meal planning - leftover week

the inspiration for the meal plan here was using up leftovers / using up things in a creative way. overall, the results were pretty decent. i hate wasting good food, so this is a different version of re-use.

the beauty of it too is that with leftovers, most of the cooking is already done, so a quick re-invention means a new meal in less than 20 minutes for all of the meals i have listed below.


breakfast and snacks
rotation of
yoghurt/fruit
omelette - pesto/cheese and salsa/mushroom
pancakes
eggs/fruit
oatmeal
muffins

supper
leftover asian - rice noodles, squid in a black bean style sauce
leftover asian - rice macaroni, tofu in a teriyaki sauce
leftover potatoes - potato nachos
leftover potatoes - simple potato salad
cupboard raid! - dosas and curry filling

one of the blogs i really enjoy is i'm an organizing junkie. for me, i suppose it's more aspirational living at the moment. the site hosts menu plan mondays so this will serve as my first meal plan submitted in the 100s already there.

beer is best! (post exercise)

forget the water...pass me a cold one?

beer hydrates better than water

seriously...some researchers decided to see which was best for re-hydrating after working out and beer topped water. a few excerpts from the article linked to above...

"Researchers at Granada University in Spain have come across a discovery that will undoubtedly please athletes and sports enthusiasts - a pint of beer post-workout or match is better at rehydrating the human body than water.

...Researchers believe that it is the sugars, salts, and bubbles in a beer that may help people absorb fluids more quickly.

The subjects in the study were asked to run on a treadmill at temperatures of 104F (40C) until they were close to exhaustion...

Half of the subjects were given two half pints of Spanish lager to drink, and the other half were given just water.

Garzon said that the rehydration effection in those who were given beer was "slightly better" than those who were given only water. He also believes that the carbon dioxide in beer helps quench thirst more quickly, and that beer's carbohydrates replace calories lost during physical exertion"

...hmmm, seems i shouldn't be questioning dh when he reaches for a brew on a hot day instead of h2o after taking the boys on a long walk.

food for thought and travel

i was just eating my lunch - slices of prosciutto from the deli, a sliced hot house tomato, and chunks of cantaloupe and not only was it delicious
but i was transported
taken back to the places where i savoured these same things
sweet, savoury memories

and it got me thinking about how central food is to the travelling experience. the monuments, historical sites, beaches and beauty are great
but what i go back to seems to be the food.

so i thought about the connection of food
not just where it came from and how it arrived on my plate
but when i travel
how i am instantly connected to another culture by eating their food
and when i reflect on it
it is amazing how a meal can join you with people you have seemingly nothing in common with

hmmm

when i think of places i didn't particularly like i can quickly conjure up a brilliant food memory

like albania - in tirana (a sad, neglected city of old communist buildings and the odd older building that somehow made it past the levelling ways of the soviets)
- i had the best seafood pizza i have probably ever had. the wine was terrible, but the perfect pizza replete with more scallops than i can count (and a whopping 4$ to boot) - well it was divine.

or meknes, morocco
- a delicious and perfect lamb tagine - teeming with steam and flavour - unequalled

or rethymno, crete
- the best gyro - loaded with french fries and garlic sauce that inevitably drowned the lips and chin...yum

these were a few places i didn't particularly like as a tourist, but as a food experience, fond, fond memories

gluten free muffins

a look at the wet ingredients before i added the flour


i altered a recipe i found for banana chocolate chip muffins to make them gluten free


so


recipe (first blended wet ingredients, then added dry ones

2 ripe bananas

1 ripe mango peeled and sliced
1/4 c wildflower honey
4tbsp veg oil
2tsp lemon juice


i used a handblender to mix those then added and mixed in
1c sorghum flour
1/2c potato flour
1/4c tapioca flour
1tsp xanthan gum
2tsp baking powder
1.5tsp baking soda
dash of salt
3/4c semi sweet chocolate chips


oven at 350 for 18-20min until firm and knife comes out clean...
these were pretty good. i think i would add a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg because i like a bit more spice but was worried that all the ripe fruit and honey and chips would mean it would be too sweet. didn't end up too sweet and a good start for a gluten free muffin. definitely decent even done as is, but i want to see what other flavours i can add in

leftover night - asian

i had a lot of leftover rice noodles so in a wok i threw in a bunch of leftover baby bok choy
pack of squid (about 350g
and made a sauce
added about 4tbsp of chopped cilantro from the garden
then
black bean paste
big splash of soy sauce
about 3tbsp of sriracha sauce and fish sauce
tbsp of sugar (i used sucanat - a natural sugar

yum. i love asian flavours.
i did add a little side dish that i didn't make - rice rolls - but i did pan fry it instead of steam
here's a pic

re-inventing leftovers night - asian

this is going to take up a few posts.
grocery supplies were low, and i had leftovers to use up so made it an asian-inspired night using re-invented leftovers

so this is part one

i had lots of leftover rice macaroni pasta - used about 3 cups worth
had a leftover cooked corn on the cob - cut the corn niblets off
pack of tofu
baby bok choy that needed to be used up

decided on teriyaki style sauce
(sorry don't remember exact measurements)
equal parts water and soy sauce
about a tsp of natural sugar (i used demerara this time)
dash of ginger
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

all thrown into the cast iron pan (wok was in use for another leftover concoction

this turned out well - 3yr old ate it, dh had seconds

potato nachos

i had some potatoes that needed to be used up and it was raining so didn't want to grill them

so thought, why not try and make them nacho style

potatoes
4 potatoes
sliced
sprayed foil with pam
and 375 for 30 min

salsa
i always make a similar salsa
2 tomatoes
about a tablespoon of jarred jalapeno peppers
2 tbsp cilantro
1 spring onion
squirt of lime juice
- all in the blender
salt / pepper to taste - i don't always do this
- i didn't strain it as the extra liquid is great for the potatoes

remove already baked potatoes from oven - add the homemade salsa, cheese and sprinkle a bit of taco seasoning

back in the oven until cheese bubbles

YUM - i didn't know if this would work out, but wow it was really delicious and something i'll make again
these weren't greasy, they held the toppings well, and you could get pretty creative with toppings (will do so next time)