Food waste is a big problem around the world. Many of us throw away parts of fruits, vegetables, and other foods without thinking twice. But did you know that those scraps can be used in many creative and useful ways? By finding ways to use food scraps, we can reduce waste, save money, and even help the environment. In this article, we’ll explore some easy and practical ways to make the most of your food scraps.
Ways to Use Food Scraps & Reduce Food Waste
1. Turn Scraps into Homemade Broth
One of the simplest ways to use vegetable scraps is to make homemade broth. Instead of throwing away vegetable peels, stems, and ends, save them in a container in your freezer. Once you have enough, put them in a pot with water and let them simmer for a few hours. You’ll end up with a flavorful broth that’s perfect for soups, stews, and cooking rice or pasta.
You can use scraps like carrot tops, onion skins, celery ends, and herb stems. Just strain out the solids after cooking, and you’ve got a delicious broth that costs almost nothing to make.
2. Make Compost for Your Garden
Composting is a great way to recycle food scraps and turn them into nutrient-rich soil for your garden. Instead of throwing away fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, and even tea bags, you can add them to a compost bin. Over time, these scraps will break down and turn into compost, which you can use to help your plants grow.
Composting reduces the amount of waste that goes to landfills, and it’s a natural way to enrich your garden’s soil.
3. Create Natural Cleaning Products
Citrus peels like lemon, orange, and lime are perfect for making natural cleaning products. You can use these peels to create a simple, effective cleaner by soaking them in vinegar. Fill a jar with citrus peels, pour vinegar over them, and let the mixture sit for a couple of weeks. After that, strain out the peels and pour the liquid into a spray bottle.
This natural cleaner works great on countertops, sinks, and other surfaces, and it smells fresh, too!
4. Use Fruit Scraps for Infused Water
Fruit scraps like apple cores, citrus peels, and strawberry tops can be used to make infused water. Instead of buying flavored water from the store, you can easily make your own at home. Simply add fruit scraps to a jug of water and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours.
This is a refreshing and healthy way to stay hydrated, and it adds a hint of flavor to plain water.
5. Bake with Overripe Bananas
When bananas start to turn brown, many people think they’re no good. But overripe bananas are perfect for baking! You can use them to make banana bread, muffins, or pancakes. The natural sweetness of ripe bananas means you can use less sugar in your recipes.
Instead of tossing out those spotted bananas, turn them into a delicious treat!
6. Make Chips from Potato Peels
If you peel potatoes for cooking, don’t throw the peels away! You can turn them into crispy, tasty chips. Toss the potato peels with a little olive oil, salt, and your favorite spices, then bake them in the oven until they’re golden and crunchy.
These homemade potato peel chips are a great snack, and they’re much healthier than store-bought chips.
7. Regrow Vegetables from Scraps
Did you know that you can regrow some vegetables from scraps? For example, you can regrow green onions, celery, and lettuce by placing the root ends in a glass of water. After a few days, you’ll see new growth, and you can plant them in soil to grow even more.
This is a fun and easy way to get more out of your vegetables and reduce waste.
8. Turn Stale Bread into Croutons or Breadcrumbs
If you have bread that’s gone stale, don’t throw it away! You can easily turn it into croutons or breadcrumbs. For croutons, cut the bread into cubes, toss them with olive oil and seasoning, and bake until crispy. For breadcrumbs, simply grind the bread into crumbs using a food processor and toast them in the oven.
These can be used to top salads, soups, or as a coating for baked dishes.
9. Make Fruit Vinegar from Peels and Cores
Fruit scraps like apple peels and cores can be used to make homemade fruit vinegar. To do this, place the peels and cores in a jar, add water and a little sugar, and let it ferment for a few weeks. Strain the mixture, and you’ll have your own fruit vinegar, which can be used in salad dressings or for pickling.
This is a great way to use up fruit scraps and create something useful in your kitchen.
10. Cook with Beet Greens and Broccoli Stems
Often, we focus on the main part of a vegetable and discard the rest. But many parts of vegetables that we usually throw away are actually edible and tasty. For example, beet greens can be sautéed like spinach, and broccoli stems can be peeled, chopped, and added to stir-fries or soups.
Decoding Biosphere 