Reducing Waste - How to Use Food Scraps

Did you know that food consumption in Switzerland generates 2.8 million tonnes of avoidable food waste per year? And that half of all the agricultural land in Switzerland is used to grow food that ends up being discarded at some point? Households (us) account for 38% of this waste which means that we are also the ones who can make a difference. If you want to read more on this topic and on the statistics in Switzerland you can check the following link. Food waste is of course happening world wide and the important thing to remember is that we are currently part of the problem, which thankfully also means that we can also be part of the solution.

Food waste reduction starts by buying “just enough” food - not underbuying or you will go hungry but also not overbuying as many items might rot or wilt and will get thrown out. Something I always like to do when buying fresh produce is checking the expiry date and making sure I know when this product will be consumed by me (being organized with your food plan really helps since when you have a plan you usually buy for what you need).

To help you reduce your waste I made a little catalogue below of some things you can do in your household which are delicious and fun with items which usually get thrown away (e.g. broccoli stalk and potato skins). Re-using certain foods will not only help reduce food waste and the environment but it will also help your wallet :)

Carrots

There are two things we tend to throw away when cooking with carrots: the peels and the tops. Both parts are filled with Vitamin C and can definitely be consumed without any hesitation (pretty much, we are just throwing them away out of habit). You can definitely keep both the peels and tops on when cooking but if you prefer not to here is something you can do with the leftovers.

Peels: Carrot Peel Pesto (just mix the peels with some basil and olive oil and use it as a pesto for pasta), carrot skin chips (in the oven or fried), make a veggie broth with other leftovers, add them to your smoothies, add them to a stir fry.

Tops (Green Part): Carrot top pesto (with the green part- it’s yummy), tabbouleh salad with carrot greens, add it to your salads, use it as garnish.

Potatoes

Potatoes are a hot topic! Let’s start by saying that potato skins don’t really have to be removed (especially if we are cooking with smaller potatoes) and if the potatoes have a natural color (if you are dealing with greenish potatoes it means their level of toxicity is quite high so I don’t recommend buying these anyway). If you see any scabs on your potatoes remove them and clean the potatoes well before cooking them (removing all the excess dirt). Generally, as with all foods, try to buy local potatoes as they will have been treated less and because it’s better for the planet. If you are peeling the potatoes you don’t have to throw away the skins.

Potato Skins: Make delicious potato chips! Heat the oven to 200°C, toss the peels on a baking sheet and cover them with oil and seasoning. Roast for 15/20 minutes stirring once or twice. Cover them with parmesan and onions/scallions and voilà - your snack is ready.

*The same goes for Sweet Potato Skins. They are actually rich in fiber, nutrients, and antioxidants that can help support a healthy gut, increase feelings of fullness, and prevent chronic disease. You do not need to peel sweet potatoes but if you do you can boil, bake or fry the skins to make something else!

Bread

There are two main reasons bread gets thrown away - some people dislike eating the “ends” of the bread and it can go stale before you have eaten it all. But worry not, there is always a solution:

Bread Ends: I love to make croutons with bread ends and add them to salads (you literally cut them up, place on a baking tray, sprinkle with olive oil and seasoning and bake until golden and crispy).

Old / Stale Bread: So many recipes actually call for stale bread! Try making bread pudding, panzanella, ribollita or go the classic easy route and make bread crumbs or croutons.

Orange / Lemon Peels

They smell so good and are filled with vitamins so why are we throwing them away? Because we have grown up thinking that they must be thrown away but here are some wonderful ideas of things you can do with citrus peels.

Peels: Use the zest in your meals (so many desserts call for it but you can also add it to a variety of pasta dishes - yum!), make candied orange peels, drink them in tea, make infused water. You can even put the peels in olive oil or make your own essential oils - honestly people are making all kinds of things with citrus peels (you can even grind them up and use them as a scrub, make candles, use them as decoration - the possibilities are endless).

Coffee

Coffee grounds are one of the things we throw away the most, you make your coffee you drink it you throw it away and make a new one - but used coffee grounds are extremely valuable and you can do so much with them!

Used Coffee Grounds: The easiest way to reuse them is to add them to your plants as a fertiliser (it works wonders!), all you have to do is instead of dumping it in the trash - dump it into your plants. Coffee grounds also neutralise odours so you can place a bowl of them in the fridge or in your kitchen if something is not smelling right. You can also use coffee grounds to scrum your pots or even to scrub your skin (yes, it’s a perfect natural body scrub and it exfoliates your skin magically). Coffee is also know to help decrease cellulite so you can rub some coffee grounds mixed with water or coconut oil on your skin twice a week for 10 minutes (you’re welcome).

Bananas

I absolutely love Bananas but I sometimes buy too many and the last ones end up being mushy and brown and I really can’t find the appeal in eating one. This doesn’t mean that I will throw them away though as mushy/ brown bananas are great for a variety of dishes.

Ripe Bananas: Make Banana Bread, Muffins, Porridge with Banana and Honey, Pancakes or Smoothies & Milkshakes - all of these things are actually better when the bananas are ripe.

Banana Skin: Let me blow your mind - you can actually eat the banana skin. In fact, banana peels are not only edible but also rich in several key nutrients, including potassium, fiber, polyunsaturated fats, and essential amino acids. Yes, it’s not the tastiest part of the banana but why not give it a try? Banana skin can be eaten raw but it’s better if you bake, boil or fry it. If you’re all up for using scraps but can’t see yourself eating banana skins (I’m also still struggling with this one) you can do other things like purée the banana skins to make a hair mask or dry them and add them to your plants (they are a great fertiliser).

Broccoli

This was my biggest discovery when I started looking into wasting less and throwing away less food. Not everyone is a fan of broccoli but I eat them quite often and I never knew what to do with the thick stalk. I now tried a variety of recipes using the stalk only and will never throw out another broccoli stalk again. Broccoli stalks are as nutritious as the broccoli florets. Broccoli stalks are low in calories and high in fibre.

Broccoli Stalk: You can put broccoli stalks in soups, salads or stir-fry them. You can literally do anything with them they will add a heartier texture to your dishes no matter what you are cooking. I like to grill them in the oven and add them to salads but you should also try the Broccoli Stalk Soup - a delicacy! If you want to start slow you can use them to make broth!

Wilting Vegetables / Fruits

Yes, we all know the feeling. We bought night fruits and veggies but then left them in the fridge for too long and now they don’t look too alive anymore. The urge to throw them away can be very strong but remember eating these wilted vegetables won’t make you sick (unless they are visibly rotten), they will just not taste as they would have in their prime state. This doesn’t mean we need to throw them out though.

Wilting Vegetables: When it comes to wilting vegetables I like to turn them into pesto (just mix them up with some olive oil and you won’t see their wobbly texture anymore). Something else you can do is throw them in the oven and make them crunchy again (you can make a nice oven bake with cheese or pasta). You can also make a smoothie or if you’re really not excited about these veggies - make a broth!

Wilting Fruits: Honestly the best options here are to either make a delicious smoothie or a nice cake! Cut the fruit up, make a sponge cake batter and toss it all in the oven - it will be delicious no matter what fruit you’re using. My favorite wilted fruits to bake with are carrots and zucchinis (to make carrot cake and zucchini bread).

Old Wine

It can happen that we open a bottle of wine and then either forget about it or don’t feel like finishing it in the following days. What usually happens to this wine is it gets poured down the drain at one point - dumped in order to open the next fresh bottle. But old wine can also be re-used:

Old Wine: The good news here is that wine never really goes “bad” it will just start tasting like vinegar. What I like to do with my old wine is cook (both white and red wine is great for risotto), or marinade food. You can also poach pears in wine and make a delicious dessert. Some people also make their own vinegar from wine but I personally haven’t done that yet as I don’t have that much old wine sitting around at home.

Tea Bags

Tea Bags! Another hot topic. Personally I prefer to buy loose tea leaves but many people are still consuming tea bags and throwing the bags out after the 5/6 minutes have passed. The tea inside the bags can still be used even after you’ve consumed your tea:

Tea Bags: Many people use used tea bags to decrease puffiness around the eyes (put the tea bags in cold water and press them around your eye area) but you can also use warm them and use them on your eyes when you have eye pain (camomile tea usually works best). Once you open your tea bags and extract the tea you have unlimited possibilities of what to do with it: you can make a scrub, let the leaves dry out add some essential oils and use them to make your house smell nice or you can even use the tea to make recipes: My Green Tea Tiramisu recipe can be made with a mix of used and fresh tea leaves!

Fruit Peels

Besides citrus peels which we already mentioned above you can use any type of fruit peel to make delicious flavoured water (perfect for the summer). I usually always keep the peels on following fruits/ vegetables (washing them thoroughly): apples, apricots, asparagus, berries, carrots, cherries, cucumber, eggplant, grapes, mushrooms, parsnip, peaches, pears, peas, plums, potatoes, squash (well cooked), zucchini. Crazily enough you can also eat Kiwi peels (not my favorite texture though).

Make Broth!

As already mentioned above, when all else fails, if you don’t have much time and if you don’t want to experiment too much just make some broth. Throw all your vegetables into some water and let it simmer - you can then make delicious soup made with home made broth.

Use Seeds to Plant!

Something else many people don’t think about is that you can actually use the seeds of many fruits and vegetables we eat and plant them. This way you don’t have to buy plants anymore and are creating life with something you would have thrown away. You can virtually plant any seed: apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums and avocados are some favorites. The process of planting them is quite easy and you won’t be requiring much time, effort or money - and the results will be great.