Low-waste winners and use-it-up dinners
A little goes a long way, and a lot less ends up in your bin when you put those 20+ Thermomix® functions and Cookidoo® to good use in your low-waste kitchen. Here’s how to start looking at leftovers a whole lot differently and use it up more creatively.
Dig into veggie scraps
Got stems and peels left on your chopping board, or funny-shaped ends when you noodle or spiral veggies? Potatoes sprouting in your pantry or veggies going limp in your crisper drawer? Don’t throw them out, chuck them in your Thermomix® to cook and blend into stock paste and soups. Grate or steam for salads. Grate and chop for fritters, rostis, frittatas and flans. Or pickle to put extra pops of flavour on your plate. Cauliflower, onion, capsicum and carrots work a treat.
Pulses and pluses in your pantry
What’s buried at the back of your pantry could be styling up your weekly meal plan. Take dried or canned lentils and beans for starters. These’ll crisp up nicely on a baking tray to make a healthy high-protein snack and add crunch to your soups or salads. Break out and tear up that day-old bread into croutons or hit the Chop function pre-sets to make breadcrumbs. And you’d be nuts not to use Turbo mode for blending the last handfuls of nuts and seeds into pesto or dips.
Loot your fruit
Before you bin those over-ripe and bruised fuglies, banana peels or seasonal gluts from the garden, take a good look at the bounty you’re about to throw out. A quick blitz in Blend mode and you’ve got some added fibre in your morning smoothie, extra fruity bits in your muffin mix, or a bonus batch of baby puree.
Or use them up just like your nanna would (only with hands-free guided cooking) making your own jams, chutneys and salsas from scratch. Add a sprinkle of sugar over leftover berries and stone fruits, a squeeze of lime on squishy tomatoes, a little spice to mango and pineapple and enjoy the fruits of low-waste living with little effort.
Bonus catch of the day
Go on a low-waste seafood diet. See food and search Cookidoo® for ways to use it up. You’ll easily land a big, tasty dish by casting a few leftover bites into your Thermomix® bowl. Release those tasty morsels into a risotto, pie or paella. Whiz up some fishcakes. Chow down on a chowder. Or make it a marinara night on pizza or in pasta. Those little bites are too expensive to waste.
Spare you dairy. Use it up!
Got a pot of whipping cream about to hit its use-by date? Put it to better use as butter. Your Butterfly Whisk and Thermomix® make a batch in unbeatable time (just 10 minutes). With the leftover buttermilk, you’ve also got the magic fluffy ingredient for scones, bread and dumplings using Dough Mode. Put that odd chunk of cheese together with a little basil, garlic and olive oil and ‘Hey, pesto!’ you’ve got dip or pasta sauce. Scoop out the last of the yoghurt for marinades and dressings, and pour your leftover milk into a smoothie, sauce or batter.
Extra meaty goodness
Leftover roast beef, chicken, lamb or gammon is the feast that keeps on giving. Shred it up and go back for seconds, or even thirds, with an easy throw-together pizza, pie, pasta or taco night. Or in pita bread, soup or salads to pack more protein into your lunch that’ll get you through your day. Or go all-in for a low-waste winner dinner, using up meat, veggies and day-old bread in a batch of patties or meatballs.
Keep it fresher for longer
What if you could keep your fridge stocked with fresh food all week long just by omitting one simple ingredient? Remove air that causes spoilage in seconds with our Vac-U-Seal Vacuum Sealer Set and you’re left with veggies, meal prep and leftovers that stay naturally fresh and packed full of flavour for longer. Less spoilage and waste. More savings than you can shake a crunchy stick of celery at.
Shop our Vac-U-Seal collection
Grab more low waste winners
Get your copy of the Thermomix® Everyday Magazine: the Low Waste issue and more ways to make a little go a long way, including a less-waste, more-flavour meal plan and tips for using wasted ingredients in ways you’ve never thought of before.