Let’s get down and dirty. Lockdown has forced us all to come to terms with home-cooking. Some of us have proved to be born naturals and some of us, well, could use a little improvement. Regardless of our cooking skills, one thing we all have in common is we are producing A LOT of food waste. Which means we have plenty of food scraps to work with!

Whether you’re environmentally conscious or are trying to be a bit more frugal during our current economic climate, saving and using food scraps could be a meaningful shift of what’s to come in the future. We’ve come up with a list of useful tips on what you can do with your food waste.

How Food Scraps Are Useful

Green Onion

It now seems that people are slowly starting to move away from baking banana bread and are now trying to sprout their own green onions in jars of water. It’s actually quite simple if you want to try this at home. Why not? You can save a buck or two by growing your own. First, you slice off the ends of the bulbs, leaving roots attached. Secondly, you want to put them in a small jar. Root-end first. Make sure to add enough water to cover the roots. Thirdly, you want to keep the roots moist. Probably a good idea to leave it by a windowsill so that it can get some sunlight. After a couple of days you will start to see green shoots emerge from the bulbs. Change the water twice a week and you will start to see the green onions grow very quickly.

Kale

Kale is so great. You can use it as a salad base, throw it in the blender for a pesto, and even make some delicious chips out of them. But did you know that you can also use the stems? Some varieties of kale have an awful lot of stem. Chop them up and add them to soup or sneak them into sauces. Now you’re really not wasting anything.

Leeks

There seems to be a divide when it comes to this vegetable. Some people either love them or hate them. Lucky for you, if you love them we got some great tips on how not to waste any of it. Use the green parts and chop them into small, bite-size pieces and cook till they are tender. Use them instead of onion if you don’t have any left, or add it to a frittata, mix it in to make a sauce or soup. So incredibly versatile.

Carrots

Like green onions, you can also regenerate carrot tops to grow carrots. You can also throw carrot tops into the blender and mix it in to make a delicious earthy pesto. You can also use your wilting carrots to make bread, muffins and more. Shred it up and add into your dough to make the most delicious savoury muffins.

Chicken Bones

The first obvious one is to make stock with your chicken scraps. You will save money in the long run, say goodbye to boxed stock! It’s also so much healthier for you because you’re not adding all the added preservatives the boxed stuff has. It’s pretty simple, sauté your chicken bones until brown. Then add carrots, onions, leeks, parsley, or whatever you’d like and cover it with cold water. Then simmer for 4-6 hours and the strain and voila, homemade chicken stock!

The second thing you can do with chicken bones is make a fertiliser rich in phosphorus (very good for plants) for your garden. You simply need to dry out your chicken bones. You can do this by putting it in the oven at a low temperature. Then you grind them in a food processor and there you have it, rich fertiliser that your plants will love.

Coffee Grounds

You don’t always have to toss your coffee grounds. You can actually reuse them to make cocktails, what a treat. You run the used coffee grounds through a second brew. It will come out a bit bitter and diluted but once you mix with a syrup or equal parts sugar it’s great for an espresso-themed cocktail or martini.

Coffee grounds are also a great fertiliser. Spread the grounds regularly around your flowers (if you have) trees, and bushes. The grounds are perfect to acidify the soil. Can’t forget to mention that it also adds a bang of nitrogen to the soil.

This food scrap also makes a great DIY face scrub. Coffee grounds help exfoliate, smooth, and soften the skin naturally. Find out how to make your own body scrub here. Coffee grounds are actually so versatile, so if you want more ideas on what you can do with it, don’t miss out on our guide here. Never let your coffee go to waste again!

Tomatoes

You really can use all of the tomato. You can hold on to the cores, the peels, and the juice and turn it into a homemade tomato sauce. Great for when you don’t have any tinned tomatoes left. Just add all the food waste into the blender, and then simmer with olive oil and spices of your choice. Delicious.

Parmesan Rinds

Add this to your next pot of risotto and you won’t regret it. Put the rinds in the risotto once it’s halfway done. Let everything simmer as you stir and add more broth to finish the dish. Just remember to remove the rinds before serving. It will really give your dish an extra punch of flavour. Just like risotto, you can add the rinds to your favourite soup or sauce. Once you add it into your tomato sauce, soup, or whatever you’re making let it simmer. Remember to remove the rind just before serving. It will not only add a salty flavour it also works great to thicken everything up. Another great use for this food scrap is to add it to a bolognese when it’s cooking, it elevates the flavours of this dish.

The best food waste tip has to be this one. Combine two amazing flavours to get one delicious treat. Add your parmesan rinds to a bottle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil and let it sit for a few days. This will give the oil time to mix in with the flavour of the rinds. Eat it with your favourite Italian bread or serve on top of pasta.

Herbs

Don’t let your herbs go to waste, freeze them in olive oil! They will make great additions to pasta, sauces and soups. Unfortunately, they won’t be great to add to salads because they end up a little mushy after being in the freezer.

Almond Milk

This might be a weird one but it works. If you drink a lot of almond milk and are already making some at home, you could be missing out on also making your own almond flour. You simply need to dry your leftover almond pulp in the oven and then grind it down into almond flour. We know how expensive almond flour is so this is a great food waste hack but also a money saver.

Meat Fat

Apart from the obvious of cooking things with pork or beef fat, did you know that you can also make candles out if it? Don’t worry, the candles will not smell like meat. All you’ve got to do is simmer your beef or pork fat at a low temperature for a couple of hours with some water. Throw the solids that have risen to the top away, and pour the leftover liquid into a jar. Add a wick in the jar and you’ve got yourself a candle.

Broccoli Stalks

Many people throw away their broccoli stalks. But what they don’t know is how much flavour and nutritional value is actually in those stalks. The stalks can be added to your favourite soup. It will give it an extra yummy flavour. They also can be sautéed once chopped and added to you favourite dish to give it an extra crunch.

Potato Peels

Some people like to eat their potatoes with the skin on and some don’t. If you’re one of the people who throws away the peels then this post is for you. Sauté your skins in oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. They make a great addition to any meal. You can also add them into stock for a veggie broth.

Pickling

The new quarantine craze! You can avoid creating food waste by simply pickling your scraps. It’s a great way to breathe new life into your veggies and get the most out of them. It’s also quite easy to do. Combine vinegar and hot water in a pot. Add in some sugar and salt to the vinegar until it dissolves completely. Put your sliced vegetables into a glass jar along with the spices of your choice. Add in the brine over the veggies and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Once it has cooled, cover it and put it in the fridge.

You can pretty much pickle anything, but these are the best vegetables for pickling: Green beans, mushrooms, parsnips, tomatoes, cucumber, jalapeño, red onion, red bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower, beets, cabbage, garlic.

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