Cure My Cooking Problem! I’m Really Tired of Eating Leftovers for Lunch.

updated May 12, 2022
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All right, we’re into Week 2 of The Cooking Cure, so it’s all lunch, all the time. Except, lunch just means leftovers, right? Oh leftovers — sometimes delicious, sometimes worn-out, always convenient. We heard from a lot of you yesterday who said you’re wishing you weren’t so dependent on leftovers for lunch. Like sparklingsapphire, for instance.

Lately, my lunches are almost always leftovers from dinner a night or two before. There was one day last week when we had no leftovers, so I bought a salad and a cup of soup instead of packing myself something similar at home. While it’s certainly convenient, I’m getting pretty bored with my leftovers every single day routine.

Yeah, I hear you. I am not one of those people who can eat leftovers day in and day out, and yet I love the convenience of having that half a pot of chili or container of lasagna in the fridge. (And um, lasagna is so much better a day later, right?)

But let’s say you are tired of your leftover-lunch-routine too. How do you mix it up a little bit?

Personally, I have been making more meals lately that aren’t elaborate dishes — just assemblies of whole foods, like a chicken breast with a side of sautéed kale and some lentils. Dinners like this can be more easily rearranged. Toss the lentils with a dash of curry powder and top with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Slice the leftover chicken and throw it onto an arugula salad with a dash of balsamic vinegar. Mix the sautéed kale with brown rice.

So, part of this has to do with dinner planning; it’s helpful for me anyway to make large quantities of a few basics (brown rice, kale, roasted squash) that can be mixed up in different ways for lunch or dinner.

That’s just one thought, though; I’d love to hear all of yours. What advice would you give sparklingsapphire and anyone else stuck in a lunch rut of leftovers?

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