As someone who cringes at the thought of throwing away food, I have become pretty skilled at transforming leftovers into a whole new meal….a makeover, if you will. Rather than viewing leftovers as sub-par versions of the original, I see them as opportunities to create something delicious in a snap.
This past weekend, I ‘madeover’ the leftovers of my Eggplant Pizza Casserole not once, but two times! It was like the dish that just kept giving.
Makeover #1
Served with avocado, whole wheat bread, sweet potato waffle and TJ’s Italian Sausage-less Sausage. <– This stuff is amazing!
I wanted to see which one would taste better–bread or waffle–so I had 1/2 of each.
I’d have to say the waffle won, but not by much. They were both perfect accompaniments to the dish.
Makeover #2
Served again with avocado and sausage-less sausage but this time on a bed of steamed kale and topped with some almond cheese. As you can see, I was a bit greedy with the pizza sauce the first time around!
I bought this almond cheese a few times earlier this year and liked it a lot. I decided to pick up another block at Whole Foods since I am trying to cut back on dairy (let’s not talk about the 2 cups of Greek yogurt I had today!).
Dessert: banana soft serve with Greek yogurt and almond butter. The only ‘making over’ that this dessert needs is making it over and over and over again 
.
Oprah, are you there? If you’re reading, I’m available to perform makeovers on your show. I’m even taking a trip to Chicago this week. Hit me up, Ope!
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Workouts:
Friday: ET 30 min; Tennis 60 min.
Saturday: ET 40 min.
Sunday: Tennis 30 min; ET 60 min; 15 min. strength training
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Tell me: Leftovers. Love ‘em or hate ‘em? What was the highlight of your weekend?
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
I like leftovers. I better b/c I’m going to be seeing a lot of them come 3 weeks and a new semester.
I really enjoyed my bike ride with my dad today : )
I like freezing leftovers for a later date! The almond cheese sounds great – I wonder if we have it at our WFs!
Oh I’m a leftover lover! Makes everything so easy, and it allows me to be all creative
Leftovers- LOVE. The best is when you forget about them until you open the fridge- such a pleasant surprise! Love your blog by the way, I studied in London as well and your pics make me so nostalgic!
Leftovers are the best- always take ‘em to work/school for lunch!
Highlight of weekend- I WENT TO CHEZ PANISSE. nothin’ else i can say.
I like leftovers – I think the flavour develops – but I NEVER have any left
Even if I make tons, I always eat it all :s annoying really!
Big fan of leftovers. My mom rarely serves them because my dad’s too high and mighty for them, but I don’t mind.
Wei-Wei
Nice work with the leftovers! I also hate wasting food and appreciate seeing other’s making use of it!
I’m usually not a fan of leftovers, I get bored easily
love leftovers… I like to make them over too.
I need to tell you that you are my best friend right now. I’ve been looking for a cheese alternative without soy for a long time now.. all this time and it’s been at Whole Foods? I am pumped!!!
I love leftovers – but I usually just eat them as is, no makeovers. Except one dish I like to make: chicken with salsa and black beans. I’ll eat it over brown rice the first night, and then to make it over I’ll shred the chicken and eat it in tortillas.
Highlight of the weekend? Sleeping in on Sunday morning.
I feel the same way about leftovers. I love turning them into something new. When in doubt with how to transform leftovers, throw it on a salad!
That’s really interesting to eat waffles with a savory dish! I’ve never done that before.
Leftovers -> If I totally loved something that I made for the first time, I’ll often just heat’r up and eat an identical meal. If it’s a favorite standby, though, I love making new recipes in new ways!
Highlight of my weekend? Showing my brother the CN tower for the first time and taking ~epic~ pictures at the top
I love leftovers. Especially when making something out of them is easier than the original dish. Makes it feel like the original work pays off even more
I usually only cook for myself when back a school so I never have leftovers. When I’m home visiting we always have leftovers..and they always cook more before the leftovers are finished up so I usually end up eating their leftovers as long as there’s no meat involved lol
My love or hate of leftovers depends entirely on what the leftovers are. Pizza? Love ‘em. Random pasta? Not so much.
Liz–
Leftover pasta is one of my faves! Try throwing it on a salad with some oil and herb dressing.
I’m a princess and I’m not a leftover fan. I feel like they’re never as good as the first time…I usually pass my leftovers off on my parents!
I’m usually not a leftovers lover. I don’t really like having the same meal two days in a row.
But if I can manage to create new meals out of them like you did, then I don’t mind them as much!
I love leftovers actually
But I rarely have any 
)
I adore eggplant, and that first dish looks amazing, specially with avocado on top!
i HATE throwing away food! i almost always find a way to use something that I have leftover! i think I get that form my mom. I dont even throw the stems away from broc. I just keep them and use them to make a soup or stew later! that sweet pot waffle looks and sounds DELICIOUS!
Allie-your leftovers look so good! Do you press or salt the eggplant before you bake it in the oven? Your recipe seems so much healthier compared to when I lightly pan fry to make eggplant parmesan. I looove leftovers. I always make more food than we actually would eat that night so that I can pack up the rest for my lunch the next day. Less than 1 week til you’re here!!!!
Loving the leftovers – I CRINGE everytime I have to clean out the fridge and realize sooo much is going to waste, now inspired to have left overs for dinner and hold off a new meal until tomorrow!
I love ‘making over’ leftovers. I usually make larger servings so I always have food in the fridge to experiment with. My most recent concoction was veggie burgers with a left over quinoa recipe!! Your ‘make over’ meals always look so good!!
I think leftovers are better than the original dish!!
Leftover hater here! Seth loves ‘em though, so it all works out.
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