April is Earth Month, a time to be extra mindful of our environmental impact and to think of new ways to be more sustainable in our lives. To help kick things off we have come up with creative ways for you to reuse your kitchen scraps! Food waste is much too common in the kitchen but the root of the issue is most likely not knowing how useful your scraps such as vegetable peels and cheese rinds can be! Many food items that you have been regularly throwing out may be able to have a second life as a flavouring agent, base for a new recipe or a tasty snack! So hold on to those orange peels and celery tops but make sure if you are throwing away food items that you take advantage of any composting systems available in your city.
See Also: How to Remodel Your Kitchen Habits for Less Waste
Check Out These Tips For Reusing Your Kitchen Scraps!
Various Vegetable Scraps
Attention! Don’t throw out ANY of your vegetable peels, cores or leaves. These scraps will allow you to make an amazing and natural vegetable broth that will save you money and lower your carbon footprint. Double win! It can take some time to accumulate enough scraps to make a broth so store them in a container in the freezer until you’ve got enough. Once you’ve got about a pot-full, cover the scraps with water and simmer on the stove for about 30 minutes. You’ll never need to buy broth again!
Potato Peels
Give your potatoes a good scrub before you peel them and you can turn the scraps into crispy and healthy potato chips! Drizzle with olive oil, salt and rosemary (or other spices of your liking) and roast until they are nice and crispy. These chips are all potato, no couch.
Citrus Peels
The outside of your lemons and oranges have more uses than you may have known! Turn these peels into candied treats by boiling them in a pot of sugar and water. Or blend them into your black tea leaves for a hint of fruit in your drink. Or soak them in vinegar for a fresh-smelling natural cleaner. Or freeze the zest for future dishes. There are plenty of options with citrus peels, just remember to wash your fruits generously beforehand!
Cheese Rinds
Please tell us you haven’t been throwing out all the delicious flavour left in your parmesan cheese rinds?! Tossing these rinds in soups like a bouillon cube gives the dish that rich umami flavour that everyone loves. After you’ve grated off all of the fresh cheese, keep your rinds in a baggie in the fridge for future use. This flavour goes great in tomato and French onion soup, just make sure to fish it out when you’re ready to eat!
Fruit and Vegetable Pulp
We know there’s nothing like a fresh-pressed juice, full of nutrition and delicious flavour. Unfortunately, after juicing your fruits and veggies you are left with a lot of pulp and so much of the ingredient goes to waste. Well no longer! This pulp is still loaded with nutrition and can be turned into tasty baked goods like zucchini or carrot muffins. You can even add the pulp to soups or stews and you will barely notice it!
Regrow It!
What better way to save your food scraps than by sprouting and re-growing them? Check out these 7 Vegetables You Can Easily Regrow in Your Kitchen!
