A home-cooked meal beats any boring canteen purchase or shop-buy every time.
Nutrition aside, eating out every day is an expensive habit. There are plenty of cool lunchboxes in all shapes and sizes available these days so there’s really no excuse for not packing a healthy, tasty lunch to bring to school or to work. Whether you dress them up for dinner or nibble them for lunch, with a little imagination, your leftovers can go a long way.
Here are three ideas to get you started:
1. Bakes and pies
Leftovers can become an amazing pie. A simple sauce like gravy, tomato or bechamel (100g of flour and 100g of butter per litre of milk) can be mixed in with almost any vegetables and meats for a gorgeous day-after meal. Just pour the sauce and leftovers in a bowl, cover it with frozen puff pastry and bake following the pack instructions.
2. Salads
Think about that curry rice. Or what about the roast chicken? Grains and meats (and of course veggies) can easily be added to a salad for the day after. Just add a few leafy greens, some sweetcorn, nuts, seeds or anything crunchy to add a bit of texture and you’re good to go. Experimenting with dressings will guarantee your leftover dinner turns into something special every time. Keep a selection of oils and vinegars, soy sauce or harissa, as well as a couple of lemons, lime and yogurt in the fridge to make your salad even more delicious.
3. Frittatas
Do you have leftover penne with Bolognese sauce? Or maybe some sausage and roast vegetables? Give them the Italian treatment; mix them in a bowl with a few fresh eggs (for a full big pan I usually use eight, for a small one four is enough) and cook them in a pan over medium heat, about 10 minutes per side. To turn the frittata you can use a plate when you flip the pan.
