produce section)
  • 2 cups water

Cooking Instructions

Step 1

Spray a 5-quart pot with nonstick cooking spray. Over medium high heat, brown ground beef, seasoning with 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper, about 4-5 minutes.

Step 2

Add garlic into beef and cook for about 30 seconds. Push all ingredients to one side of the pan and add chili powder to the cleared side. Stir to toast the seasoning, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste to chili powder and toast, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes.

Step 3

Add remaining ingredients, stirring thoroughly to combine. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and let simmer for 10-12 minutes.

Step 4

Remove from heat and add remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve.

Don’t like beef or beans? No problem! Try our Spinach & Artichoke Quinoa Stuffed Peppers. These stuffed peppers make a great vegetarian main dish (to make it vegan, remove the cheese), and add cheery pops of color to any table. Pair with a simple salad and crusty bread, and it’s a whole meal.

Main Ingredients

  • 3 bell peppers (any color)
  • 1/2 cup O Organics® cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup O Organics® baby spinach (chopped)
  • 1/2 cup O Organics® cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1/2 avocado (diced)
  • 1 clove garlic (grated)
  • 1/2 cup quartered artichoke hearts (roughly chopped)
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (plus more for topping)

Cooking Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 450º. Cut bell peppers in half and remove seeds. Spray both sides lightly with olive oil spray. Place cut-side-down in a 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.

Step 2

In a medium bowl, combine all other ingredients with 1/2 cup of the cheese. Remove peppers from oven and scoop quinoa mixture into bell peppers. Top each with a tablespoon of shredded cheese.

Step 3

Turn oven down to 350º. Cover dish with foil and place back into oven for 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and quinoa mixture is hot.

If you’re looking for a few easy (or complicated!) side dishes, or maybe you’re thinking about hosting a lunch rather than a dinner, all you have to do is use the search bar in the Albertsons recipe database where you’ll find not only shopping lists, preparation instructions, and more, but you can also create a profile to order groceries for a fast and easy pickup.

From desserts to breakfast to lunchbox, O Organics® products are more than organic, it’s flavorful food that you can’t get enough of. Always grown without synthetic pesticides, O Organics produce is farmed to conserve biodiversity, USDA certified organic, and always non-GMO. Get to your nearest Albertsons today and load up! No Albertsons in your area? You can also find O Organics® products exclusively at Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, ACME, Shaw’s, Star Market, Tom Thumb, Randalls, and Pavilions.
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Wellness

One of the world's most popular recipe sites quietly stopped sharing beef recipes a year ago

Photo by Eiliv-Sonas Aceron on Unsplash

Beef has been in the headlines lately, thanks to some incredibly bad reporting on Fox News making it sound like the Biden climate action plan would limit people's beef consumption to one burger a month. It's not planning to limit anyone's beef consumption. It never was.

However, a different entity is cutting out beef, which is surprising considering this entity is all about food. Epicurious, one of the world's most popular recipe sites, has announced that its new recipes, articles, newsletters, and social media posts will no longer include beef.

In a letter to readers, the site's senior editor and former digital director made it clear that the company doesn't have a personal vendetta against beef or people who eat it. They simply shared the statistics that almost 15% of greenhouse gases come from livestock and 61% of that comes from beef. (To be clear, it's not just the cows themselves, but the soybean and corn crops used to feed them that are also part of the problem.) For a company whose entire focus is food, this is a way they can make a difference in the fight against climate change.

"Our shift is solely about sustainability," they wrote, "about not giving airtime to one of the world's worst climate offenders. We think of this decision as not anti-beef but rather pro-planet."

What's perhaps most interesting is that Epicurious actually started implementing this policy more than a year ago, in the fall of 2019—they just didn't announce it. They started sharing vegetarian recipes where they would normally share beef ones, even for holidays that traditionally see steak and burger cookouts. And they say readers have rallied around the recipes they've shared in place of recipes using beef, with traffic and engagement numbers showing that people are hungry for beef alternatives—even though consumers didn't even know that beef was out.

So why announce it now? Despite beef consumption being down from 30 years ago, it has started to climb in recent years (likely due in part to the popularization of the paleo and keto diets). Epicurious says the conversation about sustainable food choices needs to be louder, so they're making their voice heard.

As they wrote:

"Addressing climate change requires legislation, international cooperation, and buy-in from the corporate sector. Individual actions like choosing alt-meat—or mushrooms, or chickpeas—instead of the real thing can feel so small they're essentially pointless. But every time you abstain from beef at the grocery store or a restaurant, you send a signal—to the grocery store, yes, but also, and perhaps more influentially, to whomever you talk to about your decision. Our announcement today is simply us loudly (and proudly!) letting you, the home cook, know about a step we're taking. (Admittedly, we're also hoping the rest of American food media joins us too.)"

The Epicurious editors also created a Q & A page about their no-beef policy in anticipation of people's questions, curiosities, and concerns. For example, they clarify that they are not removing recipes containing beef, they just aren't adding any new ones. They offer information on grass-fed beef as well as the carbon footprint of dairy, chicken, pork, and other animal products. And they explain why they're focusing on individual food choices when it's policy and systems that need to change the most.

"It's true that truly tackling the precarious state of our environment will require policy," they wrote. "But policy isn't just at the state and national level. Rather, it's everywhere: at your local college, at your place of worship, at your place of work. Epicurious's ban on beef is policy too."

As they said, addressing the climate crisis is going to require action on various fronts, from governmental policy to corporate policy to personal policy. Each plays off the other, and making real change on each of those levels means doing what we can do. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, but we all need to do something. Good for Epicurious for doing something.

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World Vision
World Vision

Collection of recipes from around the world aims to raise awareness about food insecurity

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World Vision

With the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to be felt around the world, many people are struggling to meet their basic needs. Unemployment is at an all-time high and an alarming number of families are facing food insecurity.

To bring greater awareness to these struggles, particularly for those in under-developed and conflict-affected countries, a group of professional chefs are coming together to share their favorite recipes from across the globe this World Food Day (October 16).

"More Than a Meal" is a collection of recipes from around the globe developed in partnership by World Vision, a global aid and development agency, and The Chefs' Manifesto, a network of chefs advocating good food for all.

"Food really is life. It brings people together and importantly, good, nutritious food, and plenty of it, ensures children are able to survive and thrive," said Marcus Frost, World Vision's partnership leader for marketing and communications.

Recipes include those from both Michelin Star chefs and families living in many of the countries where World Vision works, and represent a wide variety of cuisines. Some examples are Macaroni Egg Soup from Indonesia and Imvungure, a traditional Rwandan recipe using maize.

"We hope these recipes and the stories behind them encourage people to look at places such as Syria as more than just humanitarian crises. These countries are children's homes, often filled with memories and traditions passed down through generations," Frost said.

Hunger and malnutrition are the "biggest risks to health worldwide," even more so than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined, according to the U.N. A new report estimates 690 million people in the world were undernourished in 2019 and COVID-19 could add between 83 to 132 million people to that figure.

While food insecurity affects people around the world, those in developing nations are hit particularly hard.

Around 250 million people in Africa are undernourished and the number is growing faster than in any other region of the world.

Thankfully, organizations like World Vision are doing their part to help ease food insecurity in these vulnerable areas.

"Since the pandemic was declared, thanks to the unwavering support of people and partners around the globe, World Vision has reached almost 6.2 million people globally with food security assistance," Frost said.

World Vision doesn't just provide food, it also addresses the root causes of food insecurity by increasing knowledge of proper nutrition and equipping parents with the tools they need to be able to provide nutritious foods for their families.

"Good food is a foundation for everything, providing the energy needed to fight for a better future for everyone, everywhere. But it is also vulnerable to disruption and not always a choice," says Paul Newnham, founder of The Chefs' Manifesto.

"Part of the solution to ensure good food for all is investing in livelihoods. That could mean buying fair trade or supporting organizations like World Vision which teaches farmers how to increase production, improve quality, secure a fair price and ensure sustainability," Newnham said.

To check out the recipes and learn more about how you can help, visit www.wvi.org/more-than-a-meal.

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