Obviously, when you plan on leaving town, you don't overstock the fridge and load up at the grocery store. Or at least, that is never the intention. Sometimes it happens though and you're left with the aftermath of realizing "what the hell am I going to do now?" I totally know this feeling all too well. Whenever I'm getting ready to leave town, my anxiety kicks in and I start examining all the food that'll go bad in my fridge. I always try to make a plan for everything and utilize it all. Every meal leading up to when I leave ends up being strategically planned and the rest is properly stored and frozen. I've realized that salads and soups are the easiest for using up produce. You can throw anything in them! Check out quinoa cups and egg casserole recipes as well! You can also cut up berries and bananas and throw them in the freezer for future smoothies as well as leftover peppers and mushrooms can be sauteed and frozen for omelets or soups when you get back. I even hard boil eggs to take with me on the road as a snack.
Recently my go-to for leftover produce has been juicing. And not only when I'm leaving town. When I think I won't be able to use something up before it turns, it goes in the juicer. My only problem with juicing is the leftover pulp. I hate the food waste. We don't currently compost (hoping to change that once we move) so I feel obligated to find a different way to utilize the pulp.
I've been fascinated with the idea of beet burgers for a while now. And after shamefully tossing a variety of juice pulp in the trash, I started to wonder if I could sub out grated beets for beet pulp from the juicer. Well, I finally tried it and IT WORKS!
I made my favorite juice of beet, carrot, apple, and ginger and dumped the pulp into a separate bowl before juicing the apples and ginger. (I also peeled my beets and carrots as well as cut the ends before throwing them in the juicer).
You can use just beet pulp if you'd like, but I figured carrot wouldn't hurt and would be a good addition. The patties come out a bit crumbly like most beet burgers and I had hummus and tortillas in the fridge so voila! A crumbled beet burger over homemade hummus on a tortilla topped with a fried egg and garnished with fresh cilantro from the garden!
If you happen to have parmesan on hand, you can also sub it for the nuts. I actually used the vegan parmesan that I always have in the fridge. (Vegan parmesan is a combination of cashew nuts, nutritional yeast and salt).
Check out the recipe and let me know your thoughts or improvements you end up making! Avoiding tossing food not only saves on waste, but also saves you money And that's money you can put towards an awesome night out on your trip! Enjoy!