We all love a big feast during Chinese New Year, but what happens if there’s too much left over?
We have feasted our way through the first days of CNY, but we are still saddled with towering piles of Chinese New Year goodies. And there is still half a carton of mandarin oranges that was snapped up in the flurry of festivities and containers full of leftover foods.
Don’t waste food by binning them. We managed to collect five nifty ways / clever hacks to save those festive goodies.
CNY Leftovers : Orange Peels
Did you know that fruit peels contain just as much, if not more, nutritional value than the inner fruit itself? Here are some of best and easiest ideas to repurpose the orange peels :
1. Orange Peels Hack for your Food
Make your own zesty, citrus-infused olive oil, it’s perfect with salad or veggies. Alternatively, you can dry orange peels and add some to tea the next time you brew it. The orange will infuse a subtle citrusy taste into the tea.
2. Orange Peels Hack for your home
Use orange peels to clean the house :
- remove water spots (If your metal appliances and faucets are sporting some unsightly water marks, get your trusty orange peel and rub directly over them to polish them up until they shine)
- DIY non-toxic all purpose cleaner (To make a brilliant natural cleaner). Simply toss some orange peels in a lidded jar and cover with white vinegar. Let it sit in the fridge for a few weeks, shaking it occasionally. Transfer to a spray bottle, shake, and use to clean surfaces, floors and windows. Mmm, citrus fresh!
CNY Leftovers : Foods, Snacks and Festive Goodies
Did you know that we typically generate around 30% more food waste during Chinese New Year and other festive occasions?
We can cut down our food waste in our homes and eating out just by small, simple measures :
3. Spread some joy with unopened and unexpired foods, snacks and festive goodies
Spread the love to others! If you have leftover Chinese new year snacks and you don’t know what to do about it, you can donate them to non-profit organisations in your city. There are a handful of organisations such as Food Bank Singapore that collects food items and distribute them to low-income families and the elderly. Do ensure that the food items donated are in good condition (not crumbled or consumed), and are at least one to two weeks before their expiry date! Check out their website for more information on how to donate your snacks.
Local community initiative in Singapore, ItsRainingRaincoats (IRR) is collecting unopened and unexpired CNY snacks and will be passing them on to migrant workers at their worksites, construction areas and dormitories. Click here to donate
4. Half – consumed snacks and festive goodies
Got too much nuts ? Make your own nut butter! All you need is a blender and some time to spare. Add the nuts into the blender and blend away! The best part of making your own variety of nut butter that might not available in stores such as macadamia or cashew butter. Yum!
Love peanut and almond cookies but have too much of it? Turn them into some tasty pie crusts.
CNY Leftovers : Nuts
We love receiving red packets but what can you do with the empty, used red packets (hong baos) ?
5. Reuse red packets (hong baos)
These empty, used red packets can become useful materials again. Give a new lease of life to your used red packets through upcycling activities such as lantern-making, or a decorative Year-round centrepiece
So, there you go! If you decide to give any (or all) of it a go, tell us how it turns out!
