High grocery prices push Americans to get creative with ‘pizza eggs’ and other leftover meals

Americans feeling squeezed by rising grocery bills are starting to get more creative with leftovers in the kitchen.

Although overall food inflation has decreased, prices of many staples, including beef, chocolate and coffee, are still rising.

From ‘bone bags’ to ‘pizza eggs’, from ‘fridge foraging’ to leftover nights, budget-conscious home cooks are turning table scraps into full-on meals, according to reports – and nearly half of consumers say they’re now eating more leftovers, according to a recent survey Wall Street Journal research.

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Nashville-based chef and influencer Amanda Frederickson helped turn “fridge foraging” into a social media trend by showing others how to turn leftovers and leftovers into creative meals. It is a concept that has increased in popularity during the pandemic and this year as well.

“We’re all trying to figure out what to make for dinner, and we’re all trying to save money on shopping,” Frederickson told The Journal. “If you throw away food, you are literally throwing away your money.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, the average American family loses $1,500 each year by throwing away food.

Sarah Duggal, a development coordinator in Plymouth, Minnesota, has resurrected a money-saving college hack: egg pizza.

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He told The Journal that the next morning he stir-fried the pizza leftovers and mixed them with eggs. Rice pieces from Chinese takeaways are also being repurposed for fried rice dinners.

According to the report, Kelly Bair, a Chicago-based architect, gradually fills plastic bags in the freezer with vegetable scraps and leftover meat bones, eventually turning them into broth for soup, rice, and quinoa.

Frugal cooks say freezing bones and vegetable scraps for broth can cut grocery costs. (iStock)

Even ribs at barbecue restaurants are fair game, and her husband and two sons cooperate.

“Everyone is really well-educated” about the money-saving hack, Bair said.

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Grocery store brands are also aware of the need for innovation.

Brendan Foley, general manager of spice maker McCormick in Maryland, reportedly said he said earlier this year Consumers appear to be purchasing more spices to flavor their home cooking, which they rely on to save money.

“There’s nothing ‘left’ about this; it’s a plan,” one person said on social media. (iStock)

According to home cooks on Reddit, becoming more savvy about leftovers requires a mindset shift.

“There’s nothing ‘left’ about this; it’s a plan,” said one user on the r/Food subreddit.

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To avoid eating the same thing twice, the person suggested cooking the proteins but using them in different dishes, such as stir-fries, ramen, and chicken salad, over several days.

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Another person wrote: “I started this thread with ‘I’m going to make X recipe. What do I do with my leftover chicken?’ “You don’t enter like this.”

“Instead, ‘I have some chicken. What five recipes will I make with it?'”

One woman on social media said she referred to the leftovers as “remixes.” (iStock)

One woman said she referred to the leftovers as “remixes.”

“Stir-fry in soup becomes filling for a crescent-shaped roll or shredded taco meat, or [it] “It amps up French onion soup,” he said, “turning nearly 100 recipes into a functional living cookbook with endless possibilities.”

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One person referred to “surviving nights” of using up leftovers, while another called it “dim sum,” inspired by the Chinese dish consisting of small, bite-sized portions of various dishes.

“Everyone can pick and choose what they prefer.”

“It’s a fancy word for random piles of smaller scraps,” the person added. “Everyone can pick and choose what they prefer.”

The USDA recommends turning stale bread into French toast, cooking broccoli stems, and reusing or freezing the leftovers to turn into new meals later.

Experts say frozen leftovers can be key ingredients for money-saving meals. (iStock)

The department notes that freezing fruits, vegetables and cooked meals keeps food fresher longer and helps increase grocery budgets.

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USDA also offers guidance Store and reheat leftovers safely, including refrigerating food within two hours, keeping it in airtight containers for three to four days (or freezing longer), thawing properly, and always reheating leftovers to 165 degrees to prevent foodborne illness.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Convenience Stores for comment.