Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Leftovers Are Lovely!

<edit> Let’s pretend something together, shall we?? LOL!! Let’s pretend it’s still Wednesday and I posted this on time as planned…instead of losing track of time. And, to be honest, not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving either at all or ON Thursday…so this is totally still applicable! ;)

It’s the holiday season, and Thanksgiving is tomorrow. For many people, Thanksgiving means food. Lots of food. Lots of delicious food that maybe is only prepared once a year. There seems to be an automatic tendency toward stuffing ourselves (not just the turkey) and then regretting it later. So instead, how do we approach the holiday meals differently (and not regret them later)?

I posted a few years ago about leftovers being good for your mental, physical, and fiscal health.

This time, as we move into the holiday season, I want to talk about firstovers. (What? I can make up words!)

If you can, before you make your plate for the meal, package up a plate that you can take home or freeze for later. Why? You’ll get to enjoy all of your favorite holiday flavors again later, and since you’ve packaged up some of each thing for later, you can relax and savor what you’re eating without overdoing and regretting it. (The other idea is making smaller meals and somehow, this time of year, an awful lot of people don’t like that plan!)

Another idea is to make things that can be repurposed later for different recipes. (Turkey tetrazzini, anyone? Stuffing-crust turkey & cranberry pie? Great. Now I’m hungry.)

Firstovers, though. I love the idea of putting out containers that can hold a little bit of everything from the big holiday meal, letting folks dish those up for later, and then diving in and savoring the meal and the company.

How about you? How are you going to move mindfully through the holiday eating and enjoy yourself without regrets?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Are Leftovers Good for You?

I’d like to pose a deep philosophical question this week.

Do you think that leftovers are good for you? And when I ask that, I’m contemplating three specific factors: mental, physical, and fiscal health.

I’m going to put this out there. Leftovers are good for all of the above.

I was asked recently if I do leftovers when I make meals, and my response was an immediate, and emphatic, “YES.” Sometimes, the entire point of cooking a meal is to have leftovers. Sometimes, the leftovers are tastier than the first go-round with a recipe. Chili, for example! The flavors develop the longer it sits!

But I digress.

How, exactly, are leftovers good for your mental, physical, and fiscal health?

I’ll start with the easiest one first. Fiscal.

It’s cheaper to eat leftovers than to go out. Planning and cooking a meal that will have leftovers means you’ll have lunch or dinner the next day. And the next…and the next…if you’ve made an eight-quart pot of chili. (Why are you looking at me like that?) It’s also faster to reheat leftovers than it is to go out and get lunch or dinner at a restaurant, whether you’re getting take-out or sitting in. There you have it; leftovers are good for your fiscal health.

Now, let’s look at physical. Maybe you’re tired of chili. Maybe you’ve had chili for so many days that you’re ready to never have chili again and you want a hamburger and fries. Your sense of fiscal responsibility, though, tells you to finish the chili, so you deal with it. Not always, but most of the time, eating at home will be healthier for you than eating out. YES I KNOW. There are many healthy options at restaurants nowadays, and that’s good. I also know that it’s hard to decide on those healthy options if you’re out and you’re tired, or celebrating, or grumpy, or whatever the case may be, so you end up with a baked potato slathered in butter. And you may have more than you should, and you have dessert, etc. So that last portion of chili? Maybe you do something creative with it like put it over leftover mashed potatoes and cauliflower, or rice, or something like that. Maybe it’s only marginally healthier than going out, but it’s still likely to be a healthier option. Leftovers can be good for your physical health.

Finally, let’s look at mental. How in the world can eating leftovers be good for your mental health? Comfort food, anyone? Relaxing with a dish of your favorite homemade macaroni and cheese left over from the night before can help decrease stress, because you didn’t have to cook, you didn’t have to think about what to make, and you didn’t have to feel guilty about spending the money to go out. You could just relax with a dish of whatever’s in the fridge and have very few dishes or pots & pans to wash. Leftovers can be good for your mental health as well.

There it is. I think I’ve made a pretty good case for leftovers being good for you.

What’s your favorite food to have as leftovers? If you’re not someone who likes leftovers, why not? What would get you to change your mind?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!