The holidays are fun, but they have a way of leaving kitchens a little scattered. January often arrives with a fridge full of small containers, a pantry dotted with half-used packages and a freezer doing its best to hold it all together.
Forget diet hype and New Year’s resolutions, the first few weeks of the year are a good time to tidy up what’s already there. A simple kitchen reset saves money, makes meal planning easier and quietly reduces food waste along the way. Here are a few steps to get you starting the year off right in your kitchen.
Take inventory
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Look through your fridge, pantry and freezer to see what you actually have. You might be surprised.
Check the pantry for open boxes of crackers, baking supplies left over from December or bags of nuts that didn’t quite get finished. In the fridge, you may still have specialty cheeses, jars of roasted red peppers, dips or spreads bought for entertaining left hanging around. The freezer may still have leftover turkey and mashed potatoes, party meatballs, puff pastry or baking tucked away, like the container of cookies I had hidden in the freezer, sneakily labelled as mixed vegetables to mislead any cookie thieves.
Make it visible
Once you know what you have, make sure it doesn’t disappear again. Move foods that need to be used soon to the front of the fridge or pantry. Consider creating a “use me first” shelf for open packages and leftovers so they are easy to grab for snacks or meals.
In the freezer, visibility matters just as much. Clear containers and simple labels make a big difference. Writing the contents and date on frozen foods helps avoid mystery packages and makes it easier to meal plan. A quick shuffle so that older items are in front keeps things moving.
Give it a cleaning
While you’re shuffling things around, wipe down shelves and give your fridge and pantry a fresh start for the year.
Any day that’s −18 C or colder is also a good day to clean out the freezer. Simply store your frozen food outside while giving your freezer a proper clean.
Once the freezer is defrosted, wipe it down, toss out any broken containers and reload it in an organized way, using bins or boxes. Grouping foods into sections like ready-to-eat meals, vegetables and fruits, breads, meats, etc. makes it easier to keep track of what’s available.
This is also the moment to make honest decisions. Leftovers from 2024, vegetables with more ice crystals than veggies or unlabelled containers you’ve been shuffling around for years aren’t going to improve with more time. It’s okay to let those go while planning how to use what’s still tasty.
With everything cleaned out and re-organized, it’s easier to see what you’re actually working with.
Plan a few flexible meals
Instead of making an elaborate plan for what and how you’re going to cook in 2026, keep it simple and something you can sustain. Plan two or three meals per week focusing on what you already have.
Those half-used dips and sauces often hold great flavour. Just a spoonful or two of spicy jelly, chutney or roasted red peppers can lift a simple dish. Extra cheese can be grated and added to eggs, soups or casseroles. Open boxes of crackers can be crushed and used as a topping or coating. Small amounts add up quickly when they are used on purpose.
Broccoli fritters with options
This recipe works well with what’s already in the fridge. Swap broccoli for cauliflower or other vegetables. Use any available cheese such as cream cheese, goat cheese, cheddar or Gouda. Also try small additions for flavour like canned roasted red peppers, olives or artichokes.
Serves: Two (can be doubled)
Ingredients
- Half head of broccoli, both stalk and florets
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup flour
- Zest of a lemon
- 1/4 cup grated cheese
- Salt + pepper, to taste
- Olive oil for cooking
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Directions
Chop broccoli into small chunks, then blitz until fine in a food processor.
Mix in the eggs, flour, zest, cheese and salt and pepper (plus any additions).
Heat olive oil in a small frying pan. Fry spoonfuls of mixture into fritters until golden on either side.
Make the sauce by mixing the yogurt and lemon juice together. Serve fritters with the sauce.
Source: Love Food Hate Waste Canada
Mushroom hummus toast
After the holidays, I had extra mushrooms and a tub of hummus that I turned into this delicious toast (photo up top). You could swap the hummus with avocado, ricotta, cottage cheese or Boursin.
Makes: Four pieces
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- ½ onion, sliced
- 454 g mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 4 slices bread (your favourite kind)
- 1 cup hummus
- 1 tbsp chopped green onions or parsley
Directions
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent.
Add sliced mushrooms and salt right away so they release their moisture and start to brown.
Once mushrooms have taken on some colour, sprinkle in thyme and sauté briefly.
Finish with soy sauce, cook for one minute and take the pan off the heat and add red pepper flakes.
Toast bread and spread generously with hummus and top with mushrooms. Finish with green onions or parsley.
Source: Getty Stewart
Ham and peas mac and cheese
A family favourite, perfect for using up what’s on hand. Swap ham for cooked chicken, turkey, sausage, or skip meat entirely. Use frozen vegetables instead of carrots and peas and try different cheeses, depending on what’s open in your fridge.
Makes: Six to eight servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw macaroni (one 375 gram box)
- 2 tbsp oil or butter
- ½ cup diced onion (half a medium onion)
- ½ cup diced celery (two stalks)
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 tsp dry mustard powder
- ¼ tsp nutmeg (optional)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 medium carrot, grated
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 cups diced cooked ham
Topping
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 tbsp parsley
Directions
In large pot, bring water to boil and cook macaroni al dente (slightly firm). Drain and set aside.
In large pot, heat oil or butter over medium heat. Add onions and celery and cook until tender, about three minutes.
Add flour and mix well. Cook for one minute.
Gradually whisk in milk until sauce thickens. Stir in hot mustard, nutmeg ad black pepper.
Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted and mixed in.
Add carrots, peas, parsley, ham and cooked macaroni.
Transfer to a lightly greased three-quart (three-litre) casserole dish, or a nine by 13-inch baking pan.
Stir together topping mix and sprinkle evenly across top of casserole.
Bake in preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.
Source: Getty Stewart
