My Favorite Versatile Foods

First, I have a confession to make. I don't love leftovers. I also don't love the fact that there are starving people in this world. . . So I suck it up and eat them anyway. I've learned this summer that there are certain foods that are better the next day than others- cold pizza anyone?
Because of my aversion to leftovers, I try and buy foods that I can enjoy at a variety of meals AND that I can eat the next day (or at least combine with fresh food for a tastier leftover).
P.S. Could a science-oriented reader please explain to me why Quinoa tastes awful the next day?! It's a sad fact that I've recently discovered. . .

Versatile and Inexpensive Foods:

1. Cous-Cous: Cous-cous can be eaten hot or cold. This makes it ideal for lunch the next day. The great thing about cous-cous is that you can  add any variety of veggies or meat (I particularly like cous cous with cucumbers and tomatoes). Random fact: you can make cous cous with "sweet ingredients" such as milk, raisins, and peanut butter for a tasty dessert. 
2. Avocados: Avocados can be added to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or eaten alone as a snack. I like to eat them with eggs, on sandwiches, and with any type of Mexican style meal- tacos, burritos, etc. Avocados can also be used for homemade guacamole- a favorite of mine.

   

   Avocado on my egg sandwich- delicious!
   

3. Eggs: While eggs might be viewed more as a breakfast food, you can hard boil them for lunch, and also add them to rice for dinner- a trick I learned in Spain. If you do have leftover rice, quickly fry an egg to add on top. The yolk will ooze out making the rice taste fresh!
4. Ground Turkey: Ground turkey is a leftover that I can tolerate. If you cook it up with onions and mushrooms, you can add it to pasta sauce, egg burritos, etc. It's a nice alternative to ground beef- leaner but protein packed.
5. Hummus: Hummus is a great on-the-go type of snack. I like to add it to pita bread or as a dipping sauce for vegetables. I often bring hummus with me to school and I always look forward to eating it. Recently hummus has been on sale at King Soopers and Safeway for $2.00 (look for Safeway Select brand).
6. Yogurt: Great for breakfast, lunch, snacks, or dessert (with fresh berries). It can also be a great substitute for sour cream (try yogurt on your Mexican food or baked potato- it's delicious!). Tip about Yogurt: Look for brands that DON'T contain high fructose corn syrup. Yoplait brands, for example, often have more sugar than nutrients. I prefer Organic Horizon's Plain yogurt, or Greek Fage

I hope these give you some ideas. What are some of your favorite versatile foods and/or leftover foods?

Below is a link to my "How-to-make-an-Omelet" video that I made for class. It's supposed to be for kids, but I'm not sure if I will ever show it to them! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A93VjciVXe0


Thanks and have a great weekend!
~Dana