We did not have any food waste at our house this week! In fact, we actually saved a couple of items that most people would normally compost or throw away for culinary purposes. Here is how we stretch our food budget by taking advantage of all of the edible parts of the produce we buy and we regrow food from our leftover produce.
You can regrow celery from the stalk:
I learned this trick from The Experimental Farmer. The roots looked so completely dead, that I decided to put the celery stalks in water to test for viability. The shoots started growing as did the roots, so these little guys will be planted tomorrow.
When you chop up green onions, save the roots to regrow more green onions.
Carrot tops are edible. Why not try using them in Carrot Top Soup. And yes, my son is eating the greens directly from the carrots!
Radish Leaves are edible. Here is my recipe for Radish Leaf Soup.
Most people know that you can eat turnip greens, but did you know you can also eat Kohlrabi leaves and beet greens? You can add them to a salad or try sautéing beet greens with garlic and olive oil.
You can pickle watermelon rinds. Mary at One Perfect Bite shared this delicious recipe for Sweet and Spicy Watermelon Rind Pickles.
Even vegetable scraps and peelings can be saved to make your own vegetable broth.
Do you consume any food items that other people normally toss?
This post has been linked to Food Waste Friday and Frugal Fridays.
Beth Anne says
Good post Alea. Like you, I work very hard to eliminate food waste in my kitchen. I’m looking forward to making the radish leaf soup.
Tracey @ Dont Mess with Mama says
I love this! Great tips. I never thought about regrowing celery. I’ve heard the same can be done with green onions – and now I’m thinking maybe regular onions too. My husband actually likes to eat watermelon rind, but I like the idea of pickling for the rest of us.
Alea says
Thanks for the reminder! I did this last year with some garlic that started to sprout. It appears to be growing well, but I haven't dug any of them up to see how they are progressing (even though I really want to).
Anonymous says
I'm going to try the celery!
You can do the same thing with garlic- just plant one clove from the bulb and it will grow.
Angela says
Beet greens are my favorite! I can't imagine throwing them away!
juliecache says
i am so trying the celery and onion thing.
Maureen says
I'm so glad that you tried the celery and things are going well. I think I may try a few in pots as well. I intended to do succession plantings and containers sound like a good way to go.
I must try the green onions and check out the other tips 'n tricks.