Every time we cook in the kitchen, we produce food scraps.
While most of it should be thrown away, there are food scraps that could still be used, if we just give them a chance to shine.
To reduce waste and make the most out of our food purchases, let’s try reusing scraps produced from common kitchen ingredients.
Here’s how:
USE SKINS FOR ADDED FLAVOR
As long as you are buying organic fruits and vegetables that have not been treated, you can use peels of orange and lemons to add flavor to your dish.
You can grate it before you slice orange and lemons to your dish, or store their aromatic zest in the freezer and use it for another dish.
Its peel is too precious to end up in the trash bin!
USE THE LEAVES
Most of us don’t use every part of a vegetable including its leaves. Take for example the green tops of carrots.
It may surprise you that its green tops contain the same vitamins and minerals as the parts we commonly consume.
You can add these greens to your pesto, soup, or salad for variety.
SPICE UP YOUR SUGAR
When you’re cooking with vanilla pods, don’t throw them away after you use them. Instead, you can put it in a jar with your sugar and make your flavored sugar.
When you’ve used the vanilla pods or sticks, allow it to dry, then add it to your jar of sugar and bask in its aroma.
This works great with orange or lemons too!
regrowing vegetables in water helps you save money and resources.
GROW NEW VEGETABLES
Some vegetables can be re-grown without too much effort or the need for an expert gardener. All you need is water and a bit of patience.
Many vegetables can develop new roots after 1-2 weeks, and some even quicker.
The most common examples are celery, scallion, and lettuce.
Fresh farm eggs cracked and scrambled for a meal for the chickens; they can be used to fertilize our plants.
MAKE FERTILIZERS FROM LEFTOVERS
While fertilizers bought at nurseries or garden centers are great options, there is food waste that helps our plants grown even faster and healthier.
Take for example eggshells. Eggshells mainly contain calcium carbonate that can help prevent acidification on the soil.
All you have to do is to rinse the shells, let them dry, then crush them into pieces. Add these pieces to the water in your watering can and let it soak overnight. The next day, use it as your water for your plants and discard the shells after use.