10 Best Uses Of Food Leftovers

The key with using food waste is to challenge yourself to think differently. It begins with questioning all of the food habits that you consider normal. There are so many usable parts of produce that we consider “waste.” Peeling vegetables for example; peels are good for you. All the greens and tops that we cut off of produce, like beet greens, carrot tops, and radish greens. Those are all delicious when sautéed, can be used and salads and turned into pesto too.

Putting food waste to use is a combination of getting comfortable in the kitchen, and experimenting with things you might usually have put in the compost, as well as learning about different preservation methods.

# Meat leftovers, and the bones, as well as fish and seafood, are perfect for making stock, but you don’t always have the time to do it right then and there. Stockpile scraps in the freezer until you are ready to cook up a stock.

# The same goes for vegetable scraps (like ends, tops and stalks), as well as herbs, which can be used to make a vegetable stock.

# Don’t stop at meat and vegetables. Parmesan rinds can be used to make stock as well.

# Apple cores and peels can be used to make your own apple cider vinegar.

# Citrus peels can be dried and stored in your pantry for use in recipes that call for fresh zest, or infused in a tea.

# Once you have dried citrus peels, you can grind them into a fine powder, which you can use on its own or mix with pepper.

# You can also grind that bread into breadcrumbs, which come in handy in a variety of ways in the kitchen.

# Did you know that you can use a banana peel to polish silver? Put a few banana peels in a blender with just a little bit of water and puree to a paste, then using a rag, use it to polish any silver items in your house that are looking a little drab.

# Use orange peels to make a DIY, eco-friendly, all purpose cleaner. Fill a jar with orange peels, then cover them with vinegar. Store in a cool, dark place for a couple of weeks, then strain the vinegar solution and transfer to a spray bottle.

# Place used green tea leaves in a cotton bag and add it to your bath; the antioxidants are great for your skin.