Last night’s leftovers could be the secret to a faster, healthier meal, with a few simple additions transforming them into something completely new.

To mark the release of her new book The Blood Sugar Repair Plan, Sunrise nutritionist Sarah Di Lorenzo has shared three clever recipes that give chicken, bolognese, and roast vegetables a delicious second life in under 20 minutes.

The easy makeovers add extra protein, fibre and vegetables to the original meals while helping households reduce the mountain of food Australians throw away each year.

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Leftover roast chicken → Smoky pulled chicken cups

Ingredients (serves 4)

400g leftover roast or poached chicken, shredded with two forks

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 brown onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons tomato paste (no added sugar)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon tamari or coconut aminos

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ cup water or salt-reduced chicken stock

Squeeze of lemon

Cracked pepper

To serve: 2 baby cos lettuces (leaves separated), 1 grated carrot, 1 sliced cucumber, ½ cup fresh coriander, ¼ red cabbage finely shredded, 1 lime cut into wedges.

Method

1. Warm the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion for 3 minutes until soft, then add the garlic for another minute.

2. Stir in the tomato paste, smoked paprika and cumin. Cook for 30 seconds to wake up the spices.

3. Add the vinegar, tamari, mustard, chilli flakes and water. Whisk into a glossy sauce.

4. Fold through the shredded chicken and simmer for 5 minutes until every strand is coated. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and cracked pepper.

5. Pile into crisp lettuce cups and top with cabbage, carrot, cucumber and coriander. Squeeze lime over the top.

Sarah’s healthy twist

1. No bottled barbecue sauce — the average shop-bought version has around 12g of sugar per tablespoon. My spice-and-vinegar base delivers all the smoky-tangy flavour with zero added sugar.

2. Lettuce cups instead of a bun — saves around 30g of refined carbs per serve and adds two extra handfuls of vegetables.

3. Apple cider vinegar helps blunt the post-meal glucose spike.

4. Great for meal prep — the pulled chicken keeps in the fridge for 3 days and freezes for 2 months.

Leftover bolognese → Bolognese breakfast muffins

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins)

2 cups leftover bolognese sauce (cold, straight from the fridge)

8 large eggs

¼ cup full-fat milk or unsweetened almond milk

½ cup grated parmesan

1 cup baby spinach, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or parsley

1 grated zucchini, excess water squeezed out

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Cracked pepper

Optional: pinch of chilli flakes

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C fan-forced. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases or grease well with olive oil.

2. Whisk the eggs and milk together in a large bowl until pale and frothy.

3. Fold through the leftover bolognese, grated zucchini, spinach, herbs, parmesan and seasoning.

4. Divide evenly between the 12 muffin holes — they should be about three-quarters full.

5. Bake for 20-22 minutes until puffed, golden and set in the middle. A skewer should come out clean.

6. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Sarah’s healthy twist

1. Around 12g of protein per muffin — a proper protein hit for breakfast or a snack.

2. Sneaky vegetables — the grated zucchini and spinach add two extra serves of vegetables without changing the taste. My kids have never noticed.

3. No pastry, no flour, no bread — completely gluten-free and blood-sugar-friendly. Perfect for anyone managing insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes.

5. Meal prep gold — 3 days in the fridge, 2 months in the freezer. Reheat in the oven for 5 minutes or eat cold from the lunchbox.

6. Portable — throw two in a container with cherry tomatoes and cucumber and you have a complete lunch.

Leftover roast vegetables → Warm roast vegetable and lentil salad with tahini-mustard dressing

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the salad

4 cups leftover roast vegetables (pumpkin, sweet potato, capsicum, red onion, zucchini, carrot — whatever you have)

1 tin (400g) brown lentils, drained and rinsed

3 cups baby spinach or rocket

½ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), lightly toasted

2 tablespoons sultanas (optional, adds a burst of natural sweetness)

50g feta or crumbled goat’s cheese

1 lemon, cut into wedges

For the tahini-mustard dressing

2 tablespoons hulled tahini

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2-3 tablespoons warm water (to loosen)

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Method

1. Warm the leftover roast vegetables in the oven at 180°C for 8 minutes, or in a hot pan for 5 minutes — you want the edges to crisp up again.

2. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a jar, adding warm water a tablespoon at a time until you have a pourable consistency.

3. On a large serving platter, layer the spinach or rocket, then the warm roast vegetables, then the lentils.

4. Scatter over the parsley, pepitas, sultanas and crumbled feta.

5. Drizzle generously with the tahini-mustard dressing and finish with a squeeze of lemon.

Sarah’s healthy twist

1. Tahini instead of maple-heavy dressing — you get calcium, iron, magnesium and a beautiful creamy texture, with only 1 teaspoon of maple syrup for the whole dressing instead of the ¼ cup most recipes use.

2. Lentils lift this from a side to a proper meal — 18g of protein and 15g of fibre per serve. Excellent for blood sugar control and gut health.

3. Pepitas add zinc and magnesium — both important for sleep and immunity.

4. Rescues any tired vegetables — sad broccoli, wrinkled capsicum, half a leftover pumpkin. Nothing goes to waste.

5. Batch-friendly — dressing lasts a week in the fridge in a jar. Salad components stay separate and assemble in 3 minutes.

Three rules for smart leftovers:

1. Never reheat and eat the same meal twice — you’ll lose motivation and end up throwing it out. Transform it into something new.

2. Always add protein or fibre on the second day. Eggs, lentils, seeds, tahini — these are your leftover superheroes.

3. Cook once, eat three times — a Sunday roast chicken becomes lettuce cups on Tuesday. A Monday bolognese becomes breakfast muffins on Wednesday. A weekend tray of roast vegetables becomes a Thursday salad.

4. Same food, second life, better nutrition.