5 Tips to Use What You Have Left Before Summer!

It’s hard to believe that summer is quickly approaching and breakfast programs will soon be winding down! In preparation for this hiatus, consider the following tips to use up any ingredients you have left or to store food properly over the summer months.

5 Tips to Use What You Have Left Before Summer

• Plan — Find recipes that use the ingredients you have on hand. For example, you can make pancakes with leftover applesauce and oats. If you have extra eggs, why not whip up some breakfast sandwiches!
• Adapt — Swap the fruits or veggies called for in a recipe with what you have. You can do this with other ingredients as well, such as different types of flour or oil.
• Make smoothies, sauces and compotes — They are the perfect way to use leftover fruit! Freeze any fruit that hasn’t been eaten at the end of each breakfast. When you have enough set aside, throw it into a smoothie, sauce or compote.
• Hold a theme day or celebration breakfast — It will help you use up ingredients in new recipe and menu ideas!
• Cook big batches and freeze them — In order to buy less food as summer approaches, cook big batches and freeze them. You’ll see your inventory of fresh ingredients get smaller and smaller as you do.

Don’t forget to use your egg coupons before summer, too!

If you’re not able to use everything before school ends, think about ways to store food properly:

• Milk and yogurt can be frozen. This may affect their texture, but they are still safe to consume and can be used in smoothies and baking.
• Cheese can be frozen, either whole or grated. Ensure that it is well wrapped or sealed to maintain quality.
• Vegetables can be blanched and frozen. Place in boiling water for 1 to 3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into ice cold water. Open freeze as explained below.

Open freezing allows you to store fruits and veggies without them clumping together. This also allows you to use only the amounts you need without having to defrost a whole batch. Open freeze fruit and blanched veggies by spacing them out on a non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer until solid, then transfer to freezer-safe bags or containers. Don’t forget to label them clearly, complete with the date!