I don’t know about you, but in my house, we always seem to have random leftovers. I’m not talking about enough chicken to make another meal or to pack for lunch the next day (there are so many ways to creatively reuse leftovers), but when you don’t have enough to do that for everyone, or you have too many little pieces to put together a coherent meal.
Since planning dinner every night is a real pain and having a messy fridge and pantry is an even bigger pain (and makes you spend more money because you don’t know what you have), I have started doing something called a “clean-out” supper.
Basically, we take all the random leftovers we have. The tiny bit of chicken, the container of tuna, the bits of potatoes or vegetables. We grab some leftover bread or tortillas, rice, or ramen, and put it all out as a buffet. Then everyone takes whatever they want.
So rather than having a piece of chicken for dinner, you might have a chicken nugget, a few strips of meat, a spoonful of beans, and a bunch of random sides. You can put it together with your ramen, make it into a sandwich, or just eat it plain.
Listen, it’s not a glamorous, Instagram-worthy dinner, and it’s certainly not going to be posted on Facebook for all to see, but it’s a dinner, and it cuts down on food waste a lot.
The Change
I also find that it encourages the kids to try different things. Even if they HAATTTE the potatoes from Tuesday night, for some reason, when there is an option of just taking a tiny bit, they are more willing to try it. Maybe it’s the low pressure, maybe it’s the change in how it’s presented, or maybe it’s because it’s a “limited-edition”, so to speak.
It also takes away the stress of worrying about food waste. Food costs a lot, and I often feel guilty when I make dinner and there are leftovers that we can’t use. It used to make me feel guilty, sad, and stressed. Now, I don’t care because I know it will make an appearance again and hopefully be eaten.
The point is, it works for us, and it might work for you, too.
So, no, frugal living isn’t always the glossy pictures of bean stew or cash envelopes that you see online. Sometimes it’s a bit of mashed potatoes topped with leftover popper sauce.
