Did you know that up to 40% of the food produced in the U.S. ends up in the trash? That’s about a pound of food per person, per day! That statistic has been on my mind a lot since it came to my attention a couple of weeks ago. I know there’s more I can be doing to cut back on food waste, and I don’t think I’m alone in feeling that way!
But in researching for today’s post, I’ve realized that food waste is often less obvious than people think. Consider how many fruits and vegetables have parts that you remove and throw away just out of habit. (There’s probably a lot!) But many of those parts are either perfectly edible, or can be useful in some other way!
Today I’ll be sharing 9 types of food scraps and bits that you can either eat or save. Consider working these into your kitchen and cooking routines as a simple way to cut back on food waste!
9 Food Scraps You Should Save
1. Carrot Tops
The next time you buy a bunch of carrots, hang on to the greens! As surprising as it sounds, the carrot tops actually contain more vitamins than the carrots themselves. You can chop up the greens and sprinkle them on a salad, or add them to your next batch of pesto or chimichurri!
2. Beet Greens
The leafy tops of beets are full of calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. Slice them up and sauté them as a quick and healthy side dish!
3. Eggshells
Hang on to your eggshells, because there are a lot of useful things you can do with them! You can use them for cleaning, gardening, and even for skin care. Learn how to clean them and use them by following the link below!
Related: 8 Smart Reasons You Should Be Keeping Your Eggshells
4. Broccoli Stems
Those hardy broccoli stems are packed with fiber and antioxidants! My favorite way to eat them is to just grate them up into a delicious broccoli slaw. Grate a carrot too, then toss the grated broccoli and carrot with some oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. This simple slaw is delicious on top of pulled pork and barbecued chicken!
5. Cucumber Skins
As long as you wash a cucumber before eating it, there’s really no reason to remove the skin. Cucumber skins contain lots of vitamin K, which helps support healthy eyes.
6. Banana Peels
You can steep banana peels in a cup of hot water to make banana tea. Drink it right before bedtime to help promote restful sleep. You can also toss bits of banana peel into fruit smoothies for to add vitamins and fiber!
7. Citrus Peels
Before you juice a lime or lemon, or peel an orange to eat as a snack, zest the peel! You can store the zest in your freezer to use later for cooking. Sprinkle citrus zest into vinaigrettes and baked goods to add brightness and flavor!
8. Apple Skins
Apple skins are nutritious! If you don’t like to eat them along with the apple flesh, you can always store them in your freezer. Once you have about a jar’s worth of apple peels, you can use them to make your own apple cider vinegar!
9. Other Vegetable Skins, Stems, & Ends
Keep a gallon-sized ziplock bag in your freezer to collect veggie scraps including skins, stems, and ends. After a few weeks, you’ll have enough scraps to make a flavorful homemade chicken or vegetable stock! Here are some of the things you keep for stock:
- Onion and garlic skins
- Parsley and cilantro stems
- Outer leaves of cabbage
- Potato and carrot peels
- Celery tops
- Green onion bottoms
Get all the details about making your own homemade stock at the link below.
More Ideas You'll Love
I would also definitely keep chicken and beef bones for soup later. Same idea. Thrown them in a ziplock bag and freeze them. If you grate your own hard cheese like parmesan, consider keeping the rinds in the freezer too, They add some amazing flavor to soups and sauces.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.In European zoos the primates are fed organic bananas because they won’t eat them otherwise. Think about what’s been sprayed on your food while it was growing. Aren’t we “supposed to be” smarter than zoo animals?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Most animals have better senses than we do, including taste and smell. It would make sense that they would pick up on any fertilizers or pesticides used on the food they eat.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m surprised you never mentioned composting. After using everything I can, the leftovers get composted and then when it is ready it goes into my garden. I really like your site and enjoy reading the comments as much as reading the article. There are a lot of good suggestions from your readers.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You can save the eggshells, crush them up and store them in your refrigerator. You can sprinkle them around your roses. They LOVE them.
We do carrot pesto and beet green pesto. Carrot Pesto is especially good on roasted carrots with goat cheese (recipe is on pinterest).
I use Cilantro Stems to make stock and use it when I am cooking Asian or Mexican Dishes.
I also keep mushroom trimmings (stems) and make stock from them. I use this in place of beef when I’m cutting back on meat.
You can also save citrus peels and put them in honey, too!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Such great tips, thanks Stephanie!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The chives in my garden is waiting for eggshells!! Also lavendar. It is great “food”!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just curious here; Why do you keep dried egg shells in the fridge? I dry mine overnight and store them in a jar in the cupboard. When half full I powder them in the blender so they don’t take up so much space. (we eat a lot of eggs). My garden looks beautiful :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.as long as the foods are organic.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.About broccoli stems: if you peel them, they taste better.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.AWESOME!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great ideas…couple I have done…one I would like to share is juicing. When we have more fruits and vegetables than are going to be eaten before the danger zone time we juice them. Juicing is so good and a great for instant energy. I cut down on my coffee intake by replacing a cup a day with juice. No jitters and natural energy boost.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Juicing is a great tip, Shirley!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I only use organic citrus as well for zesting! Darn pesticides and waxes. But they have their place.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Plus The GMO that gives us tumor and cancer! Darn Monsanto’s!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great Ideas! Generally and immersion blended soup is a good way to use up veggies on the edge. And might I throw the suggestion of using a large mason jar or Tupperware to freeze veggie scraps? This cuts down on plastic waste- another major issue! Finally if you have access to the Imperfect service, they send overproduced or misshapen organic fruits and veggies straight to your house for a fraction of the price AND it diverts agricultural food waste from landfills.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If you garden you can start a worm colony that will take care of most all of your vegetation scraps, and it will produce the most wonderful organic fertilize – worm tea and compost. I know it sounds kind of gross but it’s actually not at all. When done properly there is literally no smell at all, or at the most a faint damp earth smell. I just accumulate my scraps in a gallon size zip-lock bag until it’s full them I feed it to my worms. They love banana peels.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You can also use the root parts of many vegetables, such as onions or celery, to regrow the vegetable over and over. For how tos see pinterest.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Re growing vegetables
Aren’t cucumber peels waxed for transport off-season? And non-organic banana peels have such bad pesticides that I won’t even compost them, let alone concentrate the pesticides in tea.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Organic bananas would be best for the tea :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Using carrot leaves and vegetable peels is a good idea, generally speaking. It’s important to consider what the leaves/peels may be treated with. Even thorough washing won’t remove the chemical residue all conventional produce has. It’s safer to use organic produce if leaves and peels will be consumed.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I dry the chopped carrot leaves and store them in a mason jar for my next vegetable soup.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.