Cut the Scrap
Food is wasted every day, whether it be the food in our refrigerators or the food off our plates. There are many ways to ensure every scrap of food is being used so as to reduce the amount that ends up in our trash!
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Thinking ahead can help us make some smarter choices to reduce the amount of food that ends up in the garbage. Constructing a grocery list based on ingredients needed for your meals and snacks ahead of time will hopefully leave you with an empty refrigerator by the end of the week. Planning meals and snacks prior to grocery shopping can help us buy only what we need and avoid allowing food to go unused. Outlining out a grocery list can assist in saving money as well because fewer unnecessary items will be purchased (just make sure you stick to your list!).
In addition to reducing our food waste by planning out our meals before we grocery shop, using all parts of our food, not just in the most traditional ways, can also help reduce food waste. For example, when cooking, try using every bit of your fruits and veggies, leaving little for the trash! Let's talk about the ways in which we can use up our food scraps to give them new life!
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Vegetable Scrap Broth:
Try keeping all of your vegetable scraps and making a hearty vegetable broth from them! By making your own broth, you'll never need to throw your scraps away or buy a box of store broth again.
Keep all your vegetable scraps in the freezer until you've reached about 8 cups of scraps. When you’re ready, add your scraps and 8 cups of water to a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, allow to simmer for one hour. When done, strain your broth and season your with salt, pepper, and any of your favorite seasonings for the best, homemade, low waste, hearty vegetable broth! Use your broth in all your favorite fall recipes like soups and stews.
Recommended vegetable scraps for the best broth:
Onion skins & ends
Garlic skins
Carrot peels, ends & tops
Mushroom ends
Kale or chard stems
Celery tops & ends
Herb stems and leaves
ps. you can store your broth in the refrigerator using an air tight container to enjoy it more than once.
Apple Scrap Jelly:
Making your favorite fall apple crisp or pie? Save your apple peels to make you own tasty and easy Apple Scrap Jelly!
Here’s what you need:
About 8 cups of your left over apple peels and cores
1 cup of honey or sugar
Here’s how you do it:
Put them in a large pot and cover with water - no measuring needed
Bring your apples to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes
Strain your apple mixture into a large pot (press your apple scraps for a more pulpy jam, or just let them drip for a lighter jam)
Add the honey or sugar, and bring the apple juice mixture to a boil. Let simmer for about one hour
Once jelly is thick and slides off spoon, your jam is ready
Can your jam for months of homemade jelly! Don't know how to can? Click here for easy canning instructions.
As we approach the holidays, keep in mind your purchases and plans for cooking. For many of us, food is at the center of our celebrations, so it is important to plan ahead and keep our food waste to a minimum.
Here are some tips minimizing our holiday food waste:
1. Many of us are fortunate enough to spend the holidays with the same people each year. If you have an idea of our guest list and group’s appetite, try to cook accordingly to avoid excess.
2. Have your guests bring their own reusable containers to take home delicious leftovers for that ever-popular leftover Thanksgiving sandwich. By having your guests take some leftovers it is more likely that the excess food will be eaten, only so many mouths live in the home that hosted the feast. Check out some other ways to reuse your Thanksgiving leftovers.
Something I’m keeping in mind this year is that there may be fewer family members around the Thanksgiving table. In this case, I’ll be sure to keep in mind just how many portions I am preparing.
Recommendations of the week:
The Zero Waste Cookbook by Giovanna Torrico & Amelia Wasiliev
This is my favorite book for reducing my waste in the kitchen! The Zero Waste Cookbook has shown me some clever ways to use food scraps in ways I would never have thought of. Check it out!
Check out some Instagram influencers and hashtags for some more tips for reducing food waste:
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If you have any additional suggestions or ideas to share with the NJE community, please check out our collaboration tab or tag us on Instagram @nothingjusteverything so we can post for everyone to see!
