I love compost as much as the next girl, but there’s a good chance your compost bin is being overfed. Have you been tossing your banana peels, celery leaves, carrot tops, and other produce scraps? Well, so have I, but not anymore. It’s time to make your produce work for you!
Many of those precious veggie bits and fruit scraps we’ve been tossing are perfectly edible and packed with flavor and nutrients. Using every inch of your produce (or at least as much as possible) is better for the earth and your wallet. Here’s some of the simplest, most delicious ways to reduce food waste and get the most out of your produce.
Watermelon Rind
Don’t trash that precious rind! Blend up the skin for a wheatgrass shot dupe, and make pickles or kimchi from the chopped up rind. As a watermelon lover, I will be trying this ASAP.
Orange Peels
If you’ve got some leftover orange peels (perhaps from making adrenal cocktails), I have good news. Did you know ants hate oranges? Save up your orange peels to make this easy, natural ant deterrent. If you don’t have ant problems, teach me your ways, and also try making candied orange peels for a sweet and tart citrusy treat.
Celery
Cook the hard outer ribs in stock or stews (or chop up with some carrots and onions and freeze for an easy mirepoix), and add the tender inner heart (awww) and herby leaves to your salad.
Carrots
When life gives you carrot tops, make this delicious pesto. Plus save the peels for everyone’s fave produce scrap catchall, stock.
Pumpkin
It may still be summer, but pumpkin season will be upon us before we know it. Roast those pumpkin seeds with oil and your fave seasonings for a yummy snack and blend up the stringy guts to use in pumpkin pancakes. You can even save the cut outs and scraps for, you guessed it, stock.
Banana
Honesty time: I really wanted to find a good use for banana peels but…they might have to go in the compost. Some people say you can soak the peels in water to make a DIY plant fertilizer, but others say this could actually harm plants.
If you really want, you could try making this banana peel bacon. But maybe let’s not and say we did? However, if you have a banana going brown, definitely don’t throw it away. Freeze it for smoothies or, even better, make banana bread! We love banana bread.
Corn
It's corn…a big lump with knobs. I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing (IYKYK). But seriously, we can’t waste any of this amazing vegetable. Try using the husks for tamales, the silks for tea, and making corn cob jelly or corn chowder with the cobs. Or try the TikTok famous corn ribs, which include the cob. Corn kid would be so proud!
Broccoli
Don’t throw away your broccoli stalks! Try making these delicious pickled broccoli stems. Or if that’s not your jam, you can make slaw, soup, fries, or just cook them with the rest of your broccoli.