Holiday Seasons such as Christmas and New Year are both best opportunity for family gatherings, reunions, gift-giving, party celebration. But, unfortunately, for several people, these are also occasions for food feasting. They do not even care about their health and figure! After all, their notion is that “Holiday Seasons just come once a year! So, there’s nothing wrong to have a Sky’s the Limit Eating Festival.”

Moreover, after the Holiday Seasons, you will be surprised that your refrigerator is already full-packed with many left-over foods.

Left-over foods are cooked foods which you and your family do not eat within two hours after cooking. But what will you do with these left-over foods? Are you going to throw them or feed them to your pets?

As the Global Financial Crisis is still being felt and would continuously thrive, it is best to be wise. Don’t waste your left-over foods because you can recycle them.

Do you know how our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, had even, valued every food and taught the essence of stewardship to His Twelve Disciples? In Luke 9:10-17 tells a story about Jesus nourishes the Five Thousand people.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

 10When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

 12Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

 13He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

   They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish-unless we go and buy food for all these crowds.” 14(About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

15 The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. 16Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Therefore, here are the following suggestions from several nutritionists to make some delicious dishes out of your left-over foods:

• Make Omelet from left-over cooked meat, fish, eggs and vegetables

EGG OMELET

INGREDIENTS:

4 Chicken Eggs (beaten)

1 Clove chopped Garlic

2 Clove chopped Onion

2 Sliced Tomatoes

1 Cup sliced Ham, Bacon or Longganisa (Sausage)

COOKING PROCEDURES:

Stew garlic and then the eggs. Do not Mix them. Add the onion, tomatoes, any among the ham, bacon or Longganisa (sausage). Fold the omelet and turned it back until cooked both sides while cooking in the frying pan.

PUFFY CALIFORNIA OMELET

(Main Dish)

INGREDIENTS:

6 Egg yolks 6

4-0z pkg Cream Cheese (room temperature) 115-g pkg

¼ cup Milk 60 ml

¾ tsp Salt 3 ml

1/8 tsp Pepper 0.5 ml

2 tbsp Butter 30 ml

1 tbsp Thinly sliced green Onion 15 ml

6 Egg whites 6

COOKING PROCEDURES:

Heat the oven to 350F (175 Centigrade). Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes at high speed on the mixer. Add cream cheese and continue beating until blended. Stir in milk, salt and pepper. Heat butter in large skillet- a 10-inch (25-cm) black iron skillet is fine. Add onion and cook gently into 2 minutes. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into egg yolk mixture and turn whole mixture into skillet. Cook slowly until firm and lightly browned on bottom, about 10 minutes. Put in oven and bake from 10 to 15 minutes or until set and browned on top. Cut into wedges and serve with California Sauce. Then you can make this main dish for 4 to 6 servings.

CALIFORNIA SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

7 ½-oz can Tomato Sauce 215 -ml can

¼ tsp Chili Powder 1 ml

½ cup Slivered ripe olives 125 ml

COOKING PROCEDURES:

Combine tomato sauce and chili powder in small saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes. Stir in olives. Serve over wedges of Puffy California Omelet as instructed in recipe.

• Cook Escabeche out of your left-over fried fish
• You can also turn left-over meat from Sinigang and Nilaga into delicious Pancit or Lumpia through vegetables’ saute process.

LUMPIANG UBOD

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cloves garlic minced

1 Sliced onion

¼ c. boiled and diced pork

¼ c. chopped ham

½ c. chopped shrimps

½ cup chick peas

1 medium carrot cut in strips

½ kg. ubod cut in strips

2 c. cabbage strips

24 lettuce leaves

COOKING PROCEDURES:

Saute the garlic and onion in ¼ cup cooking oil. Add the pork, ham, shrimps, and chickpeas. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add the carrots and ubod. Cover and let cook until done. Do not overcook. Cool. Wrap in wrappers lined with lettuce leaves. Serve with brown sauce and ground garlic.

• Bake potato stuffed with left-over chopped meat and fish
• Mix left-over meat, fish or vegetables mixed with mashed potato and shape into balls. Lightly dip in flour, egg, coat with breadcrumbs and pan-fry.
• Fry left-over rice. Add flaked fish, chopped meat, egg, shrimps, and seasoning for more nutrients and flavor.
• You can also make left-over rice into fried rice by trying this recipe:

FRIED RICE

INGREDIENTS:

5 Cup cooked rice

1 Clove garlic (ground)

Cooking oil

¼ Cup left-over of any among the sausage, ham or bacon

Salt

COOKING PROCEDURES:

Stew the garlic and add the cooked rice. Mix the beaten egg into the rice and then, sprinkle a little bit of salt and stir them together. Add any among the sausage, ham or bacon.

• Toast left-over bread with margarine or sugar or make into pudding

Take note: Never keep leftover foods for more than four days in the refrigerator. Anytime you are in doubt about the freshness or safety of any food, immediately throw this out into the trashcan. This is in particular essential for leftover foods. Dispose in a garbage or a tightly wrapped package so that it cannot be consumed by any member among your family or pets.