Reducing Food Waste Recipe Sharing/Tips & Kitchen Scrap Tips
tinkerbellang83
Posts: 9,129 Member
in Recipes
I have been trying to make a conscious effort to cut down on waste at home mostly by choosing bigger pack sizes for cleaning materials or making my own. I do already try to reduce my food waste by being more conscious about my grocery shopping by planning ahead, but after reading an article earlier, I am sure there are far more kitchen scraps I could re-purpose.
Some of the things I do already are:
I did also try growing plants from Pineapple tops but have yet to get that to work.
I've also just discovered but yet to try Pickled Watermelon Rind and Baked Banana Skins.
Share yours too.....
Some of the things I do already are:
- Planting sprouted garlic cloves
- Using Orange & Lemon peels to infuse into vinegar for a worktop cleaner/glass cleaner.
- Using leftover fruit to infuse vodka for Birthday/Christmas gifts.
- Roasting Potato Peelings
- Using Broccoli & Cauliflower stalks for soups (often freezing them so I can make a bigger batch)
- Growing Avocado Plants from stones.
- Making Banana Bread from overripe bananas
I did also try growing plants from Pineapple tops but have yet to get that to work.
I've also just discovered but yet to try Pickled Watermelon Rind and Baked Banana Skins.
Share yours too.....
6
Replies
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Compost bin. It all goes to help my garden which provides more vegetables.11
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Compost bin. It all goes to help my garden which provides more vegetables.
Yeah we have a composting recycle bin which is part of our refuse collection contract, but still would like to try and cut down on that too. I live in an Apartment block so don't have a garden to have a personal compost bin for.2 -
You can grow romaine lettuce from the root end by putting it in water. I use a pint canning jar. You don’t want it totally immersed, just the root end.3 -
missysippy930 wrote: »You can grow romaine lettuce from the root end by putting it in water. I use a pint canning jar. You don’t want it totally immersed, just the root end.
Thanks I do this with cut herbs too, I always struggle to grow Thyme in soil but popped some in water the other day to keep it fresh and to my amazement it grew 10x better than it does when I've tried in soil
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I make vegetable stock from the outside leaves of vegetables, onion skins, herb stalks, and peelings. Pretty much everything except potato, sweet potato and anything actively mouldy. I store it in my freezer until I've a full bag, then simmer it in water for about an hour and a half. Leave to cool, strain and freeze until I make a stew, soup or rice dish.14
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Similar to @hmaddpear, I save veggie cuts.
Also purposefully buy shell-on shrimp and save the shells in the freezer until I have enough to make a stock. And for canned fish in water, I save the water in ice cube trays. Mix those two together and you have fun, tasty dashi.
And when whole chicken is on sale, I'll roast two at a time just to save the bones (the meat of one is shredded and put in the freezer, the meat of the other is eaten fresh within two days).
So basically, different homemade stocks. I rarely buy stock from the store (too salty and, somehow, bland?!)5 -
I have something called the bone bag in the freezer. Besides vegetable peels and trimmings I dump all the bones from eating bone in chicken, beef and pork. Don't forget to save bones from ready made food such as rotisserie chicken or even KFC. If I ate more shellfish I would have one for seafood like @MaltedTea. When the bone bag is full I make stock, often adding a halved onion, skin and all (which gives a nice golden colour). I also boil down my stocks to concentrate them so they take less room to store in the freezer.
I've just ordered a few re-usable silicon food bags from a company called Stasher on amazon. Hoping they work to cut down on single use ziplock bags.8 -
I've just ordered a few re-usable silicon food bags from a company called Stasher on amazon. Hoping they work to cut down on single use ziplock bags.
I have a few of those and the stretchy silicone food covers too. I've not tried them with wet contents yet but they are great for keeping stuff fresh in the fridge.1 -
Another tip I have to keep greens fresh longer is I wash it as soon as I get home from the store and spin it dry in my salad spinner. We like a mix of romaine, spinach and arugula. After spinning, I lay it out on a double layer of paper towels and let it get even drier. After about an hour, I roll the mix up, jelly roll style, put it in a gallon ziplock bag (horizontally) leave the ziplock open and put in the vegetable crisper. It stays fresh a lot longer.
Similar thing with fresh berries (except raspberries, they’re too fragile). I wash & hull (strawberries) them. Let air dry in single layer. Wash the original container in hot soapy water. Rinse and completely dry container. Line the container with a paper towel. Put the dry cleaned berries back in the container and refrigerate. They stay fresh longer.4 -
missysippy930 wrote: »Another tip I have to keep greens fresh longer is I wash it as soon as I get home from the store and spin it dry in my salad spinner. We like a mix of romaine, spinach and arugula. After spinning, I lay it out on a double layer of paper towels and let it get even drier. After about an hour, I roll the mix up, jelly roll style, put it in a gallon ziplock bag (horizontally) leave the ziplock open and put in the vegetable crisper. It stays fresh a lot longer.
Similar thing with fresh berries (except raspberries, they’re too fragile). I wash & hull (strawberries) them. Let air dry in single layer. Wash the original container in hot soapy water. Rinse and completely dry container. Line the container with a paper towel. Put the dry cleaned berries back in the container and refrigerate. They stay fresh longer.
I find keeping berries in glass jars keeps them fresh too.3 -
I agree with everyone who mentioned saving meat scraps for stock (you can make stock from any meat/fish - not just chicken). I know of people who will also freeze or dehydrate vegetable scraps for the same reason.
In addition to this. Most berries freeze very well and are good in smoothies and baked goods and egg shells can be used as a source of calcium for plants. While yes you can save broccoli and cauliflower stocks for steps and such, you can also just eat them the same way you would the florettes, though if it's especially woody you may want to take a vegetable peeler to it.3 -
I'm another that doesn't throw out food, I prioritize things by when they go bad so for example, kale and spinach are cooked with first, potatoes and winter squash last. I just canceled Imperfect Produce because I've had about 6 boxes have a spoiled vegetable and I can't stand tossing food even if I get refunds, supposedly the box is about rescuing produce from being wasted. I also make broth with scraps or compost them. I grow my own herbs, some vegetables, and microgreens, tried lettuce inside but it's not growing well.2
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I grow microgreens too from dried pulses sold for eating too. I normally get three diminishing crops every two weeks. Apparently you can do microgreens from corn sold for popping too but I haven't tried that yet.
https://verticalveg.org.uk/how-to-grow-pea-shoots/1 -
Haven't seen this one mentioned... if my bananas are heading into over-ripe, I slice and freeze them for smoothies. Same with other fruits.4
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Moving fruits from the fruit bowl to the fridge will stop ripening too. We do this with pears and avocados.4
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I'm also a veggie-scrap saver for broth, but I never thought to save shrimp shells! I'm going to start doing that, and the tuna-water thing too...
When I do make broth, I let it cool enough to put it in freezer-safe mason jars and let them cool in the fridge, then freeze. (Your jars MUST be freezer-safe! Learn from my mistakes!
)
Whenever I make a big batch of something, if I don't think we'll get through it fast enough I try to freeze it in individual lunch containers so it's easy to pull like a microwave meal.2 -
I freeze a lot of things so they don't go bad faster than I can use them. Washed whole fresh young ginger (thin shinny skinned) is put in a zip lock bag and frozen then grated straight into meals skin on then straight back in there so it never defrosts. I buy whole bunches of celery because it works out cheaper here than cut sticks or half bunches. Wash it and slice it in the food processor then into bags in suitable portions for stews and soups etc.. same with onions but freeze on a baking paper lined tray first then bag it up. Rarely need to chop onions then except for mainly salads.
Bananas get thrown in whole as then left to defrost when I'll use it for a cake or smoothie. All sorts of flours, nuts and seeds are great kept there especially if you live where it's hot like me. I kept instant yeast powder in there for ages, saffron since I use it rarely, grated cheeses, Parmesan cheese rinds for soups or tomato bases sauces, dried Chinese scallops since they are expensive and you use very little and I have to buy multiple bags when travelling since I can't get them here. If I can't use a lemon or lime quick enough I'll throw it in whole or juice it first. Leftover tomato paste in silicon ice cube trays.. tons more I can't think of right now.
For anyone that lives where you get to eat lots of crabs/lobster/other crayfish you can do what someone else said about saving their shells like shrimp to make stock.3 -
I freeze a lot too, I usually keep diced bell peppers, ginger and garlic in the freezer, I re-use hummus/dip containers to keep them in.
I also freeze grated cheddar/mozzarella and parmesan for use in recipes/toasted sandwiches and breadcrumbs.1 -
I just made a meringue disk for pavlova using aquafaba for the first time. It works! So folks, don't toss the liquid at the bottom of a tin of chick peas. Another use for aquafaba I saw online was vegan mayonnaise.4
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I've read things good things lately about keeping your eggshells to add to your stock/broth so from today adding them into my container of assorted bones and veggie scraps. This is one of them if anyone is interested in the benifits. I do all mine in my pressure cooker.
https://thehealthytomato.com/egg-shell-bone-broth-2/1 -
I used to follow a recipe from the American classic the Joy of Cooking for making stock with crumbled egg shells and egg whites. I remember vaguely the combination of beaten egg whites and shells clarified the broth.2
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I used to follow a recipe from the American classic the Joy of Cooking for making stock with crumbled egg shells and egg whites. I remember vaguely the combination of beaten egg whites and shells clarified the broth.
Yes I know of using it for clarification purposes but not for health purposes.1 -
Just bumping this up again, I got some great tips online for making the most of Pineapples by steeping the skin with some spices and a little honey for a lovely tea, it's delicious!
You can then blend the remaining skin with water, strain it and make juice as there's still a but of flesh left over and if you're not totally pineappled out you can use the strained skin for smoothies or curry (or compost it) and plant the top!
Zero waste 😁
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Honestly the best thing I do to reduce food waste was move into the woods.
We're popular with opossums....
Sounds flippant, but no. Those suckers eat EVERYTHING. And that includes ticks. Trash clean up and pest control? Come on down and help yourselves.5 -
Make herb oil when soft herbs such as parsley, basil, mint that are in danger of being tossed. I blanch by putting my near dead herbs in a colander, and pour a kettleful of boiling water over them. Then blitz in a mini food processor with garlic, lemon, lemon zest, plenty of olive oil, seasoning. Strain the oil in a tea strainer into a squeeze bottle. The herb oil keeps about two weeks. The food waste in the strainer can be made into a quick gremolata. Add lemon juice and seasoning to taste but you need to use it within the day as it otherwise becomes an unappetizing grey colour.
Basil that is getting limp and slightly grey still makes a good pesto too.
Mint oil garnishing tinned beans warmed up in prawn shell bisque from the freezer with food waste gremolata smeared over pan fried fish.
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Make herb oil when soft herbs such as parsley, basil, mint that are in danger of being tossed. I blanch by putting my near dead herbs in a colander, and pour a kettleful of boiling water over them. Then blitz in a mini food processor with garlic, lemon, lemon zest, plenty of olive oil, seasoning. Strain the oil in a tea strainer into a squeeze bottle. The herb oil keeps about two weeks. The food waste in the strainer can be made into a quick gremolata. Add lemon juice and seasoning to taste but you need to use it within the day as it otherwise becomes an unappetizing grey colour.
Basil that is getting limp and slightly grey still makes a good pesto too.
Mint oil garnishing tinned beans warmed up in prawn shell bisque from the freezer with food waste gremolata smeared over pan fried fish.
I've been doing something similar by making Salsa Verde with any herbs/salad leaves that are looking worse for wear. Though I find most of my herbs keep for weeks if I keep them in my window hanging jars in water. Only had issues with Coriander, which is no loss because I don't like it.1 -
You can grow veg from a lot of vegetable scraps too. I've got a friend who has grown edible cherry tomatoes from a slice a well as bell peppers from seeds removed from a pepper he was cooking.
https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/features/how-to-regrow-food-from-scraps/3 -
Use kale stems in recipes. I dice, sautee and cook them into my cauliflower rice, cottage pie and korma.1
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I've been pickling some of my vegetable waste. Pickled watermelon rind is something I started doing after trying it in a restaurant specializing in food from Louisiana. My Vietnamese girlfriend's mom pickles shredded cauliflower leaves. I have been pickling thinly sliced broccoli and cauliflower stems.1
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No one has mentioned juicing. When people think of juicing, they tend to naturally think of fruit. We juice broccoli stems, kale stems and beet tops all the time. Then the dry parts can be throw into the compost pile or (if you don't use anything toxic like grapes), used to make fiber dog biscuits. I mix in some peanut butter, oats and eggs and sometimes make my dogs dehydrated dog biscuits out of the fiber left from the juice.
Pineapple cores are my favorite to juice for the tiny bit of fruit (we like green juices). They contain the majority of the enzymes for proper digestion, yet people tend to throw them away. Cilantro is also amazing to juice with. The stems are fantastic. So is a cabbage core. The things that people tend to pitch make the best juice.
I had one dog that would go nuts over these. It was her favorite treat in the world.1
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