How To Deal With Holiday Leftovers

So the big day has come and gone and now you, as the host, have a fridge brimming with leftovers. How on EARTH are you meant to manage all of this food AND maintain your health journey?! For some of us, the temptation (especially for those chocolates and desserts!) can get the better of us, so instead of keeping the fridge stocked with everything, and allowing you the opportunity to potentially overeat – I’ve compiled a few little tips and tricks that I have learned over the years to prevent overeating for days after and food going to waste.

1. Number one? GIVE AWAY THE DESSERTS! This is a big one for me. As you know, I LOVE a sweet treat, and having leftover dessert in the house is too big a temptation for me. I will always give away the dessert leftovers to friends and family. If you give away equal amounts to everyone as well, you can rest assured that you aren’t forcing the burden of having dessert in the fridge on just one person as well!
2. A fun way to deal with leftovers is have everyone over the next day to eat again (well, could be fun or torture depending on who was over!)! You could also have another group of friends or family over that weren’t there the night before – of course it’s up to you! Either lunch or dinner – if it was a big dinner the night before, you can make the leftovers into sandwiches or salads AND you will get the opportunity to socialise with your friends and family again.
3. Think ingredients! How can you use all of the turkey and cranberry sauce again? Turkey sandwiches! Or better yet, salads. Try to reappropriate all of the ingredients into big, hearty salads for the next few meals. You could even prep some in advance if you have a busy few days ahead! 
4. Re-gift! You know what I get a lot of when I’m hosting a big holiday meal? Lots and lots of Lindt chocolates or Ferrero Rocher. Keep them in the original packaging and put them away,  so you can regift these over Christmas (just make sure not to the person that originally gave them to you!)
5. Try to minimise the leftovers DURING dinner. I have found that sometimes I am so busy running around playing hostess, I forget to eat! Then when everyone leaves and there are all the leftovers, I’m so hungry and I can go crazy with eating it all. So I make a point, even as hostess, to sit down and eat with everyone else. 

These are just a few ways that I would recommend dealing with leftovers. You can portion, store and freeze, just make sure that you keep track of how long it’s in the freezer or fridge for, as you don’t want to get sick.

There are also charities that will take your leftovers and ‘food scraps’ and take them to those in need, however, you will need to have had a business dinner or have a cafe, restaurant, or grocery store. Alternatively, you can look up your nearest food bank if you have unopened items or canned goods left over that you haven’t used.

Enjoy the big day as much as you can, and don’t worry about the leftovers until you need to – there are plenty of strategies to deal with them in the least wasteful way possible! Also, just remember – YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! Most of us have difficulties dealing with leftovers and overeating for days! If you want more support and to connect with like-minded women around the world (and ME of course!) on the daily, join my private Facebook group and I will help you through it!