Tired of eating leftovers? Turn your odds and ends into creative meals
6/11/202618 min
Do you always buy cucumbers just to watch them slowly become mush in the fridge? Or save your half-eaten pasta only to forget about it for a month? If you're done with chucking half-used ingredients in the compost bin, this episode is for you. Reporter Emily Siner shares tips on reducing food waste by repurposing leftovers, getting creative with odds and ends and shifting your perspective on the chore of cooking.
Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekit
Sign up for our newsletter here.
Have an episode idea or feedback you want to share? Email us at lifekit@npr.org
Support the show and listen to it sponsor-free by signing up for Life Kit+ at plus.npr.org/lifekit
Sign up for Life Kit's skincare newsletter: http://npr.org/skincare
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsTamar Adler· Guest0:00
This message comes from NPR sponsor Carvana. Your time is worth more than a waiting game. Carvana gives you a transparent offer for your car in minutes and picks it up from your door. Sell your car today at carvana.com. Pickup fees may apply.
Marielle Segarra· Host0:15
You're listening to Life Kit from NPR. Hey, it's Marielle. When Margaret Li was a kid, she watched her mom doing something that was a little unusual.
Margaret Li· Guest0:26
She used to like to save takeout sauces from every restaurant. So she would have ketchup from one restaurant, barbecue sauce from another restaurant, maybe some kind of soy sauce or duck sauce from a Chinese restaurant.
Marielle Segarra· Host0:42
After she collected a bunch of them, she would mix them all together.
Margaret Li· Guest0:45
And then she would use it to make a, a sauce for barbecued chicken, almost always barbecued chicken. [laughs] And honestly, it was usually really good. [laughs] It was- Years later, when Margaret and her sister wrote a cookbook called Perfectly Good Food, they dedicated it to their mom and the way she would rescue takeout sauces because this was a formative lesson for Margaret.
Marielle Segarra· Host1:09
It showed her that you don't always need a recipe to make something delicious, and you can find creative ways to use up just about any ingredient in your kitchen.
Margaret Li· Guest1:17
You have these great intentions to cook and eat the things that you're spending your money on, and especially as food costs go up, that's so frustrating. And to use it and make sure that you eat it feels very satisfying.
Marielle Segarra· Host1:28
The latest estimate from