…saving you money and lowering your carbon footprint.
If you follow the blog, then you know just how serious of a sustainability concern food waste is. But aside from these environmental qualms (check out the food waste blog for more details!), wasting food is literally throwing valuable nutrients into the trash.
Food production requires great care, time, energy, and expertise. If you’ve ever grown your own food, you definitely understand this — every lettuce leaf is precious! Consuming and repurposing as much of what we purchase as possible is great way to honor this effort.
Thankfully, there are so many ways to use food scraps that would otherwise be wasted from delicious recipes to home goods and personal care products. This practice of reuse is also known as upcycling.
Here are some of my favorite easy, approachable, and downright tasty ways to upcycle at home!
16 Easy Upcycles
1. Carrot Top Pesto
While carrot tops are undoubtably beautiful, they’re often discarded, destined for a methane-producing life in a landfill. But these leafy greens are actually super delicious as a leafy herb or garnish in recipes. However, one of the most popular ways to enjoy carrot tops is in a bright, flavorful pesto. If you’re new to carrot top pesto, I recommend starting with a 40/60 or 50/50 split of carrot tops to other herbs like basil and parsley.
2. Compost Broth
Carrot peels, onion skins, kale stalks, garlic skins, the ends of eggplant or zucchini, and the like are (hopefully) destined for your compost bin. But I like to put them to good use before they land there…enter compost broth. Store these scraps in the freezer until your freezer bag is full, then roast them frozen at 450 degrees Fahrenheit until they start to brown. Add them to a large stock pot, cover with water, and simmer for one to two hours. You can add leftover cheese rinds and meat or poultry bones to this mix as well!
3. Creative Pickles
Speaking of discarded veggie scraps…edible stalks, stems, and peels make for super yummy and unique pickles. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and kale scraps are especially nice in this preparation as they offer a satisfying crunch for a punchy, festive Giardiniera-like pickle.
4. Repurpose Your Stale Bread
Did you know that among the 30 to 40 percent of the food supply that’s wasted, the most commonly tossed item is bread? This is due to the fact that bread is readily available, inexpensive, and stales quickly. Well, just because your bread has turned stale doesn’t mean that it’s unusable! Pulse it a blender or food processor for easy and delicious breadcrumbs or try your hand at a savory panzanella recipe.
5. Almond Meal Baked Goods
If you make your own alternative milk, don’t throw away the resulting almond, oat, or cashew meal. Not only is it full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, but it adds a nutty richness to your recipes. Muffins, cakes, scones, biscuits, breads, cookies, crackers, and brownies are just a sampling of ways your can utilize these leftovers.
6. Infused Spirits and Simple Syrups
Fruit scraps like apple and citrus peels are loaded with flavor that’s often wasted. But infused spirits and simple syrups are a great way to make sure this doesn’t happen. Simply add whatever fruit scraps your have on hand to vodka, tequila, rum, or prepared simple syrup. Let this mixture sit at room temperature for several weeks before enjoying.
7. Candied Citrus Rinds
Fruit scraps can also be turned into better-for-you candy. While this works for most edible fruit scraps, candied citrus rinds are a classic. Combine your sweetener of choice, any additional flavorings like vanilla, lavender, or mint, and water in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Then add your fruit scraps, toss to coat, and spread onto a lined baking sheet to cool.
8. Veggie Peel Chips
Roasting veggie peels like potato, carrot, and beet skins until they’re crisp like potato chips is an easy and super inexpensive way to make a satisfying and crunchy snack.
9. Use Your Pickle Juice
As the perfect briny addition to marinades, dips, soups, sauces, dressings, or dirty martinis, there’s no excuse for pouring your leftover pickle juice down the drain.
10. Regrow Scallions and Lettuce
Few things are as satisfying as making a grocery purchase last for literal months. And while you might think this distinction is just for pantry items, it can apply to certain produce items, too! This is thanks to the fact that scallions and even some lettuces easily regrow in water. This can happen fast with scallions but does take more time with lettuce.
11. Frozen Herb Cubes
If your herbs are about to go bad, mince them up and add them to ice cube trays with some olive oil for quick and easy use after harvest season is over.
12. Dog Food Topper
Many don’t realize that dogs can eat a variety of produce items like carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, spinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, berries, banana, apple, and so much more. In fact, our furry friends’ health really benefits from these foods. So, if you don’t feel like getting creative in the kitchen with your scraps, simply add them to Fido’s food.
13. Homemade Cleaning Solution
There are tons of ways to make homemade cleaning solutions at home that require no toxic chemicals whatsoever. Leftover baking soda, citrus peels, and vinegar can all be made into effective cleaning supplies.
14. Natural Fabric Dye
The beautiful pigment of produce items like berries, beets, and carrots are not only beneficial for our health as powerful plant compounds, but they can serve as natural, toxin-free fabric dyes! If it’s your first time trying this, Google a ‘recipe’ and enjoy a fun craft day!
15. Homemade Facial Scrub
I personally haven’t purchased exfoliator in years as I make my own through combining coconut oil, salt, and a few drops of tea tree oil (for natural acne prevention). You can easily do this, too, and even swap the salt for leftover coffee grounds.
16. Egg Shell Candles
Egg shells are almost always tossed out in households across the nation, but you can actually repurpose them in quite a few ways. Blend them into a powder for natural garden or houseplant fertilizer or turn them into the cutest little candles you’ve ever seen. Once finished, these mini candles float in water for a beautiful, cozy display.
While these tips are just skimming the surface of possibilities, they’re a great place to start repurposing your otherwise wasted food scraps. Happy upcycling!
