OrganizationCarlene ThomasMarch 23, 2018minimalist kitchen, streamline your kitchen, pantry staples

How to Use Up 10 Common Pantry Leftovers

OrganizationCarlene ThomasMarch 23, 2018minimalist kitchen, streamline your kitchen, pantry staples

Reduce food waste, clear up space- a spring clean out- phase two of our spring kitchen clean out.

Have you ever had that realization when you go into your pantry and you see things that have been in there for months and months without use? You probably bought it for a recipe and only used a little, or got overwhelmed with how to use the rest of it? We did a deep dive into our pantry recently and found a lot of weird stuff. Some was for work projects (things like rose crystals or bee pollen), and some was solid staples that just needed to be used up. So we're sharing what we did. Here are 10 common pantry staples and how to use them up.

If you missed earlier posts on how to make your kitchen more efficient and a bit more minimalist.

1. Nuts

spiced nuts: make this sumac spiced nuts recipe we love!
make nut milk
nut butter
energy balls or 'bliss balls'
granola
add to oats
add to salad
make vegan cream salad dressings
make taco filling (really-there are some solid walnut ones out there)

2. Cinnamon Sticks

hot toddy
infuse nut milk (see above- I throw in some cinnamon sticks while soaking!)
ice cream
stove top potpourri (find a billion recipes on Pinterest)

3. Grains (Farro, quinoa etc)

if you have farro, make this squash and feta salad
Mediterranean Protein Breakfast Bowl with quinoa and salmon
Spicy Summer Couscous bowl (you can switch out for quinoa)
soup
breakfast scrambles with tofu or eggs and veggies

4. Mustard

salad dressing (our must have for vinaigrette)
pork marinade (pork loves mustard)
pretzel dip
mac and cheese secret ingredient (truly)
egg loaf
sausage rolls and sandwiches

5. Honey

this honey switchel drink
summer fruit and yogurt platters
a hot honey ginger drink
dressings
yogurt toppings
sweetning overnight oats

6. Dried beans

if you just cannot with the dried beans and they never turn out: just use them as pie weights
creamy white bean soup
refried beans or whipped black beans
hummus
winter pasta with kale