It’s easier to use up your leftovers if the right ingredients are already stocked in your kitchen. To make the transformation easy, here is a list of ingredients to keep on hand:

ROASTED RED PEPPERS
They add a natural sweetness and a jolt of color to pastas, salads and more.

BLACK BEANS OR GARBANZO BEANS
Protein powerhouses, these beans offer texture and flavor and can stretch leftover meats and fish into salads, pastas, soups and casseroles.

DRIED CHERRIES OR CRANBERRIES
They can be tossed into salads, mixed into couscous and even turned into a new topping for meats.

WHOLE-WHEAT TORTILLAS
If stored in your freezer, these can be readily available to turn your leftovers into sandwich wraps or individual pizzas; or bake them into low-fat tortilla crisps for taco salads.

BALSAMIC VINEGAR AND EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
Not only for salads, this dynamic duo can be used alone or together to add flavors to pizzas, pastas, vegetables and meats.

SALAD GREENS
It’s easy to turn yesterday’s entrée into today’s salad if you have a bag of fresh greens waiting in your fridge.

KALAMATA OLIVES
Add a jolt of flavor to salads, pastas, sandwiches and pizzas.