Hold up – don’t toss out those old roast veggies, bakes and unused produce from Sunday’s lunch! We’ve got the tips and tricks to save you the hassle of cooking in the week that follows Easter, along with a FREE recipe to make your leftovers go the extra mile.  

Easter, like most festive periods, brings a whole host of unnecessary waste and pollution with it – from uneaten leftovers and unused fruits and veggies getting tossed out, to the excessive plastic wrap found in the groceries we buy. Even fruit and veggies end up wrapped in plastic, further driving a host of environmental issues. Every year, 8 trillion tonnes of plastic pollute our oceans, and they’re accountable for 80% of the debris found in the ocean and 100, 000 deaths of marine life each year. But the produce we throw out also contributes to landfill and greenhouse gases as a result of the methane these foods release – so while we’ve got our eye on plastic, we’re missing the damage caused by wasted food. Here are our top tips to make use of your Easter leftovers.

Toss your leftovers into a pot

Stuck with excess herbs and veggies that are fast approaching their use-by? Or perhaps you’ve got a pot or pan full of veggie and pasta bakes. Whatever you’ve got – don’t throw it out! Pop it all into a big pot and whip up a delicious, eclectic soup. The next step is to portion it out into containers and freeze some for the weeks ahead, and refrigerate the rest to last you the next few days. This way, you could enjoy up to a month of nutritious food that you won’t have to waste a second on cooking. The whole family can make the most of these prepped meals by taking them to school or work and enjoying them for a stress-free dinner.

Make a life-changing sandwich

When you’re dealing with tasty Easter lunch leftovers, you’ll have all the ingredients for the ultimate sandwich – Ross Gellar might even reconsider his beloved turkey sandwich with the moist-maker just to get a hold of your post-Easter concoction. Here are a few ingredients you might have at the ready:

• Dips like hummus or tzatziki
• Roast veggies like sweet potatoes and mushrooms
• Salad
• Roast or grilled meat, tofu or tempeh
• Cheeses like brie, haloumi and feta
• Nuts – yep, throw any leftover nuts onto your sandwich, it’ll add extra crunch and flavour!
• You can use any leftover bread as well, ciabatta, Turkish bread or sourdough will all take your sandwich to the next level.

Try an omelette or frittata

Don’t know what to have for brekkie on Easter Monday? A simple omelette might be just what the doctor ordered after an intense Sunday lunch. You can add in all your roast veggies and leftover produce for a satisfying, wholesome start to your day. A frittata is another easy solution to help you use up all your leftover bits and bobs. Why? Well, anything goes! You can add anything you like in here, toss it in the oven and let it cook. You may want to store extras in your freezer to ensure you have delicious meals to last at least a week or two, depending on just how big of a celebration you had! If you have fewer leftovers, you may find this frittata tides you over for 3-5 days.

Here are a few more simple ideas to make use of old produce:

• Casseroles
• Vegetable stock
• Wraps
• Fried rice – yesterday’s rice is today’s fried rice!
• Bread – yep you can even bake a loaf of bread with all your leftovers. Check out our fun recipe below!

Leftover Veggie Bread

Don’t throw away your extra herbs and produce! Even if you’re veggies have started wilting, you can throw them in here. The recipe is simply a guide, feel free to add any extra leftover veggies into the bowl. This delicious bread crafted by IQS recipe developers is sure to please the whole family, while reducing your carbon footprint.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond meal
• 1 cup buckwheat flour (or gluten free flour of your choice)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 zucchinis, grated
• 1 cup mashed sweet potato or pumpkin
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon rice malt syrup, optional

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350F/ Gas Mark 4. Grease a loaf pan (we used a medium loaf pan 240 x 132 x 63.5mm) and line with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl, mix almond meal, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, chia seeds and walnuts until well combined.

3. In a separate bowl, combine carrot, zucchini, sweet potato or pumpkin, eggs, oil and rice malt syrup.

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and combine well.

5. Transfer to prepared loaf pan and cook in preheated oven for 60 - 90 minutes. The cooking time will vary so check it after an hour by inserting a skewer into the centre of the bread. If it comes out clean, your bread is ready.

6. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

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