Working this week’s leftovers into next week’s meal plan
Note what is left before you plan, use it in the first two dinners of the new week, keep one use-up night and freeze portions that next week cannot fit in.
Even a careful plan leaves something over by the end of the week: half a bag of spinach, a few spoonfuls of cooked lentils, a quarter of a cabbage, the end of a pot of yoghurt. If you treat those as the first ingredients of next week's plan, they stay out of the bin and the next shopping list often gets shorter.
Look before you plan
Before choosing next week's recipes, spend two minutes with the fridge open. Write down anything that needs using soon, with a rough amount. Include cooked food as well as raw ingredients. A note might look like this:
- Spinach, half a bag
- Cooked rice, about two portions
- Red pepper, one
- Natural yoghurt, a third of a pot
- Parsley, half a bunch, starting to wilt
That note is the starting point for the plan. Follow the date labels and storage instructions on each item, and when something is past its best, throw it out instead of building a meal around it.
Use it in the first two nights
Leftover ingredients are already a few days old, so plan them into the first meals of the new week. The spinach and rice from the note above could become a quick fried rice on Monday. The pepper, yoghurt and parsley could go into a grain bowl with a herby yoghurt dressing on Tuesday. The new shop covers the rest of the week.
Recipes that take odds and ends
Some dishes accept almost anything, which makes them good homes for leftovers:
- Frittatas and omelettes
- Soups, blended or chunky
- Fried rice or noodles
- Grain bowls with a simple dressing
- Pasta with whatever vegetables are left, finished with cheese
Keep a use-up night
Many households leave one dinner near the end of each week unplanned on purpose. It becomes the night for whatever is left. Write "use-up" in the plan instead of a recipe, and do not shop for it. If the week went to plan and nothing is left, make something simple from the store cupboard.
Freeze what will not fit
If there is more left than next week can use, freeze it in portions while it is still fresh. Label the bag with what it is and the date. Cooked grains, sauces, soups, bread and chopped herbs in a little oil all freeze well. Then add the freezer to your pantry check so the portions get used.
Where to go next
Leftovers are easier to plan for when the recipes share ingredients from the start. See planning around overlapping ingredients and cooking once for two meals. Meal planners such as Recipe2Shop let you add your own notes to a plan, which can hold the leftover list too.
