Today was “clean out the refrigerator of all leftovers day.” I am learning to adjust the portions for two people because, in the past, eating was an Olympic sport for me and my family. You see, I came from a family gene pool of eaters of mass quantities of food! We were all fat or obese, to put it more simply. I was fat! I weighed 318 lbs and was 5 feet 1 inch tall.

I will leave the significant transformation from fat to thin for another blog. Being creative and mindful of eating has made a massive difference in my life. Making sure I grow smoothly with the current high prices at the grocery store has made me very frugal. The Transformation of leftovers and the use of leftover veggies on their last leg has helped to keep me on budget. This is important for a fixed retirement income.

Before and after photo

Hmm, let’s see what we have. A small bunch of Baby bok choy, check. Four scallions, check; assorted peppers, check; one-fourth of a squash—well, okay, we can do something with that, half a small onion and two cloves of garlic, five frozen shrimp—stir fry! I got this with a few pantry items: soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, black bean sauce, sesame oil, and hot sauce. “Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry” is Easy enough. Let the transformation of leftovers begin!

Chop the bok choy, onion, scallions, and peppers. Mince the garlic and set it aside. Heat the sesame oil in a stovetop wok, add the chopped onion and peppers, and stir fry. When the onion gets translucent, add the garlic and continue to stir. Next, stir the Chopped Baby bok choy and scallions until they wilt; add the shrimp, soy sauce squirt, and a Garlic Black Bean Sauce squirt. Finally, add a bit of rice vinegar to the shrimp. I used Sriracha to taste for a bit of a kick, dissolved a one-half teaspoon of cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water, and poured over the stir fry to thicken the sauce. Serve as is in a bowl or over a bed of white rice.

The Fireball whiskey is for me. I add it to my afternoon coffee. I Have to stay mellow.

Ultimately, my roommate had a lovely meal. I can’t eat shrimp because of my allergy. I get the squash and onion roasted with olive oil and garlic. Yum.

Presto-the-magic-of-leftover-veggies! The transformation of leftovers and stray veggies is familiar; families on a budget know the routine. I did well—and so did my roommate. She said she could regularly eat my transformed leftover meals like “Garlic Shrimp stir-fry.” Next time, I will share my “you put your foot in it.” leftover chicken pot pie recipe