Want to know the secret to healthy eating? Always be prepared. With leftovers, that is!
Yep, we love using up leftovers here at IQS. And we usually cook extra portions of whatever we’re whipping up to save time (and dirty dishes!) down the track.
In fact, all our recipes on the I Quit Sugar: 8 Week Program are designed with the week ahead in mind, so you’ll always have a nutritious, delicious (and cheap!) meal lined up ready to go.
The joy of using leftovers.
The simplest way to stay prepped in the kitchen is to intentionally plan for leftovers when you cook at night. Just make a double portion and package up what’s left in individual tupperware containers for you and your family the next day. Lunch becomes totally easy, (and totally totable!).
You can even add a few extra ingredients you have lying around to the next-day dish, to make it completely different.
Sarah talks a lot about this kind of “flow” in her book I Quit Sugar: Simplicious. Cooking this way sets up a “smooth, perpetual ecosystem,” she says, allowing you to get creative in the kitchen, stay super sustainable and save a few pennies in the process.
So, you could cook a double portion of our Chicken Tikka Masala for tea, and next day for lunch make a Chicken Tikka burrito bowl. Just add in the leftover chicken and rice, add some beans and throw in a few extra salad greens. Dollop on some yoghurt and you’re good to go!
The beauty of the batch cook.
Batch cooking is the cornerstone of the Sunday Cook-Up, a concept we introduce on the Program. It’s basically about investing a little extra time cooking up a few things at the beginning of the week, to make the rest of the week a breeze.
Want to give it a go? Whip out the slow cooker and try making our Slow Cooked Italian Beef Brisket. The first night you could serve with zucchini noodles and a dollop of fresh natural yoghurt. Freeze the rest in individual portions.
Later in the week you could make some instant couscous and toss through some raw veggies like diced onion, capsicum, cucumber to serve with the brisket. Another night you could chuck it on some flatbread with greens and cheese to make a pizza. Really, you’re only limited by your creativity!
Batch as you go.
Another option is to make extra of a meal’s main ingredient, like meatballs, veggie patties or grilled chicken, as you go. Then freeze that to add to a different meal later in the week. Sarah is fantastic at this (and doesn’t stop at chicken!).
Try cooking up a batch of our Coconut Curry Meatballs and serving them with spaghetti and diced tomatoes for dinner. Next day, pop some of the meatballs into a sourdough sub with some spinach and cheese (you could even whack it under the grill to get the cheese all melty). And you’ll still have some leftover meatballs to freeze for another amazing meal!
Simplicious, isn’t it?
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