What Can I Eat? Leftovers How Can Leftovers Help? • Saves money. You aren’t wasting food. • Saves time. You only cook once. • Reduces stress. On a busy day, you don’t have to cook. Tips • Double recipes so you will have extra for the next day. • Choose healthy “batch” recipes that make a lot like soup, chili, stew, or pasta. • If you won’t eat leftovers within a few days, freeze them so they will keep longer. • When you eat out, portions can be very large. Wrap up half of your meal for the next day. • Use leftovers to make other meals. See examples on this sheet. Chill Foods Safely! • Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within 2 hours. • Divide leftovers into shallow containers for quick cooling. • Keep your refrigerator at 40 F or below. • Keep your freezer at 0 F or below. Thaw Foods Safely! Never thaw foods at room temperature. You can: • Thaw foods in the refrigerator the day before using. • Thaw foods by covering with cold water in a bowl or sink. Change the water every half hour to keep the water cold. Cook right after thawing. • Thaw foods in the microwave. Cook right after thawing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ways to use Leftovers Example # 1: You roast a chicken for dinner and have it with boiled potatoes and green beans. Here’s how you can use the extra chicken: • Have it on top of a salad. • Toss it with pasta and veggies. Write down your ideas: 1._______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ 2._______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Example #2: You cook a pot of beans to make rice and beans. Here’s how you can use the extra beans: • Make veggie tacos. Mix beans, cooked veggies, salsa, and a bit of cheese. Wrap it all in a corn tortilla. • Use the beans to make chili. Write down your ideas: 1._______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ 2._______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ .1. For more information visit diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES What Can I Eat? Your ideas What are some foods you often have leftover? Write down ways you could use them. Food Meal Ideas ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ .2. Looking for healthy recipes and food tips? Sign up for our FREE online resource, Recipes for Healthy Living at diabetes.org/recipes. 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) www.diabetes.org © 2015 American Diabetes Association 3/2015
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