The Three Rules of Leftovers

It has been said that if everyone in the U.S. packed a lunch to bring to the office, we would obliterate the U.S. deficit inside of three days.

From Flickr's Muffet

Okay, that’s a lie. But brown bagging it to work will save you, personally, a lot of money over the course of a year. Maybe not trillions, but definitely hundreds, and perhaps even thousands. Of course, buying the ingredients, finding Tupperware, taking 10-15 minutes, and actually assembling that lunch may seem a bit complicated for a $3 daily savings.

But that’s where leftovers come in. When applied carefully, they can:

• Reduce food costs, because you're not spending extra to eat out.
• Optimize the health quotient of your lunches (or any meal, really), by allowing you to control exactly what goes into your food.
• Eliminate packaging waste, since there's no need for restaurant meals.
• Decrease the time it takes you to prepare an office lunch – just pop 'em in your bag and go.

Of course, you have to get over the stereotypes. Day-old food has a bad rep, thanks in no small part to decades of suburban-set sitcoms in which an army of mop-topped, precocious children have perpetually whined, “Leftovers, AGAIN?!?” to their frazzled, beautiful mothers and suspiciously-out-of-her-league-so-it-must-be-his-show fathers. Frequently paired with words like “moldy” and “congealed,” the mere invocation of leftovers conjures images of rot and disease. I’ve heard tale of folks who flat-out out refuse to eat them, as if last night’s lasagna is today’s ebola factory.

And to that, I proclaim, “What a bunch of hooey. Seriously now.” Leftovers are decidedly un-lame. In fact, they’re the universe’s way of saying, “Nice work with dinner last night, chief. As a reward, here’s some more of the same. And – bonus – this time, you don’t have to do as many dishes.”

The secret to successful leftover-ing is creating them intentionally. You can't look at them as an occasional bonus, but an almost-every-night inevitability. To make this easier, remember MSR:

M: Make more than enough

S: Save the extra

R: Repurpose it later

Let's elaborate.

Make more than enough: Instead of cooking just what you need, make two or three times the amount. Never scale recipes down, even if you're cooking for one.

From Flickr's Apreche

Save the extra: Don't throw food out. Portion it into individual serving containers and store it in your fridge or freezer. You can even portion the meal before you settle down to dinner, to ensure you'll have enough for lunch tomorrow.

Repurpose it later: Most likely, you'll be using the leftovers as straight-up lunches, with little or no alteration. But in some cases, you can save part of a meal to make into something entirely different later. The perfect example is Fried Rice, which uses leftover grains as a base for all-new flavors. Another example: last week, HOTUS and I ordered Mexican takeout. There wasn't much left beyond onions, peppers, and about a cup of enchilada sauce. This week, we combined them, added some pinto beans, scooped it on rice, and shredded some cheddar into the mixture for an excellent, 10-minute chili.

And that's it: MSR.

Readers, do you make leftovers intentionally? Do you consider them a vital part of your diet? How do you optimize their use? Fire away in the comment section.

~~~

If you enjoyed this article, you might also delight in:

• 65 Cheap, Healthy, One-Dish Meals with Good Leftover Potential
• 156 Cheap, Healthy Recipes for Ten Common Leftover Herbs
• The Brown Bag Brigade: Your One-Stop Shop for Work Lunch Ideas

Green Kitchen: Chopped Liver

Green Kitchen is a bi-weekly column about nutritious, inexpensive, and ethical food and cooking. It's penned by the lovely Jaime Green.

As you may have read in this recent edition of Ask the Internet, I recently concluded thirteen years of vegetarianism. (The short version is that, back when I was fifteen, I tried going veg just to see if I could, and stuck with it largely out of stubbornness/determination. I later – like Queen Elizabeth & the Church of England – added some principles, but my belief that eating animals isn't wrong, but making them suffer is, is still compatible with conscientious meat eating. Also, I don't eat a lot of grains, so I was really, really bored.)

And lo, adding an entire food supergroup back into one’s options is fun! And tasty. It’s been a long time – I guess since I fell in love with farmers markets and cooking itself three or four years ago – since I’ve had such exciting culinary adventures. I roasted a whole chicken! I made stock from its carcass! I am developing an addiction to hamburgers! Etc.

I’m also reconnecting with a lot of foods from my (distant, almost-half-a-lifetime-ago) past. Rotisserie chicken is one of a very few meat-foods that never stopped making my vegetarian mouth water, and sure enough, it is amaaaaaaazing. I would take it over bacon any day.

This chopped liver comes out of both of those impulses – the adventures and the amazing foods from way back when. (Oh, and my new friendship with the small butcher’s shop half a block from my apartment.) Who am I to be afraid of some organs, I who have ventured into the unknown recesses of greenmarket farm stands, I who have taken home the ugly, strange, and cheap vegetables of every season? Also, dude, organs are CHEAP.

I bought my pound of chicken livers from Bob and Julio down the street from me – they sell organic chickens (among many other things, like homemade lasagna), and I guess not everyone wants every part of the bird? Which is bananas, because these things are tasty and super good for you – howsabout some vitamin A, a bunch of B vitamins, folic acid, iron, copper, and CoQ10, which helps your heart do its thing, along with plenty of protein?

And then there is the flashback factor. Specifically, flashbacks to my Grandma Martha’s studio apartment on Long Island, hanging out before a holiday dinner, tiny Jaime with her tiny cousins and sister in tiny party dresses, scooping rich chopped liver onto crackers or, given the season, little matzah squares. Were we too young and carefree to know that livers might be squicky? Or would we not even entertain that thought because the stuff was so darn good?

This recipe comes not from a Jewish Grandma but from my friend’s decidedly non-Jewish own mother, a lovelier and WASPier lady you never shall meet. But somewhere in the mists of history her great-greats and mine lived in adjacent cottages in a Polish village, and as far as I can tell across the gulf of, like, twenty years, this chopped liver recipe yields a product identical in taste to Grandma’s.

(That means it’s delicious.)

~~~

If this seems neato, you will also appreciate:

• Guacamole-Bean Dip Mashup
• Sweet Potato Kugel
• White Bean Dip

~~~

Chopped Liver
(makes 16 2-Tbsp servings)

1 lb chicken livers (thawed if they came frozen)
3 Tbs butter
½ onion, chopped (1/2 to ¾ cup)
A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp mayonnaise (sorry Kris!)
Juice of half a lemon (or to taste)

1. Melt the butter in a sauté man over medium-high heat. Add onions and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, and sauté until onions start to soften.

2. Add chicken livers and sauté until they are cooked through (no pink), about 10-15 minutes.

3. Pour/scrape all of that into a food processor. Add mayonnaise. Pulse until it’s the consistency you like – the worst that’ll happen if you overdo it is you’ll get a classy-as-heck mousse – adding a few squeezes of lemon juice to taste.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
82.6 calories, 5.4g fat, 0.1g fiber, 7g protein, $0.23

Calculations
1 lb chicken livers: 758 calories, 29.5g fat, 0g fiber, 111g protein, $2.50
3 Tbs butter: 305 calories, 34.6g fat, 0g fiber, 0.4g protein, $0.48
½ onion: 48 calories, 0.1g fat, 2g fiber, 1.3g protein, $0.30
A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce: 3 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.05
2 Tbsp mayonnaise: 200 calories, 22g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.20
Juice of half a lemon: 8 calories, 0g fat, 0.1g fiber, 0.1g protein, $0.13
TOTAL: 1322 calories, 86.2g fat, 2.1g fiber, 112.8g protein, $3.66
PER SERVING (TOTAL/16): 82.6 calories, 5.4g fat, 0.1g fiber, 7g protein, $0.23

Ask the Internet: Food Shopping in NYC?

Today's question comes from reader Nicki O., who is moving to Manhattan in about two weeks. It's a tad Big Apple-centric, but there's a Green Kitchen coming later for all you non-New Yorkers out there.

Q: I'm about to leave my warm, wonderful little corner of San Diego, CA for my favorite city in the world: New York, NY! As a single female amateur cook/foodie, where does one go grocery shopping on the cheap and healthy in Manhattan? Do people buy items from various stores? Farmer's markets?

Source: everywhere

I am no stranger to Asian grocery stores, I love Trader Joe's and I tend to buy store-brand items (Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, big chain grocers like Ralph's in CA). I eat meat but also eat like a vegetarian 50% of the time to save costs. I bring my lunch to work every day and hope to continue that trend when I move instead of running the nearest delicious food cart...though that amount of food lasts me at least two meals. Any suggestions?

A: Great question, Nicki! These answers pertain to Manhattan only (but I could write a whole dissertation about Brooklyn). Hope they help:

• There's a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods within a few blocks of each other in Union Square, right by the Farmer's Market. Both are insanely busy, but are pretty well stocked. Going at weird hours might help with the crowds problem.
• For rock-bottom produce and seafood in Manhattan, Chinatown can't be beat. Actually, any ethic market will be a good deal, comparatively.
• There's a market called Fairway which is pretty amazing. Prices are reasonable, selection is out of this world. Essex Market (sadly, now without Jeffrey the butcher) is a must-see. Chelsea Market is more of a specialty foods place, but definitely fun to walk through, especially if you're craving brownies.
• Beyond that, the chains are: Foodtown, Gristedes, Key Food, Food Emporium, Associated, Dean & Deluca and D'Agostino. The quality varies wildly depending on the neighborhood, except for D&D, which is always pricey. (Incidentally, I've never found a cheap D'Ag, either).
• There are independently-run supermarkets, grocery stores, markets, bodegas, and delis all over the place. If you find a good one, stick with it.
• There's a short stretch on 9th Avenue between 38th and 42nd streets with cheap produce, fish, dried goods, and meats. Solid quality, with some great prices.

 And with that, NYC readers, I turn it over to you. Help a sister out!

Want to ask the interweb a question? Post one in the comment section, or write to Cheaphealthygood@gmail.com. Then, tune in next Tuesday for an answer/several answers from the good people of the World Wide Net.

Tuna and White Bean Wraps: An End-of-Winter Craving

Today on Serious Eats: Parnsip Soup with Vanilla. Made it three times in two weeks, and am going back for more.

I never wanted to be one of those people whose conversations focus mainly on the weather. I also never wanted to be one of those people whose Facebook status updates are 90% about her cat. But it’s been an awful winter, and Tim has miraculously learned to fetch, confirming suspicions that he’s actually a really ugly dog, so here we are.

Those of you in Minnesota or Buffalo, feel free to punch me in the neck (er, mental image only), but I am officially through with this season. Snow can bite me. My greatest longing - besides going back in time, becoming Katharine Hepburn, and playing the lead role in The Lion in Winter – is that New York quickly and totally becomes spring-like in its capacities, meteorological and otherwise.

Blossoming buds? Yes, please.

Gentle April showers? Sure thing.

Easter Bunny? Yay!

Mets baseball? Not actually mentally prepared for that trauma yet, but you get the picture.

Mostly, I’d like some fresh produce. While tubers and root vegetables are delightfully welcome in October and November, by March, I’d just as soon never cook another squash again. A bite of ripe bell pepper or snap of fresh string bean - man, nothing could be more welcome right now. (Excepting mimosas, natch.)

So, let’s cheat: Tuna and White Bean Wraps are not just crisp, protein-packed flavor bombs, but sleek culinary vehicles for some ludicrously out-of-season produce (which, normally, I wouldn’t advocate, but c’mon). Tomatoes and cucumbers mix with scallions and a little parsley to brighten canned pantry staples, and give partakers a much longed-for taste of warm weather foods. Simple to prepare, easy to pack, and excellent for lunch or dinner, they’re a gentle, yet delicious reminder of the sunshine to come.

As for Camp CHG, we’ll be all right. Winter’s almost over. The temperatures have already crept into the mid-40s, and the only snow that’s left is that weird black tar slushy ice that doesn’t disappear until July, anyway. If only I can teach the cat to play Frisbee, we’re all set.

~~~

If this floats your boat, these will do wonders for your whole fleet:

• Ask the Internet: Canned Tuna Ideas?
• Herbed Tuna in Tomatoes
• Sardine Avocado Open-Faced Sandwiches

~~~

Tuna and White Bean Wraps
Makes 5 wraps

1 (5-ounce) can tuna packed in water, drained
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2 to 3 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh lemon juice, if desired

For serving:
1 ounce baby spinach or mixed greens (optional)
5 fajita-sized tortillas (whole wheat if possible)

1) In a large bowl, combine tuna, white beans, tomato, cucumber, scallions, and parsley. Stir to combine. Add olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir again. Adjust seasonings if necessary. If you wish, squeeze a little lemon juice over it to freshen up the works.

2) Line a tortilla with greens. Scoop tuna mix on to tortilla. Fold and eat.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
278 calories, 7.4 g fat, 7.4 g fiber, 14.8 g protein, $1.18

NOTE: All calculations for ingredient ranges fall within the middle of the range. In other words, 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil is calculated for 1.5 tablespoons olive oil. I used MexAmerica tortilla wraps.

Calculations
1 (5-ounce) can tuna packed in water, drained: 145 calories, 3.4 g fat, 0 g fiber, 26.7 g protein, $1.00
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed: 385 calories, 0 g fat, 21 g fiber, 28 g protein, $0.75
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced: 22 calories, 0.2 g fat, 1.5 g fiber, 1.1 g protein, $0.83
1/2 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced: 17 calories, 0.3 g fat, 1 g fiber, 0.8 g protein, $0.50
2 to 3 scallions, chopped: 20 calories, 0/1 g fat, 1.6 g fiber, 1.1 g protein, $0.22
1/4 cup parsley, chopped: 5 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0.5 g fiber, 0.5 g protein, $0.50
1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil: 179 calories, 20.2 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.15
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.08
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.02
Fresh lemon juice, if desired (1/2 lemon): 6 calories, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.25
1 ounce baby spinach or mixed greens (optional): 12 calories, 0 g fat, 1.3 g fiber, 0.7 g protein, $0.60
5 fajita-sized whole wheat tortillas: 600 calories, 12.5 g fat, 10 g fiber, 15 g protein, $1.00
TOTAL: 1391 calories, 36.8 g fat, 37 g fiber, 73.9 g protein, $5.90
PER SERVING (TOTAL/5): 278 calories, 7.4 g fat, 7.4 g fiber, 14.8 g protein, $1.18

FREE One-Year Membership to Grandparents.com Benefits Club (Worth $19.50)

Sweet readers!

The (full disclosure) place I work, Grandparents.com, is offering CHG fans a one-year free membership to their Benefits Club (worth $19.50). The Club is essentially a one-stop shop for discounts on cruises, hotels, restaurants, toys, rental cars, kids' clothing, and lots more, with current partners including Curves, 1-800-Flowers, Mattel, Barnes & Noble, and beyond.

All you (or your grandparents) have to do is enter the code GrandCHG at checkout. The deal is for a limited time only, but feel free to pass it on to friends, family members, the mailman, and other people you like.

Heck, and while you're at it, check out our websites, which could be of great interest:

• Grandparents.com Benefits Club
• Grandparents.com
• Grandparents.com Recipe and Food Section

Excelsior,
Kris

15 Time-Saving Food Prep Tips

A few weeks ago, we posted Cheap Healthy Good and the Triangle of Compromise, in which I proposed that there was a reasonable cooking arrangement in which money, nutrition, and taste would receive equal attention. One thing I omitted, which would have made the triangle into a square, was time. Readers called out the oversight, and justifiably so. Without a doubt, when it comes to whipping up the edibles, time can be our greatest asset, or our worst handicap.

So, here are ten tips to speed up the process. Applied, they should cut a few minutes from every meal prep. Some were mentioned in 10 Cheap Shortcuts to Making Cooking Oh-So-Much-Easier, but many more were not. Readers, if you can add to this, I’d love to hear your tips. (Please note, these tricks don't consider slow cookers, which are very helpful in reducing time spent slaving at a stove.)

BEFORE THAT NIGHT

Make a meal plan.
Not only will it eliminate the "What are we gonna eat tonight?" question everyone asks at 6:32pm, but it ensures you have everything on hand, and there are no crazy-expensive, last-minute shopping trips. Here's how.

Organize your kitchen logically.
Keep your most-used ingredients and equipment in easy-to-reach places. This Lifehacker post and accompanying 60-second video is a good beginner's tutorial.

Concentrate on recipes with specific time limits.
Buy a 30-minute cookbook - or a 20-minute cookbook, even. Don't forget to read reviews, to ensure that the timings aren't exaggerated. These tips should help.

Figure out what pre-chopped/prepared items are worth the splurge.
Though I’m a fierce (in the Christian Siriano way) advocate of buying foods whole and then doing the chopping/mincing/whatever myself, sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. If having to small dice a carrot is going to keep you from making a certain recipe, go ahead and purchase it pre-diced. Ideally, as you become a better cook, you’ll increasingly prep foods yourself, anyway.

THAT NIGHT

Preheat and defrost when you get home from work.
If you know something is going into the oven for dinner, get that thing going a.s.a.p. It doesn’t matter if the temperature is right on, since an oven will reach 400°F from 350°F much faster than it does from 0°F. (Of course, don’t let it preheat for too long. You don’t want to create safety hazards.) Same goes for defrosting - if you know you’re having meat, but it’s still a block of ice, start it running under cool water OR stick it in the microwave right after you walk in the door.

Read through the recipe at least twice.
The reasons for this are twofold: 1) No "Dang! I didn't know this had to marinate for 30 minutes!" surprises, and 2) You can figure out how to best use your time. (See the ABDMTAO tip below).

Place the recipe where you can see it.
Having the visual ability of 140-year-old dead person stuck in a coal mine, this one is important for me. It keeps me from wasting time hunched over a cookbook and squinting at size-8 type font. I used to stick recipes to my oven hood with a magnet. On the fridge, in a cookbook holder, or taped to a cabinet are also good options.

Set out all needed ingredients and equipment.
This simple action takes about two minutes, but reduces the time spent scrambling down the line. Plus, you can make sure you have everything the dish requires, or can make appropriate substitutes.

Designate a garbage bowl.
Rachael Ray is right on about this one. Having a receptacle to place your peelings, shavings, and end bits will save you about 40,000 trips to the trash can.

Drain and rinse.
If you use a lot of canned or fresh ingredients, you know that the draining/rinsing/drying process can take a coupla minutes. It’s no biggie if you have the time, but can suck up precious prep minutes if you don’t. So, before you start cooking, empty beans, herbs, and other washables into a colander, hit the faucet, and shake the moisture out.

Decide what to cook first.
Roasted veggies take a lot longer to cook than a seared chicken tender. Long-grain brown rice could cook for 40 minutes, while its accompanying stir fry takes only ten. A braise will … wait, why are you braising on a Wednesday? Anyway, designating a logical order will get dishes to the table at the same time, which is nice. Granted, it's a little tough at first, but you’ll get better at the timing as you cook more.

Need to boil water? Cover the pot.
I know some of you are like, "A-duh," but I didn't know until about two years ago that a covered pot comes to boil much faster than an uncovered one.

With apologies to Alec Baldwin:
Always
Be
DMTAO (Doing Multiple Things At Once)
You don't need additional hands for this one, I promise. Just think of it as making the best use of your time, (instead of standing there, twiddling your thumbs, waiting for something to cook). For example, if you're preparing a simple pan-seared chicken: While the poultry is cooking, combine the deglazing liquids. While the deglazing liquids reduce, chop the herbs. While the herbs are cooking, take your side dishes out of the oven. It will become more intuitive as you practice.

Combine recipe steps. Carefully, though.
This one may be for advanced home cooks only. But if you see that, for example, the deglazing ingredients (wine, broth, juice, etc.) can be combined in advance while your meat is cooking, why not do so?

As dinner cooks, do the dishes, set the table, prep tomorrow’s lunch, etc.
Your soup take 20 minutes to simmer? Your potatoes won’t be ready for another half-hour? An easier way to say this might be “clean as you go." It chops off clean-up time at the end of dinner, which your dish-doin' family members will no doubt appreciate.

Readers, any more tips? Share 'em in the comments section.

~~~

If you dug this, you will most definitely dig:

Meal Planning - An Experiment and Conversion
Relax, Frugal Eater: A Measured Approach to Lifestyle Changes
Weekly Menu Planning for Singles, Couples, and Working People

Ask the Internet: A Week of Portable Meals?

Today's question comes from reader Beth:

Q: I will be going to grown-up art camp soon and need to bring my own food for one week of breakfast and lunches, and something to take to share for snacks with the group.

From Wiki's Jennifer R.

There is a fridge and some cupboard space (shared with 10 people so not much space). Cooking will be limited to what I can do in a small saucepan (no actual cooking). I need ideas for things I can make ahead and take with me that can supplement instant oatmeal, single-serve soups and maybe a bag or two of baby carrots or some apples. I have a great granola bar recipe but am looking for other ideas that are healthy (high fiber, low cal, low sugar) and can keep for a week and not take up much space. Any ideas?

A: Wow. This one's a puzzle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in granola bar. Dried fruits and nuts would be my immediate go-to for snacking purposes, though homemade trail mix would also be lovely. If you can bring any cans, beans and tuna could make tasty, protein-heavy wraps. Of course, there's always good ol' PB&J, as well.

Readers, color me stumped. What do you suggest?

Want to ask the interweb a question? Post one in the comment section, or write to Cheaphealthygood@gmail.com. Then, tune in next Tuesday for an answer/several answers from the good people of the World Wide Net.