Food wastage – get creative with your leftovers

When we were kids, we distinctly remember our parents telling us there were children who don’t get to eat and that we can’t leave anything on our plate. We’re here to tell you that you can leave food on your plate because we have epic ideas to help you minimise waste and keep those Christmas leftovers for days.

In Australian culture, we have a mixture of Christmas lunch ideas and there’s not really one traditional lunch item that is consumed. Whether you’re in the mood for Christmas ham, garlic prawns on the barbie or a basic cheese and meat grazing platter for the big day, we always provide too much food and no one wants anything to go to waste, so why not have a few options up your sleeve to savour the meal of the century?

Ham
This is by far the easiest for leftover ideas. You won’t have any waste with a succulent Christmas ham. Ham and cheese toasties, pea and ham soup, ham and cheese quesadillas; the list is endless. Make sure you cover your ham in the fridge so it won’t dry out and you’ll be able to create your ham recipes for days to come. This one is also
sensational to just eat straight out of the fridge at midnight. Our favourite leftover ham recipe is pea and ham soup. Have a look below at how easy it is!

Ham & Pea Soup

knob of butter
1 chopped onion
1 peeled and diced potato
1L ham or pork stock
500g frozen petit pois
300g thickly sliced ham, fat trimmed and diced

Method
1. Heat a knob of butter in a saucepan and when lightly foaming gently cook 1 chopped onion until softened, but not coloured.
2. Add in 1 peeled and diced medium potato and stir to coat in butter, then pour over 1l ham or pork stock. Simmer until softened.
3. Pour in 500g frozen petit pois and bring back to the boil. Cook for a couple of mins.
4. Remove from the heat and  blend  until smooth. Stir in 300g diced ham and serve.

A quick and easy and a great way to get rid of some of your ham leftovers. Plus it’s nursing for your tum after heavy eating and drinking during the Christmas period.

Cheese
We all love cheese, and there are so many ways you can use it in leftovers. In some instances there will be no cheese leftover as it’s a crowd favourite but in the off chance you have some left over, it’s time to get creative with deliciousness. Our favourite go to is a 3 cheese toasty. Grab your brie, camembert and your blue cheese out of your fridge and slice them up to add to your buttered bread. Stick your cheesy sanga on a pan on medium heat and wait to watch the cheese ooze out of the sides. Flip it after about 2 mins and wait in admiration while your cheese reaches ultimate gooeyness. Take off heat and enjoy with a smile across your face.

There’s always a bunch of vegetables leftover when it comes to Xmas lunch. We love adding them altogether with a bit of spinach and feta to create a boss salad fit for a Queen.
Get creative this year with your leftovers and use your imagination to create wild recipes you wouldn’t even think about. You’ve got the time and the resources, use it to your
advantage.