A Second Life for Your Food

Throughout my entire sustainability journey, I’ve looked for ways to follow the Three R’s, reduce, reuse, recycle (IN THAT ORDER), but even more so learn something new, have some fun, and even save some money! Here, I compiled a list of some things you can do, that focus around food and on the first two R’s!

Stock: Save veggie scraps and stick them in a container in the freezer!

Things You Should Save:

Broccoli Stems

Mushroom Stems

Cauliflower Stems

Kale Stems

Scraps from onions and garlic

Ends of: squash, zucchini, onions, celery, carrots

Peelings from: carrots, zucchini, squash

Leak tops

How Much You’ll Need:

Two cups of veggies per one quart of water!

What to add:

Fresh herbs; parsley, thyme, oregano, rosemary

Salt and pepper/peppercorn

Bay leaves

Directions: (this is what I’m gonna do):

Sautee veggies with garlic in olive oil first, throw in a big pot, add water, and spices, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes, and then uncover and cook for 15 more, strain through a fine mesh sieve, consume within a week.

Water for Plants: Save water from boiling pasta and potatoes, let it cool, and give it to your plants! Make sure to give each plant only a little and then dilute it with regular water! Also, the water from making eggshell fertilizer can be given to plants too!

Eggshell Fertilizer:

Step 1: Save your eggshells (save at least a dozen).

Step 2: Boil the eggshells for 30-40 minutes to get rid of chemicals!

Step 3: Smash/grind them up.

Step 4: Blend them.

Step 5: Spread them out on a cookie sheet or plate to dry, I let mine dry for 6 hours.

Step 6: Crumble it more, if needed.

Step 7: Give to Plants!

Natural Dyeing: You can dye natural fiber clothing with food and food scraps! Save things like onion skins, avocado pits and peels, pomegranate skins, red cabbage, bad coffee, lemon and orange peel, etc!

More Information:

• https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/how-to-naturally-dye-using-foods

• https://www.instagram.com/rebeccadesnos/ & https://rebeccadesnos.com/

• https://www.bonappetit.com/story/natural-dyeing-with-foods

• http://mindfulearthmama.com/index.php/2019/08/15/mordanting-with-soy-milk/

• http://www.allnaturaldyeing.com/mordants-fixatives/

Note: When I try this more, I will make a separate blog post all about it!

Coffee Body Scrub:

Combine equal parts used coffee grounds, sugar, and melted coconut oil. Optional: add a teaspoon of vanilla extract!

Make an Avocado Tree:

Step 1: Clean any leftover avocado of the avocado pit!

Step 2: Let soak in warm water overnight.

Step 3: Take off the brown skin of the pit.

Step 4: Wrap in a wet paper towel, put in a container, and put the container in a dark place.

Step 5: Once sprouted there are two options; stab toothpicks into it and float it in a glass of water or find a glass bottle where the pit can sit in the opening of it and fill it with water!

Step 6: Let it grow and when it roots well, plant it!

A few more small suggestions:

• Put a piece of orange peel in your brown sugar to keep it soft!

• Put citrus peels into homemade vinegar cleaning solutions!

• Use banana peels to shine and dust plant leaves!

• If you make your own almond milk, dry out the leftover pulp, grind it, and turn it into almond flour!

• Use the last little bits of jam or jelly by making salad dressing in the jars!

• Use the last little bits of nut butters by making overnight oats in the jars!

End Note: If you want to be even more sustainable, make sure you are buying things package free whenever possible; use a reusable produce bag or no bag at all, use a reusable container to get eggs from a local farm or co-op, and when possible again, get your coffee grounds in bulk with a reusable glass container/jar! And of course, compost it all when you're done!